Director, Western Operations & Growth

CSMC•Edmonton, AB

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Canadian Strategic Missions Corporation (CSMC) is seeking a highly motivated and entrepreneurial leader to establish and grow its Alberta presence. As CSMC's first Edmonton-based hire, this role is critical in executing strategic projects, scaling commercialization and go-to-market activities, developing partnerships, and building the foundations of Alberta operations. This position offers a unique opportunity to join a rapidly growing company at an early stage and help shape how transformative technologies are delivered across Canada's energy, defence, and space sectors. The role involves close collaboration with universities, industry partners, customers, government stakeholders, and internal technical teams to ensure successful project execution and identify opportunities for long-term value creation. Initially, the focus will be on executing key Alberta-based initiatives, including coordination with the University of Alberta and other strategic partners, while supporting commercialization and market adoption of CSMC technologies. As the company grows, the scope will evolve to include team building, operational leadership, customer engagement, and regional footprint expansion. The position is based in Edmonton, Alberta, with periodic travel required. This role offers the chance to shape technologies and partnerships that strengthen Canada's security, economy, energy independence, and strategic capabilities.

Requirements

Minimum Education: Bachelor's degree in engineering, Science, Business, Public Policy, Project Management, or a related discipline.
5-10+ years of experience in program management, project delivery, business development, strategic partnerships, operations, engineering, technology commercialization, or a related field.
Demonstrated success working across academia, industry, government, or innovation ecosystems.
Strong project and stakeholder management skills with the ability to coordinate multiple priorities simultaneously.
Experience building and maintaining trusted relationships with external partners and customers.
Excellent communication, presentation, negotiation, and organizational skills.
Comfortable operating independently in a highly dynamic startup environment with evolving priorities.
Strong business judgment and ability to identify opportunities that create long-term strategic value.
Ability and willingness to travel throughout Alberta, Western Canada, Northern Canada, and periodically to Waterloo and Toronto as required.
Must be located in or willing to relocate to Edmonton, Alberta.
Eligibility for federal security screening and compliance with controlled goods and export regulations.
Legally authorized to work in Canada.
Able to obtain and maintain Government of Canada security clearance.
Eligible to meet foreign affiliation and export control requirements.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting commercialization, technology adoption, market development, or go-to-market activities is considered an asset.
Familiarity with Canada's energy, nuclear, defence, aerospace, advanced manufacturing, or innovation sectors is considered an asset.
Experience working with research institutions, government-funded programs, or technology development initiatives is considered an asset.

Responsibilities

Lead day-to-day coordination and execution of CSMC's Alberta-based projects and strategic initiatives.
Serve as the primary interface between CSMC and key Alberta stakeholders, including universities, government agencies, industry partners, investors, and customers.
Maintain oversight of project schedules, milestones, deliverables, risks, and partner commitments, ensuring successful execution across all workstreams.
Build and strengthen relationships with the University of Alberta and other strategic research and commercialization partners.
Support commercialization and go-to-market activities for CSMC technologies, identifying pathways for adoption by research institutions, government organizations, and commercial customers.
Identify and pursue opportunities to expand CSMC's presence, partnerships, and impact across Alberta and Western Canada.
Support business development activities, including opportunity development, stakeholder engagement, partnership formation, proposal development, and funding applications.
Represent CSMC at conferences, industry events, government meetings, research forums, and customer engagements.
Work closely with technical teams to translate strategic objectives into executable plans and measurable outcomes.
Provide regular project, partnership, and market-development updates to company leadership.
Recruit, mentor, and help build future Alberta-based team capabilities as the business grows.
Support special projects and strategic initiatives as required in a fast-moving and evolving environment.