Business Development Lead - Air Force Growth

Front Door Defense; New York, Northern (NY, KY); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision coverage

Unlimited PTO

Free lunch and snacks

Professional Development Stipend

Annual company retreat

Job summary

Nominal is seeking a Business Development Lead for the Air Force to drive pipeline, engage customers, and close strategic opportunities within the U.S. Air Force and the broader test enterprise.

You will shape programs and position Nominal’s platform as foundational infrastructure for test data management and operations. You will collaborate with Capture Strategy, build relationships across agencies and primes, and own deal execution from qualification to closure.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in business development or related roles supporting US military/ Air Force
• Deep understanding of Air Force structures and priorities for complex opportunities
• Excellent communication tailored to technical and non-technical audiences
• Know when to pull in teammates for demos, technical discovery, and guidance on compliance and deployability

Responsibilities

• Shape and close strategic opportunities by aligning mission needs with Nominal's platform and long-term roadmap
• Identify, shape, negotiate, and close new market opportunities aligned with business objectives
• Develop relationships with key stakeholders across customer organizations for buy-in and alignment
• Provide insight into priorities, funding dynamics, acquisition pathways for Federal growth
• Own the process of qualifying, cultivating, and capturing opportunities with cross-functional teams
• Identify and develop strategic partnerships to expand reach and strengthen positioning
• Grow early engagements into enduring programs and position Nominal as infrastructure for test data management
• Represent Nominal at customer meetings, industry days, conferences

Skills

BD experience

Air Force / DoD knowledge

Excellent communication

Stakeholder management

Urgency & ownership

Pipeline management

Technical background

Willing to travel

Security clearance eligibility

Education

Degree in CS/Engineering

Job description

Business Development Lead - Air Force

Develop and close Air Force opportunities, aligning pipeline with Nominal’s platform roadmap

Location: New York, New York Washington, District of Columbia

About The Role

Nominal's U.S. Government Business Development Role

Nominal is building the connected test and operations platform powering the world's most advanced hardware systems, from spacecraft and autonomous vehicles to next-generation defense programs. Our platform gives hardware engineering teams a single place to ingest data, analyze performance, automate test execution, and collaborate across every phase of development, so they can move faster without sacrificing safety or precision. We're a fast-moving team that owns problems end-to-end, works across disciplines, and thrives at the intersection of hardware and software.We serve top-tier commercial and defense customers, from autonomy leaders like Anduril and Shield AI to next-generation aerospace teams like Hermeus and REGENT, and performance engineering teams like Pratt Miller Motorsports, alongside mission partners within the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force on programs where failure isn't an option. We're backed by Sequoia, General Catalyst, Founders Fund, Lux Capital, and Lightspeed. Our team draws from SpaceX, Palantir, Anduril, Applied Intuition, and other leading companies, united by a common mission: giving hardware engineers the tools to build the future with speed, safety, and confidence.

As part of Nominal's U.S. Government Business Development team, you will drive how we expand with the Department of the Air Force—owning pipeline creation, customer engagement, and deal execution across key defense accounts. This is a highly strategic, externally-facing role focused on shaping and closing complex opportunities across the U.S. Air Force and the broader test enterprise. This role partners closely with Capture Strategy, which owns capture strategy and win positioning, while this role owns customer relationships and deal execution. You will work at the intersection of mission, product, and growth—translating customer needs into enduring programs and positioning Nominal as foundational infrastructure for test and operations.

About the Role

• Apply a strong understanding of customer priorities, mission environments, and acquisition dynamics to shape and close strategic opportunities by aligning customer mission needs with Nominal's platform and long-term roadmap
• Identify, shape, negotiate, and close new market opportunities, aligning account growth with overall business objectives
• Develop and maintain relationships with key stakeholders across customer organizations, generating buy-in and alignment with end users, program managers, acquisition officials, technical leaders, and industry partners
• Provide insight into customer priorities, funding dynamics, acquisition pathways, and requirements to inform Nominal's Federal growth strategy
• Own the process of qualifying, cultivating, and capturing opportunities in close partnership with growth, mission, legal, and operations teammates
• Identify and develop strategic partnerships to expand reach and strengthen positioning in key programs
• Grow early engagements into enduring, impactful programs and set the conditions for Nominal to become foundational digital infrastructure for test data management, analysis, and operations
• Represent Nominal at customer meetings, industry days, conferences

We're Looking For Someone With

• 5+ years of experience in business development, growth, capture, program strategy, or related roles supporting or serving U.S. military and civilian organizations, particularly the U.S. Air Force and/or the Test enterprise
• Deep understanding of Department of the Air Force organizational structures and priorities and experience developing, shaping, or executing complex technical opportunities
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to tailor messaging across technical and non-technical audiences
• Keen awareness of when and how to pull in the right teammates to build targeted demos, perform technical discovery, identify capability gaps, understand integration and deployability options, share compliance and infosec guidance, and more
• A strong sense of urgency and ownership, with the ability to navigate complex stakeholder environments and drive outcomes in ambiguous settings
• Experience managing pipelines, forecasting, and consistently hitting growth targets
• Technical background or degree: Background in computer science, mechanical engineering, or other heavy industry
• Willing to travel up to 50%
• This position requires you to currently possess and be able to maintain a U.S. security clearance, in order to meet U.S. regulatory eligibility requirements for the access to classified information associated with this role.

Skills That Supercharge Us

• Experience delivering growth outcomes for defense or dual-use software products and proven success developing and executing go-to-market strategies for emerging defense technologies
• Familiarity with non-traditional acquisition pathways and commercial product acquisitions
• Established relationships across relevant U.S. Government stakeholders, prime contractors, and mission partners
• Background in data systems, data analysis, and/or hardware engineering is a plus
• Prior U.S. military or government experience is a plus

Benefits/Perks

• 100% coverage of medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Unlimited PTO and sick leave
• Free lunch, snacks, and coffee
• Professional Development Stipend
• Annual company retreat

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.

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. Learn more about the ITAR here.