Business Development Executive, DoW

Society of Defense Financial Management; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Meaningful equity stake

Comprehensive health coverage

401(k) plan

Paid parental leave

High visibility and impact

Job summary

Schemata is seeking a Business Development Executive to grow our DoW footprint. You’ll own opportunities end-to-end: identifying and shaping requirements with warfighters, program managers, and contracting officers; navigating DoW acquisition pathways; and carrying pursuits from first conversation to multi-million dollar close.

Working alongside senior leaders, you’ll convert customer training needs into funded programs on our spatial intelligence platform.

Qualifications

• 6-8+ years of federal business development experience.
• Experience selling into DoW or DoD domains.
• Understanding of DoW acquisition mechanics and cycles.

Responsibilities

• Scope requirements with warfighters, PMs, and contracting officers.
• Navigate DoW acquisition cycles, RFPs, OTAs, and related processes.
• Own pursuits end-to-end from initial contact to close.

Skills

Federal BD

Security clearance

DoD programs

Contract negotiations

Job description

Business Development Executive, Department of War (DoW)

Full-time | Washington, DC | Hybrid: 2-3 days/week in office when not traveling | Travel: approximately 25% to customer sites, demos, and industry events

About Schemata

Schemata is a spatial intelligence company applying AI to the physical world. Our flagship product is a virtual training platform for frontline personnel: our proprietary reality-capture technology quickly converts 2D images into photorealistic 3D models, and our AI-powered scene understanding automatically generates training content, dramatically reducing training time and improving operational readiness. We currently support multiple Department of War (DoW) branches and are expanding into commercial applications. We're venture-backed, having raised from prominent firms such as a16z and Owl Ventures.

Role Overview

We're seeking a Business Development Executive to grow Schemata’s business across the Department of War. You'll own opportunities end-to-end: identifying and shaping requirements with warfighters, program managers, and contracting officers; navigating DoW acquisition pathways; and carrying pursuits from first conversation to multi-million dollar close. Working alongside the Head of Federal Sales, VP of BD, and founders, you’ll turn customer training problems into funded programs built on our spatial intelligence platform. The pipeline you build and the contracts you close will directly shape the company’s trajectory.

What you do

• Requirements scoping and opportunity shaping with warfighters, program managers, and contracting officers to uncover real pain points
• Mapping customer problems to spatial AI capabilities and articulating value clearly
• Navigating DoW acquisition cycles, RFPs, OTAs, and everything in between
• Owning pursuits end-to-end, from first conversation to multi-million dollar close
• Drafting and shaping pursuit artifacts: white papers, capabilities statements, pitch decks, SOWs, and proposal inputs
• Building teaming relationships with primes, integrators, and innovation organizations
• Representing the company at industry events and customer site visits
• Maintaining pipeline discipline: keeping the CRM current, tracking follow-up cadences, and reporting deal status honestly
• Supporting the Head of Federal Sales, VP of BD, founders, consultants, and other teammates with the operational work that keeps deals moving

Who you are

• 6-8+ years of federal business development experience, selling into the Air Force, Navy, or DoW Modeling & Simulation organizations such as NAWCTSD and AFAMS
• Fluency in DoW acquisition mechanics: SBIR/STTR, TACFI/STRATFI, APFIT, OTAs, Phase IIIs, IDIQs, and Color of Money basics
• The ability to navigate program offices, MAJCOMs, and unit-level stakeholders
• A track record of closed federal business you personally shaped, captured, or carried across the finish line
• US citizenship and the ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance

Who thrives here

• You can walk into a room with a program manager and walk out with a clear problem statement worth solving
• You’re comfortable with technical products. You don’t need to build them, but you need to understand them well enough to be credible
• You think in terms of outcomes, not outputs. A demo isn’t a win. A signed contract is a win
• You’re a self-starter who doesn’t need a playbook to get started; you help write it

Nice to haves

• Veteran or prior DoW employee
• Active security clearance
• Familiarity with modeling and simulation, synthetic training environments (STE), live-virtual-constructive (LVC), and/or AI
• Understanding of the Orlando-based DoW training and simulation ecosystem
• Established relationships with defense primes
• Experience at a venture-backed or early-stage defense technology company

Compensation & Benefits

• Competitive salary that reflects your experience and track record
• Meaningful equity stake in a high-growth, venture-backed defense tech startup, so you share in the upside you help create
• Comprehensive health coverage: medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 401(k) plan
• Paid parental leave
• High visibility and real impact: shape the future of training technology and directly influence mission-critical training for military and industrial operators, on a collaborative, mission-driven team

Schemata is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.