Growth Strategy Associate (1166)

Raft Company Website•Tysons, VA

17d•$85,000 - $125,000•Onsite

About The Position

We are expanding our Growth and Strategy team and are seeking a Growth Strategy Associate to support high-impact opportunities across Department of War (DoW), Intelligence Community (IC), and commercial defense markets. This role is ideal for an early-career professional with an active security clearance who is eager to learn about product-led growth, mission-critical technology solutions, and defense market development. The Growth Strategy Associate will work closely with product managers, technical leads, and mission stakeholders to research, track, and support product opportunities across our defense technology portfolio. This position offers hands-on exposure to real operational challenges, warfighter needs, product development cycles, and a clear path for growth into product strategy or business development roles within the defense sector.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in computer science, Engineering, National Security Studies, Business, or a related field
0–2 years of relevant experience (internships, co-ops, or academic projects strongly considered)
Strong research and analytical skills with attention to detail and understanding of operational contexts
Good written and verbal communication skills with a willingness to learn and ability to communicate with military/government stakeholders
Ability to manage multiple tasks and meet deadlines in a fast-paced, mission-focused team environment
Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, PowerPoint, Word)
Eagerness to learn about product development, defense technology, operational needs, and government markets
Self-motivated with a positive, can-do attitude and comfort working in ambiguous, rapidly evolving environments
Active Secret clearance with ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret
This is a U.S. based position. All of the programs we support require U.S. citizenship to be eligible for employment. All work must be conducted within the continental U.S.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with agile or product development concepts and DevSecOps practices
Exposure to DoW, IC, or federal defense technology programs and acquisition processes
Understanding of defense technology domains (e.g., AI/ML, cyber, autonomy, ISR, C2, software-defined systems)
Experience with CRM systems, data analysis tools, or customer research
Previous internship or project experience in product, consulting, defense contracting, or business analysis
Military experience or familiarity with military operations and organizational structure
Experience working in secure environments (SCIFs) or with classified information

Responsibilities

Assist in tracking and researching opportunities from initial discovery through operational deployment and customer adoption
Help maintain business development and product tools, including GovEagle, and Salesforce
Research market opportunities using tools such as GovWin, SAM.gov, beta.SAM.gov, and DoW/IC opportunity databases to support product planning
Support product managers and customer-facing teams by gathering user and operator feedback, documenting mission-critical pain points, and organizing feature requests
Assist in preparing materials for product reviews, including opportunity summaries, competitive research, threat landscape analysis, and customer insights
Conduct research on customer mission needs, operational requirements, market trends, and competitive products in the defense technology sector
Help coordinate product demonstrations, operational assessments, customer meetings, and pilot programs by preparing materials, scheduling sessions, and capturing feedback
Document customer insights and lessons learned to support product improvement and mission impact
Travel up to 70% to support industry events, customer meetings, product demonstrations, and deployment activities