Director of Mission Integration & Growth

Poseidon Aerospace

Washington (District of Columbia)

On-site

USD 140,000 - 190,000

Full time

14 days+

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Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Relocation support

Employee health benefits

6% retirement matching

Flexible PTO

Free lunches & stocked offices

AI tools & subscriptions

Job summary

Poseidon Aerospace seeks a Mission Integration leader to drive operational analysis and requirements, shaping the product roadmap for advanced autonomous cargo platforms. You will own modeling, simulations, and customer engagements across contested airlift and other mission sets.

You will work on-site in Washington, DC, travel up to 50% for customer sites and demonstrations, and maintain an active U.S. Secret clearance. This is a high-ownership, fast-paced role in a growing defense startup.

Qualifications

Recent operational experience as pilot or aircrew in tactical or airlift platforms.
Excellent writing and communication skills with experience presenting to executives.
Low-ego, high-ownership style; able to work with engineering, growth, and proposal teams.
Willing to work on-site in Washington, DC and travel up to 50% to various sites.
Must currently possess and maintain an active U.S. Secret clearance.

Responsibilities

Inform operational and system requirements; lead modeling and simulation to address mission gaps.
Drive product development by translating customer needs into design and cost trade studies.
Lead demonstrations including planning, execution, and reporting of hardware/software simulations and live exercises.

Skills

Operational aviation experience

Strong writing & communication

Customer engagement

Ownership mindset

On-site with travel up to 50%

Active U.S. security clearance

Job description

About Poseidon Aerospace:

Poseidon Aerospace is reimagining how the world moves goods. We build and operate full-size autonomous cargo aircraft - capable of carrying two tons of payload over a thousand nautical miles. From remote communities to contested logistics operations, our platforms unlock a new cost curve for air freight, making it faster, cheaper, and accessible anywhere it's needed. Headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area with locations in Washington DC, Oregon, and Maine; we're building something consequential.

This is a dual role. You will lead mission integration activities including operational analysis and mission effectiveness modeling & simulation evaluations to develop operational requirements and decompose them into system requirements that shape the product development roadmap. Additionally, you will work as an integral component of the Growth team by operationalizing our products and developing selected design reference missions and concepts of operation (CONOPs) to address key mission gaps that are a priority for DoW and/or DHS. You will lead customer engagements to articulate the operational utility of the products we development. You will have ownership and responsibility for shaping and capturing opportunities across a variety of mission sets including contested airborne and maritime logistics, personnel recovery, advanced air-launched effects (kinetic & non-kinetic) effects, and other tactical capabilities that close critical mission gaps for our Federal partners.

What You’ll Do

Mission Integration

Inform Operational and System Requirements. Lead modeling & simulation activities including operational analysis, mission effectiveness evaluations, and cost analysis to develop operational requirements and decompose them into system requirements that address critical mission gaps communicated to Poseidon through customer engagements and shaping discussions.
Drive Product Development. Translate customer needs and leverage requirements development activities to inform design and cost trade studies to identify optimal balance of system design features that improve survivability and mission outcomes while reducing unit, operational, and mission costs. Insights gained from such analysis and customer mission gaps will inform the missionization of existing platforms and shape the product development roadmap for future platform development and prototyping.
Lead all phases of key demonstrations including planning, execution, and reporting of hardware and software simulations, Poseidon validation demos, and customers live operational exercises aimed at validating new mission capabilities and increasing Pwin for new programs and contract awards.

Growth Leadership

Capture new opportunities. Identify, assess, and capture contested airborne and maritime logistics, personnel recovery, advanced sensing, and advanced kinetic / non-kinetic effects opportunities across the military services including US Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, Army as well as the US Coast Guard and relevant Dept. of Homeland Security agencies.
Develop and Execute Capture Strategies. Conduct analyses and develop a deep understanding of the existing and prospective customer base, identify prioritized mission gaps as articulated by existing and new customers, determine customer acquisition plans and budgets, and assess competitive landscape and products. Leverage these insights to inform capture strategies, revenue forecasts, and aid in product roadmaps and investment plans. Manage continuous tactical engagements with current and future clients to shape requirements, generate growth strategies, and monitor buying cycles for opportunities, and lead specific proposals and capture efforts.
Develop Win Strategies. Provide cohesive business plans and execution models that align capture strategies, investment strategies, win themes, and product roadmaps to position for and secure awards to pathfinder projects and large programs of record. Engage key Federal stakeholders to shape requirements, identify and secure relevant funding, and develop compelling win themes and supplier strategies for competitive captures.
Communicate Poseidon’s Fabric and Value Proposition. Communicate our value to clients, partners, competitors, and the interested public. Articulate Poseidon’s company fabric and philosophy, and convey our approach to building low-cost systems that address warfighter needs and close critical mission gaps.
Generate Intellectual Products. Draft whitepapers, prepare capability decks and pitch decks, and create other content or media that articulate, among other things, Poseidon’s company attributes, engineering methods, rapid manufacturing capabilities, product features and performance, and our products’ disruptive mission capabilities. Lead and/or support proposal activities and responses to various customer solicitations including sources sought, RFIs, RFPs, RPPs, etc. relating to major acquisition programs, OTAs, CSOs, SBIRs and other pursuits.

Required Qualifications

Recent operational experience as pilot or aircrew (rank O-4 to O-6) in tactical 5th or 6th Generation tactical aircraft such as the F-35 or F-22, or airlift platforms such as the C-5, C-17, or C-130
Excellent writing, communication skills with experience presenting to senior executives, Flag officers, and customers
A low-ego, high-ownership style, and comfortable working directly with engineering, growth, and proposal teams, while overseeing mission analysis, executing capture strategies, or engaging customers
Able to work on-site in our Washington, DC office, and ability travel up to 50% to customer sites, partner sites, conferences, and other Poseidon offices
Currently possesses and can maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance with eligibility for a top-secret clearance

Preferred Qualifications

Prior experience working with US Air Force program offices, requirements offices, and/or combatant commands. Deep understanding of US Air Force customer community, requirements process, and operational needs
Prior acquisition or operational experience with contested airlift missions and/or uncrewed RPA or preferably autonomous aerospace platforms executing autonomous and/or manned-unmanned-teaming (MUM-T) CONOPs including ISR-T, air-launched effects across a variety of missions
Experience working in acquisition program offices, requirements offices, combatant commands, or S&T offices
STEM background
Experience shaping and leading capture efforts in the defense industry
High ownership and ability to work in a fast-paced and entrepreneurial start-up environment
Collaborator who is adaptive and who can lead new and innovative approaches to market
Experience collaborating with partners, engineering, and growth teams

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