Head of Business Development

Lodestar; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Lodestar is seeking a Head of Business Development to own the pre-solicitation phase of the government pipeline, shaping requirements, pursuing partnerships, and evangelizing our technology to government customers.

You will build working-level relationships, manage CRM, and coordinate with program offices, contracting shops, and innovation offices to position Lodestar for upcoming solicitations and opportunities, with significant autonomy and mission focus.

Qualifications

• 5 to 10 years of business development, capture, or program management experience in the national security space domain.
• A real network in the ecosystem with contacts at SSC, AFRL, DIU, Space RCO, SDA.
• Deep knowledge of the pre-solicitation phase: requirements, contracts, budgets, leverage points.
• Technical fluency.

Responsibilities

• Shape requirements before they are written by engaging program offices, contracting shops, end users, and innovation organizations.
• Pursue non-traditional acquisition pathways with no-cost CRADAs, OTA consortiums, SpaceWERX/DIU topics, and prototype budget carve-outs.
• Build and own the pipeline by identifying, qualifying, and tracking opportunities across agencies and institutions.
• Own the working-level relationship layer with program analysts, contracting specialists, and innovation office staff.
• Represent Lodestar in the ecosystem at industry days and forums and surface intelligence to inform competition.
• Support the proposal machine by coordinating inputs, data calls, and deadlines to ensure smooth submissions.

Skills

Business development

Capture

Program management

National security domain

Job description

The future of human civilization is amongst the stars. We are building the extraterrestrial intelligence to take us there. We’re developing the world's first fully autonomous AI-driven intelligence system designed to operate independently in orbit. Capable of detecting, classifying, predicting intent, and responding to orbital threats, combining machine vision, onboard edge computing, and a full fires and effects architecture to give warfighters space superiority in the ultimate highground, expand the commercial space market and propel human civilization into the final frontier.

Our Values

• Own the outcome. Every person on this team is accountable for the mission, not just their job description.
• Mission obsession. We exist to solve humanity’s grandest challenges & national security problems for warfighters.
• Be the change. Don’t wait, act. We don’t just encourage extreme ownership and work autonomy, we expect it.

About the Job

The government does not fund what it does not know about. Your job is to make sure Lodestar is in the room and in the requirements before a solicitation ever drops.

As Head of Business Development, you will own the pre-solicitation phase of Lodestar's government pipeline. You will build the working-level relationships, shape the requirements, pursue the partnerships, carve out the budgets, and evangelize our technology from a capability the government is aware of into a capability the government is writing requirements around. You think strategically about where the money is going and act tactically every day to make sure Lodestar is positioned to capture it.

You will report directly to the VP of Commercial and Federal and operate with significant autonomy. There is no playbook. There is no large team beneath you. There is a real mission, a real need, and a real national security problem to solve.

Organizational Structure

In this role you will report directly to the VP, Commercial and Federal and/or Chief Business/Revenue Officer.

What You’ll Do

1. Shape requirements before they are written. Engage program offices, contracting shops, operational end users, and innovation organizations daily to position Mithril's capabilities into the language of upcoming solicitations, prototypes, and capability statements. If we are shaping, we are winning. If we are not shaping, we have already lost.

2. Pursue non-traditional acquisition pathways. Own the development and execution of no-cost CRADAs, OTA consortium memberships, SpaceWERX and DIU topic requests, and prototype budget carve-outs. You know how these vehicles work from the inside and you know which doors to knock on.

3. Build and own the pipeline. Identify, qualify, and track opportunities across USSF, AFRL, DIU, Space RCO, SDA, NASA, and the IC before they hit SAM.gov. Own the CRM. Deliver a weekly pipeline report. Make the data trustworthy.

4. Own the working-level relationship layer. You own the program analysts, the contracting specialists, and the innovation office staff — the people who write the requirements, draft the PWS/SOW/SOO, and decide who gets access before a formal competition begins. Show up consistently. Follow up relentlessly.

5. Represent Lodestar in the ecosystem. Attend industry days, technical forums, classified engagements, and innovation events. Write trip reports after every interaction. Surface intelligence that changes how we compete.

6. Support the proposal machine. Coordinate teaming partner inputs, manage data calls, track submission deadlines, and ensure the proposal team has what it needs when it needs it. You do not write proposals — you make sure the process does not break down on the coordination side.

Qualifications

• 5 to 10 years of business development, capture, or program management experience in the national security space domain. You have been in these rooms before.
• A real network in the ecosystem. You can name the program analysts and innovation office leads at SSC, AFRL, DIU, Space RCO, or SDA. Working-level relationships are not a nice-to-have — they are the job.
• Deep knowledge of the pre-solicitation phase. You understand how requirements get written, how contracts get structured, how budgets get negotiated, and where the leverage points are before a formal competition begins.
• Technical flu