Defense Business Development Manager

Crane 1 Services; United States; On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Crane 1 Services is seeking a seasoned defense business developer to open doors across the DoW, prime contractors, shipyards, and new-space manufacturers. You will convert relationships into qualified, winnable crane programs and own warm leads from pain points to decision-makers.

You will map decision chains, qualify opportunities for triage, and coordinate with capture teams through RFPs, proposals and pricing.

Qualifications

• 7+ years in defense business development, capture, or equivalent BD roles.
• Active DoD network with named contacts in primes, shipyards and defense manufacturers.
• Fluent in military and acquisition language; comfortable with terms.

Responsibilities

• Open doors across DoW, primes, shipyards, and defense manufacturers to create qualified, winnable crane programs.
• Identify warm leads with pain points, budget, and decision-makers.
• Map the decision chain to reveal who signs off at each account.
• Qualify opportunities for fast Go/No-Go with scope, budget source, contract vehicle, competition.

Skills

Defense BD experience

DoD network

US citizenship

Security clearance

Proposal coordination

Account mapping

Communication skills

Job description

About Us

Crane 1 Services and Craneworks design, build, install, inspect and maintain overhead lifting equipment for operations where failure is not an option. Currently supporting the U.S. Navy, we are now taking that mission-ready, high-compliance crane capability to the wider defense manufacturing base. That means missile and hypersonics production, rocket engine test and assembly, naval shipbuilding, and unmanned systems.

About Us

Crane 1 Services and Craneworks design, build, install, inspect and maintain overhead lifting equipment for operations where failure is not an option. Currently supporting the U.S. Navy, we are now taking that mission-ready, high-compliance crane capability to the wider defense manufacturing base. That means missile and hypersonics production, rocket engine test and assembly, naval shipbuilding, and unmanned systems.

THE ROLE

We need a business developer who has lived in the defense world. You will open doors across the Department of War (DoW) and the prime contractors, shipyards and new-space and drone manufacturers that build for it. Then you will turn those relationships into qualified, winnable crane programs. You will own generating warm leads by finding the pain, the budget and the real decision-makers. You will then stay involved through triage, technical sales, proposal and award.

You know the difference between a KO and a COR, between an IDIQ and an OTA, and between a GOGO and a GOCO facility, and you know why each one changes the deal. When you walk onto a base or a shipyard floor, people already know you, or they know someone who does.

Target Market — Who You Will Call On

You will work a defined set of strategic accounts across four defense manufacturing verticals. Each is a high-compliance, specification-driven environment where lifting equipment is mission-critical:

Missiles / Hypersonics

Production, integration and energetics facilities building tactical, strategic and hypersonic weapons systems.

Rocket Engines

Propulsion development, test and assembly sites across established primes and new-space launch providers.

Shipbuilding

Naval shipyards, ship repair yards and naval engineering firms supporting surface and undersea fleets.

Drones / Unmanned Systems

Manufacturers of unmanned air, sea and ground systems, from large primes to fast-growing defense tech companies.

You will also support relationships with Navy and other DoW installation customers, including program offices, Public Works, and Weight Handling Equipment (WHE) and Crane Certification stakeholders.

What You Will Do

• Create warm leads. Use your network across active-duty, Guard/Reserve, DoW civilian, and prime/sub contractor communities to find facilities with lifting needs, the funding behind them, and the people who sign off.
• Map the decision chain. Know who matters on each account: the Program Manager, Facilities/Public Works, Safety, Contracting Officer (KO/CO), COR, and the prime's supply chain and capital-projects leads. Know how each of them makes decisions.
• Qualify hard. Bring opportunities to the Triage Team with enough detail for a fast Go/No-Go call: scope, budget source (O&M, MILCON, RDT&E, procurement or corporate CapEx), contract vehicle, competition, and fit with our core capabilities.
• Position the right entity. Recognize GOGO vs. GOCO vs. contractor-owned environments and route each opportunity to Craneworks, Crane 1 or a hybrid model.
• Shape the requirement early. Engage before the RFP drops. Influence Sources Sought and RFI responses, Statements of Work, and industry days so our capabilities are reflected in the spec.
• Partner on capture. Work with Technical Sales Leads on site walks and estimating inputs, and with our Contract Manager (former KO/CO) on proposals, teaming agreements and pricing strategy.
• Be the face of the company. Represent Crane 1 / Craneworks at AUSA, Sea-Air-Space, Space Symposium, AUVSI XPONENTIAL, NDIA events, SAME, base and installation industry days, and regional defense councils.
• Own the number. Build and maintain your pipeline in our CRM, forecast accurately, and hit commission-based targets tied to qualified pipeline and awarded revenue.

