Head of Growth
About The Position
Skyryse is seeking a Head of Growth to lead and scale our defense business end-to-end. Reporting to the CEO and serving on the executive leadership team, the CGO owns the full commercial engine for the DoD and allied international markets — government affairs, sales, and business development — and is accountable for the pipeline, revenue, and programs of record that will define Skyryse's trajectory. This is a builder's role for an operator who has scaled a defense business before. You will be responsible for translating SkyOS's technical advantage into funded programs, durable customer relationships, and a platform position in next-generation aviation.
Requirements
- 15+ years driving commercialization in defense, government, or dual-use technology.
- Proven track record selling into or working with the U.S. Department of Defense.
- Deep understanding of DoD acquisition processes, requirements generation, and budget cycles.
- Demonstrated experience influencing government funding decisions, program direction, or resource prioritization.
- Familiarity with aviation, aerospace, autonomy, or software-enabled hardware, including how crewed, unmanned, and autonomous platforms are evaluated, funded, and adopted differently across DoD acquisition pathways.
- Strong executive communication skills, with the ability to translate complex technical capabilities into clear, mission-aligned value propositions.
Nice To Haves
- Experience at high-growth defense technology companies scaling to programmatic revenue.
- Demonstrated success building new markets or breaking into established government ecosystems.
- Experience working with or managing lobbying firms and external policy advisors.
- Strong network across defense innovation units, program offices, acquisition organizations, and operational commands.
- Experience integrating go-to-market strategy with product development and technical positioning.
- Experience with the policy and acquisition landscape for autonomous and semi-autonomous systems, ideally including vertical lift programs and human-in-the-loop requirements.
Responsibilities
- Build and lead a high-performing commercialization and government strategy team.
- Own the P&L for Skyryse's defense business, including pipeline, bookings, and recognized revenue across DoD, adjacent federal agencies, and allied international governments.
- Set commercial strategy and prioritization frameworks in partnership with the CEO and executive team, balancing speed, revenue, and long-term platform positioning.
- Establish Skyryse as a platform company by promoting open architecture and modular integration with third-party systems.
- Shape and influence budget priorities and program funding pathways ahead of formal acquisition processes.
- Lead capture and business development on priority pursuits; shaping requirements, budget priorities, and funding pathways (including non-traditional mechanisms) ahead of formal acquisition.
- Serve as Skyryse's senior external face to DoD leadership, Congressional stakeholders, program executive offices, and warfighter end users.
- Partner cross-functionally with Product, Engineering, and Leadership to align product roadmap with defense & commercial needs and positioning.
- Monitor competitive landscape, including emerging defense tech companies and legacy primes.
Benefits
- Valuable stock option plan
- Heavily subsidized medical, dental and vision plans
- 20 days of paid time off (PTO) and 5 sick days annually
Stand Out From the Crowd
Upload your resume and get instant feedback on how well it matches this job.
What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Executive
Education Level
No Education Listed
