U.S. Government Capture Lead

About The Company

Zenno develops the most powerful magnetic technologies for space. This is a new class of superconducting systems designed to power the next era of human expansion. Our belief is simple—stable and scalable infrastructure in space will rely on resources already present there.

Zenno is building that future by harnessing one of the fundamental forces of the universe, electromagnetism. Our superconducting technologies enable fuel-free spacecraft positioning, radiation shielding, and electromagnetic acceleration systems for defense, transportation, and industrial activity in space.

The Role

Zenno is hiring a hands-on U.S. Government Capture Lead to find, shape, and win defense and national-security-space funding.

This role exists to locate government funding, shape the requirement before it is fully formed, and personally drive capture through award. You will identify executable funding paths, build working-level customer relationships, own capture end-to-end, and convert opportunities into funded contracts. You will work directly with the CEO and engineering team to align customer needs with Zenno's technical capabilities and lead each pursuit from first contact through submission and award.

Zenno has a lean team. This is an individual contributor role: you write the material, run the capture, and close. There is no proposal staff, capture team, or government-affairs layer behind you. This is not a classical sales role and not a people-management role. Near-term opportunities start around $500k and should scale into the single-digit or tens of millions. We are not hiring someone to chase improbable $100M awards, work only at flag/SES level, or “manage a pipeline”.

Responsibilities

• Identify, shape, and capture U.S. government and national-security-space funding for Zenno’s superconducting space systems.

• Find and qualify funding vehicles (BAAs, CSOs, OTAs, SBIR/STTR, IDIQ/task orders, rapid-acquisition paths, program-office budget routes, and prime/sub paths).

• Personally own capture: pre-solicitation shaping, writing/assembling submissions, teaming, follow-up, negotiation, and award conversion.

• Engage working-level stakeholders – program managers, contracting officers, requirements owners, and technical leads – not only senior introducers.

• Work with engineering to produce customer-facing technical material.

What Success Looks Like

First 30 Days

• Map the priority program offices, funding vehicles, and working level stakeholders.

• Open or reactivate direct relationships with relevant PMs, KOs, requirements owners, and technical leads.

• Identify 5-10 executable opportunities in the $500k-$10M range, each with a named funding path.

• Develop an initial capture plan the CEO and engineering can run.

Within The First 100 Days

• Open direct working-level engagement with at least one relevant program office or prime capture team.

• Submit a first customer-facing package with engineering (white paper, RFI, BAA/CSO/SBIR, or teaming input).

• Establish a credible path to a first funded action in the $500k-$5M range.

• Define the follow-on route into larger development or production work.

Required Experience

• Demonstrated success personally capturing and converting U.S. government funding for spacecraft space systems, or complex defense hardware.

• Recent, usable working-level relationships with defense or national-security-space customers (program managers, contracting officers, requirements owners, or technical leads).

• Proven ability to convert early customer discussions into funded contracts.

• Hands-on experience using government funding pathways – BAAs, CSOs, OTAs, SBIR/STTR, IDIQ/task orders, rapid-acquisition, and/or program-office budget routes.

• Ability to engage credibly with technical, operational, acquisition, and executive stakeholders.

• Technical education or equivalent experience in aerospace, engineering, physics, or complex defense systems.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to personally draft capture and proposal material.

• U.S. citizenship.

Preferred Experience

• Active or recently held U.S. security clearance.

• Evidence that you recently and personally owned pursuits (found the path, shaped the requirement, wrote or assembled the submission, followed through to award) rather than managing a team that did that work.

• Current working-level access at USSF, SSC, SDA, AFRL, MDA, DARPA, DIU, or equivalent mission-relevant offices. Experience capturing spacecraft, integrated space systems, or other complex defense hardware.

• Named wins or clear award values in the roughly $500k-$30M range where you personally owned the pursuit.

• Prime or integrator relationships used as a path to a program office, not as a substitute for government access.

• Commercial or allied-customer work as an additive, not primary, background.

• Experience developing opportunities where requirements are still evolving.

• Strong technical aptitude, demonstrated through a STEM degree or the ability to understand and communicate engineering from first principles.

• Experience working in an early-stage aerospace or defense company.

Poor Fit

• This role is a poor fit if your recent work has been managing BD staff, government affairs or lobbying, large-prime proposal coordination, or commercial space sales without personal U.S. government capture ownership.

Working Style

This is a highly external, customer-facing position. You will spend significant time with government customers and industry partners, and you will also personally write, coordinate, and submit capture material.

Preferred bases: Washington D.C. / Northern Virginia, Colorado Springs, or Los Angeles. Other U.S. locations considered. Regular travel is required. You will work closely with Zenno's leadership and engineering teams while owning customer engagement, opportunity development, capture, and the path to funded contracts.

Start Date: Immediate.

Total compensation for this role includes a competitive equity offering.

Pay: $175,000.00 - $250,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Dental insurance

• Health insurance

Work Location: Remote