What You Bring — Required

• 7+ years in defense business development, capture, or program/acquisition roles, or an equivalent combination of military service and BD experience.
• An active, working network inside the DoW and the Defense Industrial Base. You can name the people you would call this week at major primes, shipyards and defense manufacturers.
• Fluent command of military and acquisition language. You use these terms naturally, without a cheat sheet:

Acquisition & contracts

FAR / DFARS, IDIQ, MATOC/SATOC, BPA, OTA, GSA MAS, SAM.gov, NAICS, UEI/CAGE, RFI / RFP / RFQ, Sources Sought, SOW / PWS, CLIN, CDRL, KO/CO, COR, CPARS, J&A, LPTA vs. Best Value, set-asides (SB, SDVOSB, 8(a), HUBZone)

Budget & programs

PPBE, POM, O&M, MILCON, RDT&E, PROC, CR, FYDP, PEO, PM, MDAP, IOC/FOC, LRIP / FRP

Navy & facilities

NAVSEA, NAVFAC, NAVAIR, NAVSUP, FRC, SUPSHIP, NSY, Navy Crane Center (NCC), NAVFAC P-307, WHE, Public Works (PWD)

Compliance & security

ITAR / EAR, CMMC, NIST SP 800-171, CUI, DD-254, FCL / PCL, DCMA, DCAA, MIL-STD, AS9100, OSHA 1910.179, ASME B30

Operating environments

GOGO / GOCO / COCO, CONUS / OCONUS, base access (CAC, DBIDS), DIB, PNT, energetics / ordnance handling

• A proven record of opening new accounts and moving deals from first meeting to award in long-cycle, complex sales.
• Comfort on the shop floor and in the boardroom. You are as credible with a shipyard rigging foreman as with a Program Executive Officer.
• High energy, self-starting, and coachable. You are a doer who builds the motion, not just someone who plans it.
• U.S. citizenship and the ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance and base access.

Strongly Preferred

• Prior U.S. military service (any branch; Navy, Marine Corps, Army Materiel Command, Air Force Materiel Command or Space Force especially valued). Veterans, retirees, and Guard/Reserve members are strongly encouraged to apply.
• Active Secret clearance or higher.
• Background in logistics, maintenance, engineering, facilities or acquisition, such as a Supply Corps, Seabee/CEC, Aviation Maintenance, Ordnance, or Contracting/Acquisition Corps role.
• Experience selling into prime contractors' capital-projects or facilities organizations, or into shipyards, missile and munitions plants, or launch and test sites.
• Familiarity with industrial equipment such as overhead and gantry cranes, hoists, rigging or material handling. Hands-on experience with weight-handling programs is a major plus.
• Ties to defense communities in key hubs, for example Hampton Roads, San Diego, Huntsville, the Gulf Coast, Puget Sound, Groton/Bath, Tucson, and the Space Coast.

How You Will Be Measured

• Number and quality of warm leads that pass Triage (qualified, with pain, budget and a known decision-maker)
• Qualified pipeline created in the Strategic Adjacency accounts
• Win rate and awarded revenue on opportunities you sourced
• Depth of relationships: named contacts and active engagement across target accounts and installations

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Statement

Crane 1 Services is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace where all qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected status in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. We believe in fostering a supportive environment where every employee is valued and given the opportunity to succeed.

Due to the nature of our work, applicants must be U.S. citizens and able to meet requirements for access to military installations and export-controlled (ITAR) information.