Business Development Manager, Naval Aviation

Primordial Labs•New Haven, CT

4d•$150,000 - $200,000•Remote

About The Position

Primordial Labs is seeking a Naval Aviation business development lead to own and grow its work with the Navy’s aviation community. The role is responsible for bringing Anura, a product that converts spoken or typed intent into structured actions across drones, sensors, and mission software, to naval aviators, aircrew, and personnel who plan and run air wing operations. The scope includes crewed and uncrewed aviation (Group 3 and up), with an emphasis on MUM-T for the Air Wing of the Future and programs within PAE Aviation. The role takes opportunities from early shaping through award and works with requirements staff, program offices, warfare centers, fleet units, and industry partners. The position owns capture management and pipeline development for priority Naval Aviation opportunities, builds capture strategies and plans, maintains forecasts in the CRM, and connects S&T, prototyping, and transition funding to potential programs of record. It builds customer relationships, engages operators and aircrew to shape requirements, supports demonstrations and fleet activities, and tracks budgets, acquisition strategies, solicitations, competitors, and partners. The role also collaborates with engineering, product, and program management to ensure commitments are deliverable and contributes customer insight to product and go-to-market planning. This is a fully remote role open to U.S. residents, with travel up to 50%. U.S. citizenship and current U.S. residency are strictly required; permanent residency or visa sponsorship does not meet the stated requirements. An active U.S. security clearance is preferred, and the ability to obtain and maintain one is required. Compensation includes a target base salary of $150,000–$200,000 annually, plus incentives and equity.

Requirements

At least 4 years of experience in business development, capture, or government sales.
Direct experience with Navy aviation customers and Navy acquisition processes.
Demonstrated success owning and winning opportunities across the full capture lifecycle.
Established relationships across naval aviation program offices, warfare centers, OPNAV staff, or industry partners.
Working knowledge of acquisition pathways and contract vehicles, including OTAs, CSOs, and traditional FAR-based contracts.
Strong writing and briefing skills, including experience presenting to flag officers and SES-level civilians.
Ability to organize and run multiple active captures simultaneously.
Comfort with CRM platforms and Microsoft Office.
Ability to work autonomously and take ownership in a small, fast-moving team.
Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance.
U.S. citizenship and current residency within the United States; permanent residency or visa sponsorship does not satisfy these requirements.

Nice To Haves

Prior service or work in naval aviation, such as an aviator, NFO, or acquisition professional.
Familiarity with crewed-uncrewed teaming, autonomy, and pilot-vehicle interface concepts.
Experience capturing aviation or unmanned systems programs.
Experience with carrier aviation operations or the naval aviation enterprise structure.
Prior startup or early-stage defense technology experience.
Active U.S. security clearance.

Responsibilities

Own the full capture lifecycle for priority Naval Aviation opportunities, from early shaping through proposal submission and contract award.
Build and execute capture plans covering win strategy, competitive assessment, teaming, price-to-win, and gate reviews.
Maintain the Naval Aviation pipeline and forecast in the CRM, and set capture priorities against an annual bookings target.
Coordinate S&T, prototyping, and transition funding lines so early work can progress toward a program of record.
Identify landing points with airframe OEMs, mission systems primes, and autonomy partners, and structure teaming and subcontract arrangements.
Build relationships with naval aviation requirements sponsors, PAE Aviation program teams, warfare centers, fleet squadrons, and test and evaluation communities.
Engage operators and aircrew early to understand workload, cockpit and ground control station interaction, and crewed-uncrewed teaming needs, and incorporate findings into requirements.
Plan and support demonstrations, fleet experiments, and exercise participation.
Represent Primordial Labs at industry days, symposia, and customer meetings.
Track Navy aviation budget documents, acquisition strategies, solicitations, and BAAs, and translate findings into capture decisions.
Track competitors and partners in autonomy, mission systems, and human-machine interface markets.
Identify adjacent opportunities across Navy aviation, including rotary wing, training, and test.
Partner with engineering, product, and program management to ensure commitments are technically sound and deliverable.
Bring customer and market insight into roadmap and go-to-market planning.
Lead or support proposal writing, reviews, and teaming partner coordination.