Business Development Senior Manager (Space)

Peraton•Reston, VA

6d•$135,000 - $216,000

About The Position

Join the Peraton Labs team to provide business development and capture support with a focus on space systems research. This exciting domain includes technical areas such as space domain awareness, command and control, multi-domain operations, cislunar space, and space digital twins. We are seeking a versatile business development and capture manager to help grow our space research portfolio by identifying new opportunities, shaping capture strategies, engaging customers, and coordinating proposal development. This role requires a blend of customer-facing business development skills, domain experience in space research, and hands-on proposal leadership. As part of a small, agile team, the successful candidate will take ownership across the opportunity life cycle from early customer engagement through proposal submission and award.

Requirements

12+ years of experience, including at least 5 years of experience in a business development role
Bachelor’s degree in engineering, science, business, or a related field.
Prior experience identifying and pursuing opportunities in space or adjacent domains
Ability to navigate unfamiliar customer organizations, develop and foster relationships, and secure meetings
Experience supporting or leading proposal development, including strategy, compliance and integration for competitive bids.
Strong understanding of research-focused customers, funding mechanisms, and acquisition processes
Ability to work across multiple opportunities simultaneously in a fast-paced environment
Self-motivated, independent, detail oriented, responsible team-player
Strong written and oral communication skills with an ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences
Ability to travel regularly to support customer meetings and conferences
U.S. Citizenship and the ability to maintain a TS/SCI clearance

Nice To Haves

Familiarity and/or existing customer relationships with government research and acquisition organizations (DARPA, AFRL, NRL, SSC, IC, etc.) and/or commercial space companies
Experience developing and managing relationships with partner companies
Prior technical and/or management experience in a software-intensive field

Responsibilities

Identify, qualify, and pursue new business opportunities across multiple customers in the space research domain
Develop and maintain strong customer relationships to understand mission needs, research priorities, and funding trends
Monitor solicitations, roadmaps, and research initiatives to anticipate future opportunities
Collaborate with management and technical leadership to align customer needs with organizational capabilities and strategic objectives
Lead capture activities, including win strategy development, competitive analysis, teaming, and solution shaping
Apply space domain expertise to inform approaches, discriminators, and value propositions
Work closely with architects, engineers, and researchers to develop compelling, executable solutions
Support pricing, risk identification, and execution planning in coordination with internal stakeholders
Serve as Proposal Manager for selected opportunities, particularly in support of a small-team environment
Develop proposal schedules, outlines, compliance matrices, and color team plans
Coordinate inputs from technical, management, and business contributors
Ensure proposals clearly articulate customer value, technical credibility, and competitive differentiation
Manage reviews, track action items, and ensure on-time delivery