Business Development Director (Space & Launch)

Job Description

Job Description

SUMMARY:

Karman Space & Defense is a leader in the space & defense industry with over 50 years of experience supporting various critical missions such as NASA Artemis. The Business Development team works closely with new & existing customers to solve most pressing challenges to meet humanity’s most critical missions – including sending humans to the moon and beyond. We are seeking a Director of Business Development, Space & Launch, who will be responsible for growth in the space & launch market. This role is for a self-starter looking to take new products to market and supporting a wide variety of customers such as NASA, government prime contractors, and commercial space companies. In this role, you will be the primary POC to various space customers to increase growth while maintaining customer satisfaction. You will interface closely with Engineering, Program Management, and Operations to determine highest PWin response to RFIs, RFPs, and RFQs. This role will be reporting to the Senior Director of Business Development, Space & Launch and will be required to support deliverables for senior leadership.

ABOUT US:

Karman Space & Defense provides concept-to-production solutions for mission-critical systems on spacecraft, launch vehicles, missiles, hypersonics, and integrated defense systems. We believe that solving the industry’s most complex and mission-critical challenges requires relentless determination and a willingness to push the boundaries of possibility. Karman Space & Defense brings to bear unparalleled production capabilities, unmatched engineering expertise, and unflinching analysis to render the impossible, possible.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Interface as primary POC with key customers and stakeholders, understand customer needs and tailor solutions to meet those needs ensuring satisfaction and fostering repeat business.
• Communicate directly with customers and stakeholders on consistent basis both in person and remotely to ensure responsiveness and high quality engagement
• Represent Karman at various conferences and industry events

• Lead team to achieve sales growth targets across spacecraft & satellite markets
• Develop product and market growth strategies to achieve new opportunities (leads), contacts, proposals, and/or bookings for new programs and customers
• Develop capture strategy including price-to-win (PWin) assessment, competitive intelligence, risk analysis and mitigation, and technical solution

• Interface with Karman team members including engineering, business development, and operations to develop long-term product roadmap to support various divisions aligned with satellite and spacecraft market trends
• Track and monitor sales performance against short and long-term key performance indicators (KPIs) ensuring goals for bookings, revenue, profit margin, and customer satisfaction are exceeded

• Produce and manage CRM data to track sales process from lead to deal and ensure high conversion rate
• Present financial forecasting results to leadership to determine satellite and spacecraft market trends, strategy, and customer satisfaction

• Support negotiations with customers on contract pricing and delivery schedules ensuring profitability while maintaining competitive pricing strategies in line with market conditions and internal costs

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

Required Experience

• Required Education: Bachelor’s degree, advanced degrees is a plus
• 5+ years of experience in aerospace, spacecraft, satellite, and/or defense industry
• Demonstrated success in business development, sales, program management, and/or engineering for space products and systems
• Strong interpersonal, communications, and negotiating skills

Preferred Qualifications:

• 10+ years of experience in aerospace, spacecraft, satellite, and/or defense industry
• Experience working with spacecraft prime contractors and government customers including NASA and U.S. DoD
• Experience with CRM and financial forecasting tools
• Ability to easily present highly technical information to various audience members and sizes
• Ability to travel >25%
• Must be a U.S. citizen

ITAR REQUIREMENTS:

To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, certain positions may require applicants to 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. Learn more about the ITAR here.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

As a federal contractor, Karman Space & Defense is committed to compliance with all federal employment eligibility requirements. We participate in E-Verify, a web-based system that allows enrolled employers to confirm the eligibility of their employees to work in the United States. As an E-Verify employer, federal compliance mandates that we require documentation to verify your identity and employment authorization upon hire.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER:

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities. The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information.

Karman is committed to equal employment opportunity. We will not discriminate against employees or applicants for employment on any legally recognized basis (“protected class”) including, but not limited to race; color; religion; genetic information; national origin; sex; pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions; age; disability; citizenship status; uniform servicemember status; or any other protected class under federal, state, or local law. Our management is dedicated to ensuring the fulfillment of this policy with respect to hiring, placement, promotion, transfer, demotion, layoff, termination, recruitment advertising, pay, and other forms of compensation, training, and general treatment during employment