Business Development Director - Air Force Programs

Arcfield•Chantilly, VA

About The Position

We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced Business Development Account Manager specializing in the Air Force domain. The ideal candidate will have a deep understanding of current Air Force operations, strong business acumen, and a proven track record of fostering relationships within the defense sector. The primary focus of this role is to drive business growth by identifying and pursuing opportunities within Air Force, facilitating meetings for capability briefings and demonstrations, managing client portfolios, and expanding our market reach through networking and relationship-building activities. This person will work with VP Growth, Business Unit (BU) Growth Leads, and BU Ops P&L leads to develop an integrated account strategy, pulling from across the entirety of our internal Enterprise Digital & Global Engineering Sector (EDGE) EDGE BU and the greater Arcfield to deliver the “critical mass” of the company in their respective accounts.

Requirements

BS 16-18, MS 14+, PhD 10+ (years of experience)
Possess and maintain a Secret Clearance
Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Engineering, or related field.
Minimum of 5 years of experience in business development or sales, with a focus on the defense industry and specifically within the Air Force domain.
Proven track record of successfully meeting or exceeding sales targets and driving business growth.
Strong understanding of Air Force operations, procurement processes, and contracting mechanisms.
Excellent communication, negotiation, and interpersonal skills.
Ability to work independently, prioritize tasks, and manage multiple projects simultaneously.

Nice To Haves

MBA preferred.

Responsibilities

Identify and pursue business opportunities within the Air Force domain.
Develop and execute strategic plans to achieve sales targets and business objectives.
Analyze market trends, competitor activities, and customer needs to identify growth opportunities.
Build and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders within the Air Force community.
Manage a portfolio of clients, ensuring customer satisfaction and retention.
Act as a trusted advisor to clients, understanding their needs and providing tailored solutions.
Organize and facilitate meetings for capability briefings and product demonstrations.
Collaborate with internal teams to prepare presentations, proposals, and materials for client meetings.
Ensure smooth coordination and communication between all parties involved in the meetings.
Identify adjacent opportunities based on existing customer base and personal connections.
Attend conferences, industry days, and networking events to generate leads and establish new client relationships.
Serve as the single point of accountability for all business within assigned Air Force accounts.
Develop and maintain a 3-year account strategy aligned to customer mission priorities, budget outlook, evolving DoW priorities, and competitive landscape.
Identify and prioritize strategic growth areas (programs, tech domains, contract vehicles).
Maintain an Account Plan that integrates BD, Capture, and Delivery.
Build and sustain trusted relationships with Program Managers (PMs), Technical leads, Contracting Officers (KOs), and Senior Leadership.
Lead customer engagement cadence, including quarterly strategic engagements, program-level touchpoints, and industry days/conferences.
Understand customer pain points, hot buttons, and funding realities.
Own identification of new opportunities across new starts, recompetes, and on-contract growth.
Drive qualification rigor using defined criteria: Mission alignment, Budget realism, Customer access, Competitive positioning.
Maintain a healthy pipeline (typically 3–5x revenue target).
Partner with BU Growth Leads and Capture Managers to shape opportunities early (pre-RFP), influence acquisition strategy, position the company for win, and ensure capture strategies align to account strategy.
Support to Win themes, competitive assessments, and pricing strategy inputs.
Participate in Gate/Milestone Reviews (Gate 0–4).
Lead front-end shaping activities: Requirements influence, White papers / RFIs, Industry engagement.
Coordinate across internal stakeholders: Technical SMEs, Solution architects.
Ensure alignment between capability offerings and customer needs.
Partner with Program Managers to ensure customer satisfaction, identify follow-on work, mitigate performance risks, and leverage delivery to enable recompetes and growth.
Maintain deep understanding of competitors (primes, subs, nontraditionals), competitor positioning with customer, teaming dynamics, and contract vehicle access.
Shape teaming strategies: Prime vs. subcontract decisions, Strategic partnerships.
Position company capabilities against emerging Air Force priorities.
Ensure access to and positioning on key Air Force contract vehicles: IDIQs, MACs, OTAs, BOAs.
Influence acquisition approaches where possible: Contract type (CPFF, FFP, etc.), Set-asides / small business strategy.
Coordinate with contracts and legal on FAR/DFARS compliance.
Represent the company in Air Force forums, Professional Industry associations, and Key Conferences that facilitate B2B & B2G engagement.
Reinforce company brand as a trusted Air Force mission partner.