Director of Defense Growth & Strategy
About The Position
The Director of Defense Growth & Strategy drives long-term opportunity development across key Department of Defense stakeholders, with emphasis on identifying and shaping autonomy and robotics programs aligned with Neya/ARA’s capabilities. At the T12 Principal Professional 2 level, the role serves as a senior technical and strategic partner to government leadership, shaping requirements and acquisition approaches to position the company for sustained growth in autonomy and robotics. The position calls for strong DoD expertise, senior-level relationship skills, and the ability to work independently on complex, high-impact efforts. The Director operates with minimal oversight, determining objectives, strategies, and approaches for complex assignments. The role applies advanced technical principles, contributes to concepts at an organizational scale, and acts as a prime internal and external representative for technical, business, and strategic matters in assigned domains. Decisions can significantly affect programs, customers, and long-range organizational goals.
Requirements
- BS or MS in Engineering, Political Science, National Security, or a related field.
- 15–25 years of senior-level experience within the DoD ecosystem, including military, government, or industry leadership roles.
- High-level proficiency in PPBE, POM, and defense acquisition structures.
- Proven track record of shaping program requirements and acquisition approaches for major defense initiatives, ideally involving autonomous systems, robotics, or advanced technologies.
- Established, trusted relationships with senior leaders across key DoD commands, such as AFC, NAVSEA, and AFMC.
- Proven ability to independently drive work forward in agile, high-tempo settings.
- Typically 12–15+ years of relevant experience with a bachelor’s degree, or 10–12+ years with a master’s degree.
Nice To Haves
- Background in program leadership roles at DARPA, DIU, or other service-level R&D organizations.
- Demonstrated ability to interface with Congressional stakeholders overseeing defense authorization and appropriations.
- Comprehensive knowledge of autonomy-related technologies, including modeling and simulation, AI/ML, and vehicle operating system architectures.
- Active Secret or Top Secret security clearance.
Responsibilities
- Establish and maintain senior-level engagements with DoD organizations, including PEOs, PMs, requirements officers, S&T leaders, and technical authorities, focused on autonomy and robotics mission areas.
- Shape early opportunities by informing requirements, budget trajectories, and acquisition pathways for autonomy and robotics programs before formal release.
- Identify autonomy- and robotics-related mission requirements, emerging capability needs, and future program trajectories through strategic engagement.
- Develop win strategies and competitive discriminators for major autonomy and robotics pursuits, and exercise judgment in pursue/no-pursue decisions.
- Collaborate with Capture Managers to align pre-RFP shaping work with subsequent capture execution for autonomy and robotics programs.
- Prepare substantiated white papers and technical briefs presenting Neya/ARA capabilities in autonomy, robotics, modeling and simulation, and AI/ML, and supporting government program development.
- Lead senior-level briefings on autonomy and robotics technical capabilities for government decision-makers, industry partners, and organizational leadership.
- Engage engineering leadership to shape internal R&D and product investments based on DoD autonomy and robotics demand signals.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Director
