The Director, Business Development, Defense Munitions DZMG drives growth across Day & Zimmermann Munitions markets, focusing on Warheads, Payloads, and Energetics. Key responsibilities include developing strategic relationships with U.S. defense organizations, OEMs, and industry partners to identify market opportunities, shape customer requirements, lead capture activities, and transition awards effectively. The role emphasizes integrating DZMG technologies into defense platforms and emerging precision applications, maintaining a qualified pipeline, and achieving sustainable revenue growth. The Director collaborates extensively with cross-functional teams to deliver competitive and executable solutions, ensuring pursuits align with customer needs, technical requirements, and growth objectives. Frequent travel is required to engage with customer, operational, and industry stakeholders.
- Develop market and customer relationships across assigned DZMG lines of effort, including core munitions, Counter-UAS/UAS, loitering munitions, warheads, fuzing and precision products, payload components, and associated electronic components. Build trusted relationships with Portfolio Acquisition Executive Agile Sustainment & Ammunition (PAE AS&A), Portfolio Acquisition Executive Fires (PAE Fires), government research, test, and technology organizations, including DEVCOM Armaments Center and the Missile Defense Agency, prime OEM weapon-system integrators, foreign military and allied customers, and other stakeholders to identify mission needs, funding priorities, acquisition strategies, market trends, and competitive dynamics.
- Source, shape, and qualify new business, account expansion, recompete, and adjacent-market opportunities through early customer engagement and disciplined pipeline management.
- Develop and coordinate market-facing responses, including white papers, capability statements, RFIs, Sources Sought responses, industry-day materials, presentations, and other pre-solicitation content. Ensure customer-facing materials accurately position DZMG capabilities and inform customer requirements while supporting competitive differentiation.
- Lead capture, proposal, and award activities for qualified pursuits, including win strategy, solution development, teaming, pricing coordination, proposal development, presentations, negotiations, and final award. Direct cross-functional pursuit teams and maintain opportunity ownership through award to support compliant, competitive, and executable submissions.
- Transition awarded work to program and execution teams by communicating commitments, assumptions, risks, pricing and capture context, and customer expectations. Manage the Business Development Manager and partner with program teams to strengthen business development practices, pursuit discipline, and organizational growth capability.
- Assess strategic fit, customer need, competitive position, differentiation, financial attractiveness, resource requirements, and probability of win to support pursue/no-pursue decisions.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
- Defense munitions market and customer knowledge sufficient to understand Department of War munitions missions, acquisition processes, funding drivers, industry trends, competitive dynamics, and the customer organizations relevant to assigned DZMG lines of effort.
- Leadership and influence capability sufficient to manage business development employees, lead cross-functional pursuit teams, engage senior customers and executives, drive accountability, and maintain ownership from opportunity development through execution handoff.
- Business development and capture lifecycle capability sufficient to source, shape, qualify, capture, propose, negotiate, win, and transition complex opportunities ranging from $10 million to $500 million.
- Strategic and competitive analysis capability sufficient to evaluate market opportunities, assess competitors, identify discriminators, develop value propositions, and recommend disciplined pursue/no-pursue decisions.
- Persuasive written and verbal communication capability sufficient to develop white papers, RFIs, Sources Sought responses, proposals, presentations, executive briefings, and other customer-facing business development materials.
- Business and commercial acumen sufficient to consider pricing, contracting approach, financial drivers, risk, profitability, investment tradeoffs, and executable customer commitments when shaping and pursuing opportunities.
Minimum Qualifications:
Education Required: Bachelor’s degree in engineering.
Preferred: Bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, engineering, defense, munitions, or a related field. Equivalent related business development, capture, government customer, or defense industry experience may be considered.
Minimum Work Experience Required: 10+ years of progressive business development, capture, account management, sales, or related growth experience, including experience in defense, munitions, government agency, or government contractor environments; complex opportunity pursuit and capture from sourcing and qualification through proposal, award, and execution handoff; development of white papers, RFI/Sources Sought responses, proposals, presentations, or other customer-facing business development content; and experience leading cross-functional pursuit teams or business development employees.
Must hold an active U.S. government security clearance at the Secret level and maintain the required clearance.
Ability to secure secret clearance required
Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States.
Candidates may be required to satisfy additional job-related requirements, including those established and controlled by third parties, as part of the selection process.
In compliance with this state’s pay transparency laws, the wage range for this role is $143,440 - 215,160. This is not a guarantee of compensation or salary, as final offer amount may vary based on factors including but not limited to experience and geographic location. (The specific programs and options available to an employee may vary depending on date of hire, schedule type, and the applicability of collective bargaining agreements).
We care about our employees and it shows. Our staff receive a competitive salary and a comprehensive benefits package which includes medical/Rx, dental and vision coverage; life, AD&D and disability insurance; flexible spending accounts; 100% paid maternity leave for up to 12 weeks, parental leave, family leave, other paid time off; voluntary benefits and discount programs to meet our employees’ individual needs including pet insurance for our furry family members!