Business Development Lead - OSW and Defense Agencies

Nominal; New York, Washington (NY, District of Columbia); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

100% medical, dental, vision coverage

Unlimited PTO and sick leave

Free lunch, snacks, and coffee

Professional Development Stipend

Annual company retreat

Job summary

Nominal is seeking a strategic Federal Growth Lead to expand our U.S. Government footprint. You will own pipeline creation, customer engagement, and deal execution across DoD and defense programs, working with growth, mission, legal, and operations teams to translate customer needs into long-term programs.

Expect to navigate complex stakeholder ecosystems, maintain strong relationships, and drive opportunities from qualification to close. Travel up to 50% and a security clearance are required.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in business development, growth, capture, or program strategy for US military/civilian orgs.
• At least 2 years with or for the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD).
• Excellent communication across technical and non-technical audiences.
• Ability to pull in the right teammates for targeted demos and discovery.
• Willingness to travel up to 50% and maintain security clearance.

Responsibilities

• Shape and close strategic opportunities by aligning customer needs with Nominal's platform and roadmap.
• Develop and maintain relationships with key stakeholders across agencies and partners.
• Provide insight into priorities, funding dynamics, and acquisition pathways for federal growth.
• Own qualification, cultivation, and capture of opportunities with cross-functional teams.
• Develop strategic partnerships to expand reach in key programs.
• Grow early engagements into enduring programs and represent Nominal publicly.

Skills

Business development

Federal growth strategy

Executive communication

Relationship building

Pipeline management

Travel up to 50%

Education

Computer science/engineering degree

Job description

About Nominal

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 across the U.S. Government—owning pipeline creation, customer engagement, and deal execution across key accounts within the Department of War/Defense’s “4th Estate”. This is a highly strategic, externally-facing role focused on shaping and closing complex opportunities across organizations such as the Test Resource Management Center (TRMC), Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA), Direct Reporting Program Manager (DRPM) UxS, Chief Digital and AI Office (CDAO), and other relevant Principal Stafff Assistants (PSAs) and Defense Agencies and Field Activities (DAFAs). 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, with at least 2 years working directly for or with organizations within the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD).
• Deep understanding of U.S. Government/ Defense 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. government or military 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.