Business Development Executive, U.S. Space Force

Job Description

Job Description

Title: Business Development Executive, U.S. Space Force

Location: Colorado (Colorado Springs or Denver/Aurora) or Los Angeles metro (must reside locally)

US Citizenship: Required

Clearance: Active TS/SCI with in-scope CI Polygraph

Position Overview:

Invictus, a Red River Company, is hiring a Business Development Executive to lead our growth across the entire U.S. Space Force enterprise. This is a high-visibility, growth-accountable executive role reporting directly to the President and Chief Growth Officer. The Space Force growth plan will be reviewed regularly by Red River corporate leadership and our private equity ownership, and the person in this seat will be measured on qualified pipeline, submitted value, and contract awards.

The Space Force is reorganizing how it buys, shifting to mission-area Portfolio Acquisition Executives while expanding priorities in missile warning and tracking, space domain awareness, resilient satellite communications, ground systems, and Golden Dome. We want a leader who already has trusted relationships across Space Systems Command, Space Operations Command, STARCOM, the Space Development Agency, Space RCO, and Headquarters Space Force, and who can convert that access into positioned, winnable pursuits for the combined Invictus and Red River portfolio of mission IT, cybersecurity, cloud, networking, data, and managed services.

Space Force customers expect their partners to be present. This role requires a candidate who lives in Colorado (Colorado Springs or the Denver and Aurora area) or the Los Angeles metro area today and can be on site regularly with customers at local installations, with travel to other Space Force locations and the Pentagon. Candidates who would need to relocate will not be considered.

This is not a maintenance role. Success means building a multi-year pipeline that establishes Invictus as a recognized Space Force mission partner, executed with the discipline, forecasting accuracy, and executive presence expected of a leader whose results are visible at the board level.

Responsibilities:

• Growth Plan Ownership: Own the Space Force account plan and annual growth targets. Build and maintain a three to five year enterprise account strategy spanning field commands, acquisition organizations, and mission deltas that ties priorities, budgets, and acquisition timelines to Invictus and Red River capabilities.
• Pipeline Development: Identify, qualify, and shape new opportunities, sustaining a qualified pipeline at a minimum of three times annual bookings targets. Emphasize new prime positions, recompete takeaways, and task orders across SSC, SpOC, STARCOM, SDA, Space RCO, and Headquarters Space Force.
• Customer Intimacy: Maintain a consistent in-person presence with Portfolio Acquisition Executives, program managers, Delta commanders, CIO and S6 organizations, and contracting officers at Los Angeles AFB and the Colorado installations (Peterson, Schriever, and Buckley). Understand mission pain points well before requirements are written.
• Early Shaping and Win Strategy: Influence requirements through RFI and sources sought responses, white papers, capability briefings, and technical exchange meetings. Align offerings to the Space Force's portfolio acquisition model and Golden Dome priorities, and develop early win strategy, discriminators, and price-to-win considerations before transition to capture.
• Teaming and Industry Partnerships: Build and steward relationships with space primes, mid-tier peers, commercial space companies, and specialized small businesses. Assess competitors and recommend teaming strategies that put Invictus in the strongest competitive position.
• Capture Transition and Pursuit Leadership: Partner closely with Capture Management, Solutions Architects, Strategic Pricing, and Proposal Operations to transition qualified opportunities without losing momentum. Serve as capture lead when needed and remain accountable for the customer relationship and competitive positioning through award.
• Gate Reviews and Executive Reporting: Prepare and brief Interest, Pursuit, and Bid decisions at formal gate reviews. Deliver disciplined weekly activity reporting, accurate CRM data, and pipeline and bookings forecasts that hold up under scrutiny from the President and CGO, Red River corporate leadership, and our private equity ownership.
• Market and Competitive Intelligence: Track Space Force budgets, acquisition reorganization, forecasts, recompete calendars, and competitor moves, and convert that intelligence into actionable win themes throughout the opportunity lifecycle.
• Cross Business Unit Growth: Bring the full weight of Red River to the customer. Identify where Red River Technology Solutions and Managed Services offerings (secure networking, cloud, collaboration, data center, and managed operations) can be paired with Invictus mission services, and pursue integrated offerings through the Corporate Growth Office.
• Brand and Community Presence: Represent Invictus at Space Symposium, customer industry days, and organizations such as AFCEA, NDIA, the Space Force Association, and regional space coalitions, building our reputation as a trusted mission partner.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Active TS clearance at the time of application (TS/SCI preferred).
• Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution.
• 12+ years of progressive federal business development, capture, or growth leadership experience, including at least 7 years focused on the U.S. Space Force, Air Force Space Command, or National Security Space customers.
• Personal, verifiable record of qualifying, shaping, and winning prime contract awards with Space Force organizations, including at least one award of $100M or more in total contract value within the past five years.
• Current, established relationships with senior government leaders, program managers, and contracting officials across Space Systems Command and at least one other major Space Force organization (SpOC, STARCOM, SDA, Space RCO, or HQ Space Force).
• Working knowledge of Space Force missions, field command structure, the portfolio acquisition executive model, budget processes, and the contract vehicles used to buy IT, cyber, ground systems, and mission support services.
• Demonstrated success building and executing multi-year account plans and growing a pipeline year over year against aggressive targets.
• Must currently reside in Colorado (Colorado Springs or Denver/Aurora) or the Los Angeles metro area and be able to work on site with customers regularly, with travel up to 30% to other Space Force locations. Relocation will not be considered.
• Exceptional writing, briefing, and executive communication skills, including presenting pipeline and pursuit strategy to C-suite leadership.
• Proficiency with CRM and market intelligence tools (for example, Salesforce, GovWin IQ, Bloomberg Government, or HigherGov).

Preferred Qualifications:

• Prior military or civilian service in the Space Force, Air Force Space Command, USSPACECOM, or NRO.
• Experience with missile warning and tracking, space domain awareness, satellite communications, ground systems (such as FORGE), space cyber defense, or Golden Dome related efforts.
• Established relationships with USSPACECOM and with NRO elements that partner with the Space Force.
• Technical fluency in cybersecurity, zero trust, cloud, data, AI/ML, or enterprise networking in space and ground environments.
• Experience growing a business within a private equity backed, high-growth, or recently integrated mid-tier company.
• Shipley, APMP, or equivalent formal business development and capture training.
• Active participation or leadership in AFCEA, NDIA, the Space Force Association, or regional space industry coalitions.
• Master's degree or MBA.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Veteran/Disabled