Director of Government Programs, Strategic Airlift & AWACS

American AI Logistics • Arlington, VA

7d • Remote

About The Position

American AI Logistics (AAIL) is hiring a Director of Government Programs to own delivery for one of the most operationally critical platform groups in the U.S. fleet: the C-5 Galaxy, C-17 Globemaster, KC-135 Stratotanker, E-3 Sentry, and E-4B. These platforms move U.S. forces, refuel them in flight, and provide airborne command, control, and early warning. The entire group is contending with an aging airframe inventory and documented mission-capable shortfalls. Keeping these aircraft flying is a national priority, and the parts and components that sustain them is where AAIL plays. The measure of this role is simple: the government accepts our quotes. When AAIL quotes a requirement for these platforms, this person gets it across the line with the program offices, contracting officers, and supply leaders who make the call. Someone who consistently turns real demand into accepted quotes and closed awards is succeeding in this role, full stop. Everything else described below exists in service of that outcome. The Director of Government Programs owns the end-to-end customer relationship for this platform group with the Department of War (DoW). They are the bridge between the operational reality on the flight line and AAIL's internal execution engine: the quoting team, data team, back office, and development team. They get out to the bases, talk to the maintainers, supply officers, and program offices, identify real demand, and get quotes across the line. They are accountable for revenue, customer satisfaction, and delivery performance for the platform group. This role is hands-on, customer-facing, and operationally focused, and it is not a role for someone who needs hand-holding. The right person is comfortable in a hangar bay and in a contracting officer's office, knows their way around heavy lift and AEW&C sustainment, and can translate field-level demand into clean, executable quotes that AAIL's back-office and development teams can deliver against. You will hit the ground running: owning the customer relationship, building your pipeline, and helping define the demand-side playbook at a company on the rise. If you love this country and want your work to matter to the men and women who defend it, this is that job.

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience in DoW/defense program management, weapon system sustainment, parts/MRO, or a closely related defense industrial base role
• Direct working knowledge of one or more of the platforms in scope and the willingness to develop equivalent depth on the others quickly
• Demonstrated experience selling, quoting, or delivering parts, components, or sustainment services into the DoW (or the heritage DoD command structure)
• Strong customer-facing instincts: comfortable in a hangar, on a flight line, and in a contracting officer's office with equal credibility
• Bachelor's degree
• Active Secret-level security clearance, or eligibility based on a documented prior investigation
• Willingness to travel to operational bases and depot facilities; anticipate 25 to 40% travel
• U.S. citizenship required

Nice To Haves

• Prior military service in an Air Force maintenance, supply, contracting, or operational role on one of the in-scope platforms; equivalent civilian DoW experience also valued
• Active TS or TS/SCI clearance
• Experience working with Air Mobility Command, Air Force Sustainment Center, AFLCMC, or DLA Aviation
• Working knowledge of DFARS, ITAR, CUI, and CMMC frameworks as they apply to parts and components sustainment
• Prior experience in a growth-stage company or government technology startup
• Comfort with modern AI and data tools and an interest in using them to improve sustainment outcomes

Responsibilities

• Own the customer relationship with DoW stakeholders across the Strategic Airlift & AWACS platform group, including Air Mobility Command (AMC), Air Force Lifecycle Management Center (AFLCMC), Air Force Sustainment Center, depot operations at Tinker AFB and the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex, and operational squadrons across the fleets
• Develop and maintain working relationships with maintenance and supply leadership at operational bases (Travis, Dover, Charleston, McChord, Tinker, and others) to identify parts demand, mission-capable shortfalls, and sustainment pain points before they show up as formal requirements
• Build deep working knowledge of the weapon systems in scope, including engine families, avionics suites, AEW&C mission systems, and the platform-specific sustainment challenges that drive parts demand
• Partner with the platform group's Director of Distributor Relations in a tight demand-and-supply loop: you surface what the customer needs and get quotes accepted; they make sure every requirement comes back with a fast, competitive, executable quote
• Convert field-level demand signals into executable opportunities by partnering with the quoting team on configuration, sourcing, and pricing
• Shepherd quotes from initial customer touch through DoW contracting action: clearing internal reviews, supporting the back office on contracting paperwork, and following up with the customer to close
• Work closely with AAIL's data team to sharpen the demand picture for the platform group: validating demand signals against forecast data and feeding field intelligence back into the platform
• Coordinate with the development team to surface customer needs, validate that the AI platform is solving the right problems for this platform group, and feed back what is working and what is not
• Track delivery performance against committed timelines, escalate issues early, and own customer communication when problems arise
• Maintain pipeline visibility for the platform group: active opportunities, quote status, projected close timing, and revenue forecast
• Represent AAIL at industry days, depot maintenance conferences, and DoW events relevant to the platform group
• Partner with finance and contracts on order intake, modifications, and any DFARS, ITAR, or CUI handling questions that arise
• Contribute to AAIL's growing platform-group playbook by documenting customer relationships, sustainment dynamics, and lessons learned that other platform-group leaders can build on

Benefits

• Target total cash compensation of $224,000 to $259,000, structured as a competitive base salary plus a performance bonus paid quarterly with uncapped upside
• Full-time, exempt position; remote flexibility with required travel to operational bases, depot facilities, and AAIL offices
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage for you and your family
• Unlimited PTO, sick time, and company holidays
• Company-paid basic life insurance, with options for additional dependent coverage; short-term and long-term disability coverage
• Access to primary and virtual care options
• Direct customer ownership across one of the most operationally critical platform groups in the U.S. fleet, with a clear growth path as the platform-group portfolio expands

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director