Director, Business Development and Government Relations

Lumafield•Washington, DC

1d•$210,000 - $280,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Lumafield was founded in 2019 to upgrade manufacturing. We are engineers with deep experience across the product development cycle, from initial ideas to shipping hardware, across industries and specializations, who became frustrated by the cost and complexity of modern manufacturing. So we decided to upgrade it. Engineers make million-dollar decisions every day, and they need tools that give them the greatest possible insight into their products. By offering unprecedented visibility into products, as well as AI-driven tools that highlight problems and generate quantitative data, Lumafield promises to revolutionize the way complex products are created, manufactured, and used across industries. We started with industrial CT scanning, which for us was the most valuable but underutilized tool in the manufacturing toolbox, enabling us to rapidly inspect essential components non-destructively. We rebuilt the whole system, from X-ray capture, to computer vision analysis, to web-based collaboration, to the entire business model, making the most advanced manufacturing tech more accessible to every industry. Our company, like our platform, is designed for upgrades. We’re building for greater intelligence, autonomy, and speed. For deeper vision, operational excellence, and powerful insights. And then we'll upgrade it all again. Lumafield is headquartered in Cambridge, MA, and has an office in San Francisco, CA. About the role: Lumafield is looking for a Director of Business Development and Government Relations to build and own our government and defense vertical. This is a hybrid role that spans business development, enterprise sales, and government affairs: you’ll navigate procurement processes within the Department of Defense; convert those relationships into the deployment of Lumafield systems across military installations, defense primes, and federal agencies; and work with government affairs partners to develop relationships with Congress. The U.S. government is investing heavily in supply chain resilience, reshoring, innovation, and defense manufacturing modernization. Lumafield’s platform—industrial CT scanners, AI-powered inspection software, and cloud-based collaboration—is directly relevant to these priorities. We need someone who can connect our technology to the people and programs where it matters most, and who can drive that connection all the way through to signed contracts and deployed systems. This role reports directly to the CEO and is based in Washington, D.C., with regular travel to Lumafield’s offices in Boston & San Francisco and to customer sites across the country.

Requirements

Defense procurement expertise: direct experience inside the DoD acquisition system—as a military acquisition officer, a civilian in a program office, or on the contractor side navigating FAR/DFARS, OTAs, SBIRs, or similar vehicles
Hill experience: you have worked on Capitol Hill in a legislative or committee staff role, or have served as a liaison between DoD and Congress. You understand how defense authorization and appropriations work and how to brief staffers effectively
An existing network of contacts across Congress, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, service branch acquisition commands, and the defense prime ecosystem.
Enough technical fluency to credibly discuss non-destructive inspection, quality assurance, and manufacturing process control with military and defense audiences.
8–15+ years of combined military, government, and private-sector experience.
A typical background might include 4–8 years of active-duty service, 2–4 years on the Hill or in government affairs, and 2–5 years in defense tech or government contracting

Nice To Haves

Military service: you are an honorably discharged veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces with experience in logistics, acquisition, maintenance, or materiel command functions
MBA, equivalent business training, or graduate degree
Prior experience in defense manufacturing, sustainment, depot maintenance, or industrial base policy
Experience with defense prime supply chain quality programs and with the defense innovation ecosystem: DIU, AFWERX, NavalX, In-Q-Tel, or similar organizations
Experience selling or deploying hardware + software platforms (not just consulting or advisory services) into government customers
An active security clearance or the ability to obtain one

Responsibilities

Own all government and defense relationships end-to-end: executive branch policymakers, DoD acquisition program offices, decision makers in the military services, defense prime partners, and Congress.
Build and manage a qualified pipeline of government and defense opportunities, driving each from initial engagement through procurement and contract signature
Determine the right acquisition pathway for each opportunity—OTA, SBIR, GSA Schedule, direct procurement, defense prime subcontract—and manage the process from start to finish
Shape requirements with program offices and acquisition professionals when solicitations are written for manufacturing inspection capabilities
Build partnerships with defense innovation organizations—DIU, AFWERX, NavalX, DEVCOM—as procurement channels
Develop and present the government vertical strategy to Lumafield leadership and the board, including pipeline forecasts, resource requirements, and a 12-month roadmap
Brief Congress on Lumafield’s technology and monitor and influence defense policy, authorization, and appropriations priorities that create demand for manufacturing inspection and quality intelligence technology