Mission Director – Defense Tech BD & Program Growth

Defense Unicorns; United States; Remote; USD 145,000 - 185,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health premiums 100% paid

Stock options

Home office budget

Flexible time off

Job summary

Defense Unicorns seeks a Mission Director to own end-to-end business development and contract execution in the Cyber operations domain. You will identify opportunities, shape solutions, and lead from discovery through award while building long-term client relationships.

You will also oversee delivery risks, manage scale, and grow a portfolio into higher leadership roles, leveraging cloud-native tech, DevSecOps, and Kubernetes expertise across federal customers.

Qualifications

• Experience in Cyber operations or closely related defense environment.
• Strong understanding of culture, mission, stakeholders, and terminology in the domain.
• Willingness to operate across BD, contracting, staffing, and execution to scale the portfolio.

Responsibilities

• Identify and develop new Cyber ops opportunities and build trusted relationships with Mission Heroes and stakeholders.
• Own a quota and grow a diversified portfolio of business.
• Define problems and shape solutions using Defense Unicorns products and acquisition approaches.

Skills

Business development

Program management

DevSecOps

Cloud-native tech

Tools

Kubernetes

GitOps

Job description

This is a high-upside, high-ownership role at the intersection of business development, program management, and defense tech — a rare combination that commands premium compensation. The total on-target earnings of $290K–$370K significantly exceed the market median for a Senior BD Director in federal tech (~$200K–$250K OTE), reflecting the full P&L accountability expected.

• You'll build skills in federal acquisition, BD pipeline management, DevSecOps program oversight, and cloud-native technology — all in high demand as the DoD accelerates software modernization.
• The explicit growth path from individual contract ownership to portfolio leadership signals this is a role that can evolve into a VP- or GM-level position.
• Exposure to Kubernetes, cloud-native platforms, and GitOps at the DoD level is a rare, differentiated skill set for a business leader.

Green flags

Flexible time off, 100% paid premiums, stock options in a growth-stage defense tech company, and a culture that explicitly values autonomy and ambiguity-tolerance. The company reads as a well-funded startup with a clear niche and an experienced team.

Watch points

The dual BD + program execution accountability can create role strain — succeeding requires both hunter instincts and delivery discipline. The 25–40% travel demand is real and should be factored into work-life planning. This is best suited to someone with an active network in the Cyber/DoD space ready to leverage on day one.

Pay and compensation

This position offers a base salary of $145,000 – $185,000. (Total on-target earnings of $290,000 to $370,000)

Role Description

The Mission Director is a quota-carrying, full-lifecycle business owner responsible for identifying, shaping, closing, and executing new business within the Cyber operations domain.

You will build trusted relationships with Mission Heroes (our customers), identify meaningful problems, shape solutions using Defense Unicorns products, and lead opportunities from initial discovery through contract award. Once awarded, you will remain accountable for the contract throughout its lifecycle, including cost, schedule, performance, staffing, margin, and customer satisfaction.

This role is designed for someone who wants broad ownership. As the portfolio grows in size and complexity, Mission Directors will increasingly lead through program managers and delivery leaders while retaining accountability for portfolio outcomes.

Responsibilities

The listed responsibilities are not exhaustive and additional responsibilities may be assigned based on the evolving needs of the organization. We are seeking a dynamic individual who is able to adapt and take on new responsibilities as they arise.

1. Build the Business

• Identify and develop net-new Cyber operations opportunities and build trusted relationships with Mission Heroes and key stakeholders.
• Own a quota and grow a diversified portfolio of business.

2. Shape and Close Opportunities

• Define customer problems, scope, and desired outcomes to shape solutions using Defense Unicorns products and the right acquisition approach.
• Lead opportunities through proposal, negotiation, and contract award.

3. Own Contract Execution

• Serve as the program leader for new contracts you close, with direct responsibility for execution until the portfolio reaches the scale where additional program management support is warranted.
• Manage delivery risks, scope changes, and mission outcomes.

4. Build and Lead the Team

• Define and build the team required to execute each contract. Personally lead contract execution and, as the portfolio grows, lead program managers and other delivery leaders across the portfolio.

