Aerospace & Defense BD Executive – New Programs

AvaHR; Phoenix (AZ); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 320,000; Full time

Job summary

CMI Group in the Phoenix area is seeking a Vice President of Business Development to lead forward-looking growth in aerospace and defense manufacturing. You will drive new program wins, develop strategic customer relationships, and oversee multi-year pursuit strategies across prime contractors.

The ideal candidate brings 10–15+ years in BD leadership within aerospace, technical fluency to engage design teams, and a proven ability to win against incumbents.

Qualifications

• 10–15+ years of business development or sales leadership in precision aerospace and defense manufacturing.
• Proven track record winning new programs at Tier 1 primes: Boeing, RTX, GE Aerospace, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, or equivalent OEMs.
• Technical fluency sufficient to engage design and engineering organizations at the component level.
• Deep familiarity with precision CNC machining, tight-tolerance components, and aerospace materials.
• Direct experience managing pursuit cycles of 12–36 months in a mid-size manufacturer environment.
• Established personal network within procurement, supply chain engineering, and design engineering at target prime customers.
• Clear record of competitive displacement — programs where your company won despite not being incumbent.

Responsibilities

• New customer acquisition — identify, develop, and close net-new relationships with no prior production history at CMI.
• New program and part number development — across new and existing customers for which no prior manufacturing history exists at the company.
• Pipeline construction and management — build and maintain a structured, data-driven pursuit pipeline covering a 12–36 month horizon.
• Early-cycle positioning — establish CMI’s presence with design, engineering, and supply chain organizations at target primes before formal RFQ.
• Competitive positioning — align CMI’s capability story with target program requirements with Operations, Engineering, and Quality.
• Proposal leadership — own price-to-win strategy, proposal coordination, and post-bid win/loss analysis on major pursuits.
• Market intelligence — monitor platform roadmaps, supply chain consolidation, and competitive movements across the defense and commercial aerospace sectors.
• Executive and board reporting — present pipeline health, win/loss trends, and quarterly bookings performance to the CEO and board.

Skills

BD leadership

New business wins

Technical fluency

Aerospace components

Pursuit cycles

Procurement network

Competitive displacement

Education

Engineering degree

Job description

CMI Group in the Phoenix area is seeking a Vice President of Business Development to lead forward-looking growth in aerospace and defense manufacturing. You will drive new program wins, develop strategic customer relationships, and oversee multi-year pursuit strategies across prime contractors.

The ideal candidate brings 10–15+ years in BD leadership within aerospace, technical fluency to engage design teams, and a proven ability to win against incumbents.