Director of Business Development, Counter-UAS & Missile Defense (United States)

About Us:

This is the opportunity of a lifetime. Auriga Space is revolutionizing propulsion by developing electromagnetic launch systems that offer significant advantages in launch cost, reliability, frequency, and responsiveness compared to rockets.

Role Summary:

Auriga is seeking a senior Director of Business Development to own our counter-UAS and missile defense portfolio and convert it into signed contracts. Electromagnetic launch offers a fundamentally different cost and magazine-depth answer to the drone and missile threat, and the customer demand signal has never been stronger. This is a closing role, not a marketing role. You will build and own the pipeline, shape requirements with government customers before solicitations drop, lead capture and proposals, identify and negotiate teaming arrangements, and carry responsibility for booked revenue. You will report to the CEO and work alongside our existing defense and space business development team. This role can be based remotely, with regular travel to customer sites, industry events, and our Garden Grove, CA facility.

Key Responsibilities:

Market Strategy and Customer Engagement

• Own Auriga's counter-UAS and missile defense go-to-market strategy, from market segmentation and positioning through to a named, dollar-weighted opportunity pipeline.
• Build and sustain relationships with the offices that drive this mission area, including JIATF-401, the Missile Defense Agency, the Space Development Agency, Army PEO Missiles and Space, RCCTO, SOCOM, DIU, the service labs, and relevant homeland security and interagency stakeholders.
• Shape requirements early by engaging program offices, requirements owners, and end users before solicitations are released, and influence how programs are scoped.
• Track and interpret budget, policy, and program movement across counter-UAS and missile defense, including Golden Dome architecture decisions, Replicator and rapid fielding initiatives, and annual appropriations, and translate that into where Auriga should invest.

Capture, Proposals, and Closing

• Run capture end to end on priority pursuits, including P-win assessment, competitive analysis, black hat, gate and go/no-go decisions, price to win, and capture plan execution.
• Lead proposal development for BAAs, OTAs, SBIR and STTR, IDIQ task orders, CSOs, and sole source justifications, coordinating technical, pricing, and contracts inputs into compliant, compelling submissions.
• Position Auriga on relevant vehicles and consortia, including MDA SHIELD and other multiple-award IDIQs, and drive task order pursuit against them.
• Negotiate teaming agreements, NDAs, MOUs, and strategic partnerships with primes, integrators, and effector and sensor providers where Auriga is best positioned as a subcontractor or technology partner.
• Carry and deliver against annual bookings and pipeline targets, and maintain accurate forecasting and CRM discipline through the full BD lifecycle.

Internal Partnership and Representation

• Serve as the voice of the counter-UAS and missile defense customer inside Auriga, and work with engineering and program leadership to align roadmap and investment with real customer requirements.
• Partner with contracts, finance, and program management to structure executable deals and transition awards cleanly into execution.
• Represent Auriga at conferences, industry days, demonstrations, and closed-door briefings, and build the company's reputation in this mission area.
• Mentor and support junior business development staff, and contribute to building a repeatable capture process as the team grows.

Basic Qualifications:

• 10+ years of experience in defense business development, capture management, program management, or government acquisition, with meaningful time focused on counter-UAS, air and missile defense, or a closely adjacent mission area.
• Demonstrated record of personally closing government contracts, with specific, quantifiable wins you can speak to in detail.
• Deep working knowledge of DoD acquisition, including BAAs, OTAs, SBIR and STTR, IDIQ and task order competition, CSOs, and the transition from prototype to program of record.
• Established, current relationships with government stakeholders and defense primes in the counter-UAS or missile defense community.
• Strong grasp of the counter-UAS and missile defense threat picture, the current architecture and its cost-per-engagement problem, and where an emerging technology can credibly compete.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, with the ability to turn complex technical concepts into a clear, mission-driven narrative for both operators and senior decision makers.
• Able to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance.
• Willing to travel regularly, estimated at 30 to 50 percent, to customer sites, industry events, and our Garden Grove, CA facility.
• Bachelor's degree, or equivalent experience.

Desired Qualifications:

• Active Secret or Top Secret / SCI clearance.
• Prior military, civil service, or program office experience in air and missile defense, fires, or counter-UAS operations.
• Experience selling or capturing work on interceptors, effectors, launchers, directed energy, sensors, or battle management for the air and missile defense mission.
• Experience positioning a startup or non-traditional supplier into a prime-dominated market, including as a subcontractor or technology partner.
• Familiarity with hypersonic test infrastructure, space access, or responsive launch and how they intersect with the missile defense mission.
• Existing relationships with counter-UAS and missile defense primes and integrators.
• Experience with congressional engagement, program advocacy, or working with government relations teams to support new-start funding.
• Master's degree in engineering, business, national security studies, or a related field.
• Passion for advanced manufacturing and next-generation space and defense systems.

ITAR Requirements:

To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. More details on ITAR are available on the U.S. Department of State's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls website.

Equal Opportunity Employer:

Auriga provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment at Auriga, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.