5. Grow the Portfolio

• Maintain an active pipeline and continue developing new opportunities while executing existing contracts by identifying follow-on work, expansions, and adjacent opportunities.
• Own customer retention, portfolio growth, and gross margin.
• Grow from individual contract ownership into a broader portfolio leadership role.

Preferred Experience and Qualifications

• Experience within the Cyber operations domain, or a closely related defense environment.
• Strong understanding of the culture, mission, stakeholders, and terminology within the domain you support.
• Experience in one or more of the following: military operations, government program management, acquisition, contracting, business development, or defense industry program leadership.
• Working knowledge of federal acquisition, including contract vehicles, acquisition strategies, and contract negotiations.
• Strong commercial judgment and comfort owning revenue-generating activities.
• Demonstrated ability to lead teams and hold accountability for outcomes.
• Willingness to operate across business development, contracting, staffing, and execution, personally driving critical work while building and leading the teams required to scale.
• Comfortable operating with ambiguity, identifying opportunities, and creating a path forward without a predefined playbook.
• Technical fluency sufficient to understand and communicate Defense Unicorns products, cloud-native technologies, DevSecOps, Kubernetes, and modern software delivery concepts.

Candidates located near major Cyber hubs are preferred.

Ability to travel approximately 25–40%.

Who We Are

Defense Unicorns delivers mission value by streamlining software delivery so our customers can focus on the most important challenges. We share a vision of freedom and security for the advancement of progress and innovation. Our commitment to this vision, and to our mission-driven customers, means a commitment to speed, user experience and optionality, without compromising security. Our team is composed of innovators, software engineers, and veterans with decades of experience delivering technology programs across the federal market.

What We Do

We create and deliver secure solutions for continuous software integration and delivery. Defense Unicorns consolidates the best practices for security pipelines, testing, and deployment automation in order to meet the high security requirements valued by mission owners. Our solutions are agnostic by design and we believe that growing a robust ecosystem of secure, cloud-native software solutions can help enterprise customers inside and outside the federal market buy and integrate software more easily.

Who We Serve

Defense Unicorns' customers are mission-focused leaders across public and private enterprises. We proudly support defense and civil agencies across the U.S. government and we work closely with the creators of leading-edge software solutions to deliver value to the mission-owner by improving the security and consumability of commercial software products.

What We Work On

• Cloud Environments (AWS/GCP and Azure)
• Continuous Delivery and automation tooling
• GitOps
• Containers
• CNCF projects and open source products and packages
• Building and improving security delivery
• Building Kubernetes and cloud-native applications

Benefits Our Unicorns Enjoy

Health

• Premiums are 100% Company Paid
• Health Savings Account
• Life Insurance
• Disability Insurance
• 401k Retirement Plan
• Company Stock Options
• Home Office Budget

Leave

• Flexible Time Off (FTO) plus all Federal Holidays, one week for Thanksgiving, and two weeks for Christmas and New Year's

Learning

• Reimbursement for approved trainings/subscriptions
• Conferences (travel, lodging, and fees)

Don't have all the preferred experience or qualifications? Studies show that underrepresented groups like women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs if they don't meet every requirement listed.

At Defense Unicorns, we're committed to diversity.

Defense Unicorns is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, veteran status, genetic information, union status and/or beliefs, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.

Is this role fully remote or does it require on-site presence? The role is remote-based but requires approximately 25–40% travel. Candidates located near major Cyber hubs are preferred, as work involves visiting U.S. government customers and stakeholders. What is the total compensation for this Mission Director position? The base salary ranges from $145,000 to $185,000, with total on-target earnings of $290,000 to $370,000, reflecting a significant variable/commission component tied to quota attainment. Do I need an active security clearance to apply? The job posting does not explicitly state a clearance requirement, but given the Cyber operations focus and U.S. government customer base, clearance eligibility or an existing clearance is likely a strong advantage. What background is most relevant for this role? Preferred experience includes Cyber operations, military or government program management, federal acquisition, contracting, or defense industry business development, combined with technical fluency in cloud-native technologies and DevSecOps. How does this role evolve over time? Mission Directors start by owning individual contracts end-to-end, and as their portfolio grows, they transition into leading program managers and delivery leaders — essentially evolving into a portfolio executive role.

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