Federal Defense BD Lead: Air Force Growth & Partnerships

XYZ Venture Capital; New York (NY); On-site; USD 140,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health coverage 100%

Unlimited PTO

Free lunch and snacks

Dev stipend

Annual retreat

Job summary

Nominal, a leader in test and operations platforms, seeks a Federal Business Development professional. You will own pipeline creation, engage with U.S. Air Force accounts, and drive deal execution across defense programs.

Collaboration with Capture Strategy and cross-functional teams is essential to translate customer needs into enduring programs. You will shape opportunities, negotiate with stakeholders, and develop partnerships to expand Nominal’s reach in national defense.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in business development, growth, capture, or program strategy supporting U.S. military or civilian agencies.
• Deep understanding of Department of the Air Force structures and priorities.
• Excellent communication skills tailored to technical and non‑technical audiences.
• Ability to coordinate with growth, legal, and operations teams to close opportunities.

Responsibilities

• Shape and close strategic opportunities by aligning customer mission needs with Nominal’s platform and roadmap.
• Identify and close new market opportunities across the U.S. Air Force and defense programs.
• Develop and maintain relationships with key stakeholders across agencies and industry partners.
• Provide insights on funding dynamics, acquisition pathways, and requirements for growth strategy.
• Own qualification, cultivation, and capture of opportunities with cross-functional partners.
• Develop strategic partnerships to expand reach and position Nominal in key programs.
• Grow early engagements into enduring, impactful programs and represent Nominal at meetings.

Skills

Business development

Capture

Program strategy

Communication

Stakeholder management

Travel up to 50%

TS/SCI clearance

Education

Technical degree (CS/ME)

Job description

Business Development Lead - Air Force

New York, NY • Washington, D.C.

Federal

In office

Full-time

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 Federal 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%
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret / Secure Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) clearance

🎯 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.

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This position requires access to information and technology that is subject to U.S. export controls. Your responses to the questions below will be used solely to determine your eligibility under U.S. law to receive information and materials subject to U.S. export controls. Are you any of the following “protected individual(s)” as defined in the Immigration and Naturalization Act, 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)? *

A person lawfully admitted for permanent residence of the United States (i.e. Green Card holder)

A person admitted as a refugee to the United States under 8 U.S.C. 1157

A person admitted as an asylee to the United States under 8 U.S.C. 1158

A United States citizen or national

None of the above

U.S. Work Authorization - Are you authorized to work in the United States? *

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Will you require sponsorship from Nominal for employment now or in the future? (e.g, OPT, H1B visa)? *

Yes

No

Clearance Eligibility - Do you presently hold an active U.S. security clearance, or are you eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance? *

Yes, I hold an active U.S. security clearance

Yes, I'm eligible for a U.S security clearance

No

If you have held a U.S. security clearance in the past, what clearance level have you held? *

Confidential

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N/A - have never held a U.S. security clearance

This position is 5 days in office in DC or NYC. Are you able to work 5 days a week in one of these offices? *

Yes

No

This position requires travel up to 25%. Are you able to travel at this rate? *

Yes

No

Voluntary Self-Identification

To comply with government reporting requirements, we invite candidates to participate in the self-identification survey below. Your completion of this form is entirely optional, and your decision will neither influence the hiring process nor any subsequent stages. Any information you choose to share will be kept confidential and stored in a secure file. As outlined in our Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we uphold a commitment to non-discrimination based on any protected group status specified in applicable laws.

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Voluntary Self-Identification of Veteran Status

VEVRAA requires Government contractors to take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment protected veterans. To help us measure the effectiveness of our outreach and recruitment efforts of veterans, we are asking you to tell us if you are a veteran covered by VEVRAA. If you believe that you belong to any of the following categories of protected veterans, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.

Veteran status descriptions

Disabled veteran

A veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military and is entitled to disability compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to disability compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability

Recently separated veteran

A veteran separated during the three-year period beginning on the date of the veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S military, ground, naval, or air service

Active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran

A veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge was authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense

Armed Forces service medal veteran

A veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military ground, naval, or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985 (61 Fed. Reg. 1209).

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Req ID: R88