Director of National Security Partnerships

Katalyst Space Technologies; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 175,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options & equity

Medical, dental, and vision coverage

401(k)

Unlimited PTO

Catered lunches

Job summary

Katalyst Space Technologies in Washington, DC seeks a Director of National Security Partnerships to lead strategic relationships with U.S. government partners across space missions.

You will shape opportunities, coordinate with product, engineering, and contracts, and drive capture from qualification to award. Ideal candidates bring 10+ years in national security acquisitions, strong executive communication, and the ability to operate autonomously in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience; technical, aerospace, defense, policy, business, or national security degrees are relevant if paired with strong mission and acquisition fluency.
• 10+ years of experience in national security acquisitions, business development, capture, partnerships, government programs, defense technology, or a closely related role.
• Demonstrated experience developing relationships with U.S. government partners and converting capability gaps into funded opportunities, contract awards, strategic partnerships, or measurable advancement toward a program objective.
• Strong understanding of the U.S. defense/intelligence acquisition environment and the practical differences between user need, program sponsorship, budget authority, contracting mechanism, technical evaluation, and award.

Responsibilities

• Build, maintain, and own strategic relationships across U.S. national security space mission partners, primes, integrators, FFRDCs, labs, and other ecosystem participants relevant to Katalyst’s mission portfolio.
• Develop stakeholder strategies for organizations such as USSF, USSPACECOM, USAF, NRO, and other government partners, identifying mission owners, technical influencers, acquisition stakeholders, budget owners, decision timelines, and barriers to entry.
• Shape opportunities early by connecting government capability gaps to credible Katalyst solutions, developing clear value propositions and mission concepts, and creating internal alignment before solicitations or funding decisions.
• Own or lead capture strategy from opportunity qualification through award, including win themes, competitive positioning, teaming strategy, customer engagement plans, gate reviews, proposal strategy, executive actions, and post-submission follow-through.
• Understand and navigate government acquisition and funding pathways such as SBIR/STTR, OTA, IDIQ/task-order vehicles, BAAs, CSOs, traditional FAR-based procurements, and other pathways appropriate to the opportunity.
• Partner with Product, Engineering, Programs, Mission Operations, Finance, Contracts, Security, and executive leadership to ensure external commitments are technically feasible, properly scoped, resourced, and aligned with company strategy.
• Build and maintain a disciplined national security opportunity pipeline with clear qualification criteria, next actions, relationship ownership, probability, timing, funding path, competitive posture, and decision gates.
• Support and lead external briefings, capability demonstrations, white papers, RFIs, proposals, oral presentations, industry engagements, and executive-level meetings; communicate Katalyst’s technical and mission value with precision and credibility.
• Create repeatable capture and partnership mechanisms that scale national security business development without relying on informal relationships or heroics.

Skills

Strategic relationships

Capture leadership

Executive communication

Acquisition fluency

Security clearance

Technical fluency

Autonomy

Proposal strategy

Government contracts

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience

Job description

Director of National Security Partnerships

Washington, District of Columbia, United States

Katalyst Description:

Katalyst is an American technology company focused on d ynamic space operations . We are building a fleet of dual-use multipurpose robotic space vehicles to creat e the future where maneuvering, upgrading, refueling, resupply and exploration are as routine as they are on Earth. Getting to space and overcoming the gravity well is only half the story. What you do there is the future. We are not building the trains. We are building the machines that lay down the tracks. By developing the foundational capabilities that make sustained, responsive operations possible, we enable a new era of space exploration that strengthens national security and ensures freedom of action in an increasingly contested domain.

Katalyst Culture:

Working at Katalyst is intense, hands-on, and deeply rewarding. You’ll take real ownership and see your work move from concept to operations in an environment where the problems are hard and the impact is real. We value humility, craftsmanship, and doing things the right way, even when it’s harder. You’ll work closely with thoughtful, driven teammates who push each other to do their best.

