Defense Capture Manager

Mile Two, LLC•Dayton, OH

About The Position

Mile 2 is seeking an experienced Defense Capture Manager to lead the identification, qualification, capture, and pursuit of strategic opportunities across the DoW. This is not a traditional business development role. We are seeking a proven capture professional with a track record of successfully leading competitive federal pursuits from early opportunity shaping through contract award. The ideal candidate understands how to transform customer relationships and market intelligence into executable capture strategies and winning proposals. While candidates with broad Defense experience are encouraged to apply, experience supporting U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), U.S. Space Force (USSF), U.S. Air Force (USAF), and/or U.S. Navy (USN) customers is strongly preferred. Approximately 25% travel required.

Requirements

Active Secret clearance.
Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, Computer Science, Management, or a related discipline (or equivalent experience).
Minimum of 5 years of dedicated Defense Capture Management experience within the federal government contracting industry.
Minimum of 5 years of experience writing and supporting competitive federal proposals, including technical and management volumes.
Demonstrated success leading captures from opportunity identification through award.
Experience managing pursuits valued from several million dollars to $100M+.
Strong understanding of the federal acquisition lifecycle, including: FAR/DFARS, IDIQs, Task Orders, GWACs, OTAs, SBIR/STTR transition opportunities.
Experience leading cross-functional capture teams.
Excellent proposal writing, editing, and executive communication skills.
Experience developing capture plans, win strategies, competitive analyses, and executive briefings.
Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple simultaneous pursuits.

Nice To Haves

Active TS/SCI clearance.
Experience supporting one or more of the following: U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM), U.S. Space Force (USSF), U.S. Air Force (USAF), U.S. Navy (USN).
Existing relationships within DoW acquisition organizations, program offices, laboratories, or operational commands.
Experience pursuing opportunities involving: Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning, Human-Machine Teaming, Platform Engineering, Cloud & DevSecOps, Zero Trust, Software Engineering, Digital Engineering, Data Analytics, Cybersecurity.
Experience supporting oral presentations and technical demonstrations.
Shipley Capture certification or equivalent capture methodology training.
Prior military or civilian DoD service.

Responsibilities

Lead captures throughout the full business development lifecycle, from qualification through contract award.
Develop and execute comprehensive capture plans, win strategies, competitive assessments, and action plans.
Shape opportunities prior to solicitation release through customer engagement, market intelligence, and strategic positioning.
Lead bid/no-bid recommendations and opportunity gate reviews.
Develop and maintain opportunity-specific capture artifacts, schedules, risk registers, and decision briefings.
Drive cross-functional capture teams to ensure alignment across technical, operational, pricing, and proposal activities.
Develop customer-focused win themes and discriminators aligned to mission priorities.
Conduct competitive intelligence, Black Hat analyses, SWOT assessments, and Price-to-Win evaluations.
Identify teaming opportunities and help negotiate strategic partnerships with primes, subcontractors, and technology partners.
Coordinate customer call plans and engagement strategies with Business Development leadership.
Serve as the capture lead throughout proposal development, ensuring continuity from pre-RFP activities through submission.
Collaborate closely with Proposal Managers to develop compliant, compelling, and technically credible proposals.
Contribute directly to proposal writing, including executive summaries, management approaches, technical narratives, win themes, resumes, oral presentations, and supporting artifacts.
Participate in color team reviews and incorporate reviewer feedback into final deliverables.
Ensure proposal content reflects customer priorities, discriminators, and overall capture strategy.
Build and maintain relationships across DoW acquisition organizations, program offices, and mission stakeholders.
Attend industry days, conferences, technical exchanges, and customer meetings.
Monitor market trends, acquisition forecasts, contract vehicles, and emerging opportunities.
Maintain accurate opportunity data, forecasts, and capture activities within the company's CRM.
Support strategic account planning and long-range growth initiatives.
Help identify adjacent opportunities, follow-on work, and strategic partnerships.
Contribute to corporate growth planning, pipeline reviews, and annual growth objectives.