Senior Capture Director Defense Tech - $370K OTE

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

Benefits offered by this job

Health premiums 100% paid

Home office budget

401k Retirement Plan

Company Stock Options

Life Insurance

Disability Insurance

HSA

Job summary

Defense Unicorns seeks a Senior Capture Director to lead full‑lifecycle capture activities across the Space ecosystem, targeting DoD opportunities and high‑value contracts. You will craft win strategies, direct cross‑functional teams, and engage early with government stakeholders and primes to align solutions with mission needs.

This remote role offers a top‑tier OTE with 20–30% travel, stock options, and a strong learning budget.

Qualifications

• Proven ability to win complex technical pursuits through the full capture lifecycle.
• Working knowledge of Space Force acquisition processes (FAR-based contracts, OTAs, SBIR, IDIQ).
• Excellent communication, strategic thinking, and leadership across technical and executive audiences.
• Experience coordinating multi-disciplinary teams to deliver successful proposals.
• Familiarity with software factory environments, DevSecOps, cybersecurity, or tactical edge deployments is a strong plus.
• Deep Cyber operational experience.

Responsibilities

• Drive new Mission Hero acquisition across the Space ecosystem, ensuring alignment with Defense Unicorns' growth objectives and capabilities.
• Develop and execute capture plans, win strategies, and competitive positioning to secure new business.
• Engage government stakeholders, primes, and ecosystem partners to shape opportunities ahead of solicitation.
• Understand customer pain points, acquisition timelines, and funding paths across branches of the DoD.
• Identify and lead teaming arrangements that enhance capabilities or incumbent advantage.
• Translate capabilities like Unicorn Delivery Service, cATO acceleration, and edge deployments into win themes.
• Support RFI/RFP responses with market intelligence, SWOT analysis, and pricing input.
• Prepare reports on BD activities, track KPIs, and use data-driven insights to refine approaches.
• Represent the company at industry and government events to raise visibility.

Skills

Capture lifecycle

Space Force knowledge

DoD acquisitions

Executive engagement

DevSecOps fluency

Strategic thinking

Job description

Senior Capture Director Defense Tech - $370K OTE — Remote

Compensation Well Above Market: OTE of $290K–$370K places this role in the top tier for federal BD/capture professionals. Industry benchmarks for a senior capture manager in defense tech typically range $150K–$220K OTE — this position offers a significant premium, likely reflecting the niche Space Force focus and high-value contract targets.

Career Development Signals: This role builds highly specialized, durable skills:

• Full-lifecycle capture management in an emerging domain (Space Force / national security tech)
• DevSecOps and cloud-native security fluency at the business development layer
• Federal acquisition expertise (FAR, OTAs, SBIR, IDIQ) — skills that are transferable to any defense prime or GovTech firm
• Executive stakeholder engagement across DoD and industry partners

Company Stage: Defense Unicorns is a growth-stage startup with a mission-driven culture and open-source roots (Zarf, UDS). Stock options have meaningful upside potential if the company continues scaling in the defense market. The flat, innovative culture is a green flag for high performers who want impact over hierarchy.

Green Flags: 100% paid health premiums, flexible time off, strong learning budget, and transparent OTE structure signal a mature, employee-friendly organization for a startup.

Red Flags to Consider: The role is entirely outcome-driven (bookings targets, win rates) — pressure to perform is high and variable comp is a large portion of total earnings. Candidates should clarify ramp timelines and quota structures before accepting.

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

Role Description

Defense Unicorns is seeking mission-driven Mission Directors to spearhead full-lifecycle capture efforts across the Space ecosystem. In this high-impact role, you will shape and lead strategic pursuits that align Defense Unicorns' unique strengths—secure software delivery, DevSecOps, tactical edge enablement, and cybersecurity—with emerging government needs.

You will own the acquisition of new Mission Heroes (what we call our customers) from early qualification through proposal, driving win strategies, forming key partnerships, and aligning technical solutions to mission outcomes. This is a pivotal role within our growth team that directly influences the company's pipeline, revenue targets, and national security impact.

Responsibilities

• Drive new Mission Hero acquisition across the Space ecosystem, ensuring alignment with Defense Unicorns' strategic growth objectives and solution capabilities.
• Develop and execute capture plans, win strategies, and competitive positioning to secure new business.
• Engage early with government stakeholders, primes, and ecosystem partners to shape opportunities ahead of solicitation.
• Understand customer pain points, acquisition timelines, and funding paths across multiple branches of the DoD.
• Identify and lead teaming arrangements that enhance technical capabilities, socio-economic positioning, or incumbent advantage.
• Translate technical capabilities—such as the Unicorn Delivery Service (UDS), cATO acceleration, and edge deployments—into persuasive win themes.
• Support RFI/RFP responses with market intelligence, SWOT analysis, and pricing strategy input.
• Prepare regular reports on business development activities, track KPIs, and analyze the effectiveness of various strategies. Use data-driven insights to refine approaches and achieve better results.
• Represent the company at industry and government events to raise visibility and gather market intelligence.

You are measured by:

• Number and quality of qualified Space opportunities identified and advanced.
• Maturity of pipeline supporting growth goals.
• Development and execution of capture strategies, including capture plans, customer shaping, and teaming.
• Achievement of annual bookings target.
• Contribution to overall proposal win rate and contract awards.
• Success in building lasting relationships that lead to competitive advantage.

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.

Preferred Experience and Qualifications

• Proven ability to win complex technical pursuits through the full capture lifecycle.
• Working knowledge of Space Force acquisition processes (e.g., FAR-based contracts, OTAs, SBIR, IDIQ).
• Excellent communication, strategic thinking, and leadership skills across technical and executive audiences.
• Experience coordinating multi-disciplinary teams to deliver successful proposals.
• Familiarity with software factory environments, DevSecOps, cybersecurity, or tactical edge deployments is a strong plus.
• Deep Cyber operational experience.

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. If you're enthusiastic about the role but don't match every criteria, we encourage you to apply. You could be the perfect fit for this or another role! 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 Mission Director role fully remote? Yes, Defense Unicorns provides a home office budget indicating remote work, but the role requires 20–30% travel for government stakeholder meetings, industry events, and conference representation. What is the total compensation for this role? The base salary ranges from $145,000 to $185,000, with total on-target earnings (OTE) of $290,000 to $370,000, inclusive of variable/commission components. Do I need a security clearance for this position? The job posting does not explicitly state a clearance requirement, but given the DoD Space Force acquisition focus and national security mission, candidates with active clearances or clearance eligibility will be strongly preferred. What experience is needed for the Space ecosystem focus? Candidates should have proven capture lifecycle experience, working knowledge of Space Force acquisition processes (FAR, OTAs, SBIR, IDIQ), and deep cyber operational experience. Familiarity with DevSecOps or tactical edge deployments is a strong plus. Does Defense Unicorns offer equity or stock options? Yes, the company offers stock options as part of its financial benefits package, alongside a 401(k) retirement plan and home office budget.

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