• Stock options & equity
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• 401(k)
• Unlimited PTO
• Catered lunches

What You’ll Do

• Build,maintain,and own strategic relationships across U.S.nationalsecurity space mission partners, primes, integrators, FFRDCs, labs, and other ecosystem participants relevant toKatalyst’smission portfolio.
• Developstakeholder strategies for organizations such as USSF,USSPACECOM, USAF, NRO, and other governmentpartners,identifyingmission owners, technical influencers, acquisition stakeholders, budget owners, decision timelines, and barriers to entry.
• Shape opportunities early by connectinggovernment capability gapsto credible Katalystsolutions, developing clear value propositions and mission concepts, and creating the internal alignment needed before formal solicitations or fundingdecisions.
• Own or lead capture strategy from opportunity qualification through award, including win themes, competitive positioning, teaming strategy, customerengagement plans, gate reviews, proposal strategy, executive actions, and post-submission follow-through.
• Understand and navigate relevant government acquisition and funding pathways such as SBIR/STTR, OTA, IDIQ/task-order vehicles, BAAs, CSOs, traditional FAR-based procurements, and other pathwaysappropriate tothe opportunity.
• Partner closely with Product, Engineering, Programs, Mission Operations, Finance, Contracts, Security, and executive leadership to ensure external commitments are technicallyfeasible, properly scoped, resourced, and aligned with company strategy.
• Build andmaintaina disciplined national security opportunity pipeline with clear qualification criteria, next actions, relationship ownership, probability, timing, funding path, competitive posture, and decision gates.
• Support and leadexternalbriefings, capability demonstrations, white papers, RFIs, proposals, oral presentations, industry engagements, and executive-level meetings; communicateKatalyst’stechnical and mission value with precision and credibility.
• Create repeatable capture and partnership mechanisms that allow Katalyst to scale national security business development without becoming dependent on informal relationships or individual heroics.

What We’re Looking For

Required

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience.Technical, aerospace, defense, policy, business, or national securitydegreesare all relevant if paired with strong mission and acquisition fluency.
• 10+ yearsof experience in national securityacquisitions,business development, capture, partnerships, government programs, defense technology, or a closely related role.
• Demonstrated experience developing relationships with U.S. governmentpartnersand convertingcapability gapsinto funded opportunities, contract awards, strategic partnerships, or measurable advancement toward a programobjective.
• Strong understanding of the U.S. defense / intelligence acquisition environment and the practical differences betweenuserneed, program sponsorship, budget authority, contracting mechanism, technical evaluation, and award.
• Ability to lead capture activities from ambiguous early-stage opportunity through qualification, strategy, internal alignment, proposal, negotiation support, and award transition.
• High technical and mission fluency: able to understand complex spacecraft, autonomy, RPOD, mission-operations, software, or robotics concepts well enough to ask credible questions,identifyconstraints, and communicate value without misrepresenting engineering reality.
• Excellent executive communication and writing skills, including briefings, white papers, capture plans, proposal content, meeting preparation, and clear internal synthesis of external information.
• Ability tooperatewith significant autonomy in a fast-paced environment whilemaintainingdisciplined follow-through,accurateinformation, and high-quality customer engagement.
• Ability toobtain andmaintaina U.S. security clearance andtocomply withapplicable export-control and customer-access requirements.

Your Ideal Background

Preferred

• Prior experience at a high-growth defenseorspace technology company where capture, product, engineering, and program execution had tooperateclosely with limited process and high ambiguity.
• Experience with SBIR/STTR, OTA, CSO/BAA, IDIQ/task-order, prototype-to-production, or other nontraditional acquisition pathways in addition to traditional FAR/DFARS procurements.
• Existing trusted relationships across the national security space ecosystem, paired with evidence that the candidate can create new relationships rather than onlyleveragelegacy contacts.
• Experience supporting classified or sensitive national security space programs, with an active U.S. security clearance and sound judgment handling protected information.
• Understanding of government contracting fundamentals including scope, statements of work, data rights, intellectual property, security requirements, export controls, compliance, and transition from capture into program execution.

Additional Requirements

Must be willing to work extended hours and weekends as needed.

Compensation and Benefits:

Your base salary will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: job-related knowledge and skills, education, and experience. The anticipated salary range for this role is $175,000 - $230,000 annually.

Base salary is just one part of your total rewards package at Katalyst. You will also be eligible for long-term incentives, in the form of the Employee Stock Option and Equity Plan, as well as a relocation bonus and other discretionary bonuses. You will also receive access to comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage, and unlimited Paid Time Off.

At Katalyst our work on projects involving the U.S. Department of Defense requires adherence to International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), 22 C.F.R. Parts 120-130, which requires compliance with U.S. export laws before allowing employees to perform certain positions. Currently, our available roles necessitate access to ITAR-controlled information, and as a result, Katalyst would have to ensure any non-US person is authorized access to ITAR information before the commencement of employment. We are committed to equal employment opportunities and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.