Vice President, Business Development – Defense Engineering Solutions (DES)

Parsons Corporation•Chantilly, VA

2d•$200,600 - $383,500•Remote

About The Position

Parsons is seeking a Vice President of Business Development to lead growth for its Defense Engineering Solutions (DES) team. This strategic, mission-driven leader will define and execute growth strategies across defense engineering, modernization, and mission enablement markets, aligned with the Defense & Intelligence strategy. The role carries ownership for DES sales performance, pipeline health, capture excellence, and conversion outcomes, and requires translating customer operational needs into winning strategies and differentiated solutions. The VP will lead the business development and capture team, align cross-functional stakeholders, and position Parsons for strategic new business and on-contract growth. The position develops DES growth priorities and converts them into measurable pipeline, capture, and conversion plans. It owns sales and book-to-bill performance, forecasting, pipeline analytics, and operating rhythms tied to quarterly and annual targets. The leader also builds and improves a qualified pipeline across tactical and strategic opportunities, including task orders and major competitive pursuits, and ensures team capacity and capabilities support both near-term pursuits and long-term growth. The role reports to the SVP of Business Development, Defense & Intelligence, and partners directly with the SVP of DES and its leadership team. Remote locations near major Parsons hubs or key customer locations may be considered. The position is part of Parsons’ Federal Solutions team, which serves U.S. government customers in defense, security, intelligence, infrastructure, and environmental missions.

Requirements

At least 20 years of relevant experience across business development, capture, strategy, pricing, proposals, and/or P&L leadership, particularly in federal contracting within Defense & Intelligence markets.
Experience operating within enterprises of $2 billion or more and delivering results with revenue accountability for portfolios of $500 million or more.
Demonstrated success leading growth in complex organizations.
Proven track record of leading capture and proposal execution for large-scale government programs, including shaping, positioning, and winning competitive pursuits.
Active Top Secret security clearance.
Strong strategic orientation and ability to translate vision into executable growth plans and measurable outcomes.
Technical fluency in mission areas including NGC2, Joint/Coalition C2, C5ISR modernization, air base air defense and integrated air and missile defense, radar and sensing architectures, PAI/OSINT-enabled intelligence fusion, tactical network integration, platform/vehicle integration, and complex systems integration.
Ability to translate technical capabilities into customer-relevant growth strategies and winning pursuits.
High emotional intelligence and strong interpersonal skills to build trust, alignment, and consensus across diverse stakeholders.
Hands-on leadership ability to drive operating rhythm, performance discipline, and sustained execution in a dynamic environment.
Proven ability to build, mentor, and retain high-performance teams and foster accountability, innovation, and collaboration.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute the DES strategic growth plan and vision, aligned with the Defense & Intelligence Strategic Roadmap and Parsons enterprise priorities.
Define DES growth focus areas and translate strategy into measurable pipeline creation, capture priorities, and conversion plans.
Drive short- and long-term business and marketing strategies to expand Parsons’ market position, relevance, and customer trust in DES-aligned mission areas.
Use market intelligence and customer insights to inform investment priorities across IR&D, technology differentiation, workforce strategy, and partner ecosystem development.
Own DES sales and book-to-bill performance, meeting or exceeding business plan metrics for awards, bookings, and conversion outcomes.
Maintain a book-to-bill ratio above 1.0x, with focus on quarterly performance and measurable results.
Establish transparent performance management through forecasting, pipeline analytics, and operating rhythms tied to quarterly and annual targets.
Build, mature, and continuously improve a high-quality pipeline across tactical and strategic opportunities, including on-contract growth, task orders, and major competitive pursuits.
Manage pipeline volume, velocity, and quality through qualification, positioning, shaping, and capture excellence.
Lead DES business development and capture management staff, aligning organizational structure, capacity, and capabilities with growth goals.
Build and sustain a high-performance culture through clear accountability, coaching, and measurable outcomes.
Ensure staffing plans support near-term pursuits and long-term pipeline growth, including recruiting for critical business development and capture roles.
Lead capture and proposal execution for large-scale government programs, including shaping, positioning, and winning competitive pursuits.
Build trust, alignment, and consensus among customers, partners, and internal stakeholders.
Capture multiple contracts valued at $250 million or more annually in DES mission areas and improve the percentage of pipeline converted into awarded work.