Senior Capture Manager

Chemring Group; Downers Grove (IL); On-site; USD 129,000 - 152,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision coverage

Paid time off

Disability insurance

401(k) with company match

Life insurance

Parental leave

Adoption assistance

Tuition assistance

Employer discounts

9/80 work schedule

Job summary

Chemring Energetic Devices (CED) in Downers Grove, IL seeks a Senior Capture Manager to lead diverse capture efforts across space, missiles, and energetic devices. You will work with BD, Proposal Management, Contracting, and Engineering to drive qualification, bid/no-bid decisions, win themes, and teaming for government and commercial customers.

Requires a BS in engineering or business, APMP certification (or ability to obtain within 12 months), and at least 4 years in A&D capture and US DoD

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, business, or related field.
• APMP certification or ability to gain certification within 12 months.
• Minimum of 4 years in Aerospace & Defense industry.
• Minimum of 4 years in US Government, specifically DoD capture activities.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end capture execution for multiple concurrent pursuits across technical domains and customer types.
• Perform opportunity qualification and competitive analysis to support bid/no-bid recommendations.
• Own capture plan development and pursuit schedules with milestones and decision gates.
• Coordinate bid readiness activities with Proposal Management; translate win themes into proposal structures.
• Partner with Contracting to align capture strategy with compliance and contract considerations.
• Collaborate with Engineering to shape solutions and strengthen the technical narrative.
• Develop and drive teaming strategy; define partner roles and readiness.
• Produce capture artifacts and provide executive-level opportunity health updates.

Skills

ITAR compliance

Explosives eligibility

Capture leadership

BD collaboration

Proposal management

Cross-functional leadership

Effective communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering or business

APMP certification

Job description

As Chemring Energetic Devices (CED) celebrates 50 years of building products that protect our country, protect the individual warfighter, and send rockets into outer space, our growth is creating new opportunities to expand our team with talented individuals who want to shape the next era of mission-critical innovation.

CED is well situated in Downers Grove, Illinois - we are located a commuter train ride west of Chicago and a short drive from farmland.

CED's current salary range for this role is $129,000 - $151,500 annually. At CED, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at the top of the range for their role and compensation decisions may vary based upon, but not limited to education, skills, experience, proficiency, performance, shift, location and geography. In addition to base salary, the total compensation package may also include participation in a bonus, commission or incentive program. CED’s benefit offerings include medical, dental, and vision coverage, paid time off, disability insurance, 401(k) with company match, life insurance and other voluntary supplemental insurance coverages, plus parental leave, adoption assistance, tuition assistance and employer/partner discounts. CED follows a 9/80 work schedule allowing employees to enjoy alternating Fridays off.

JOB SUMMARY:

The Senior Capture Manager leads multiple, diverse capture efforts across A&D market segments including space, missiles, CAD/PAD energetic devices, and aircrew safety systems. This cross-functional role partners closely with Business Development, Proposal Management, Contracting, and Engineering to drive disciplined opportunity qualification, bid/no-bid decision support, win-theme development, teaming strategy, and proposal execution readiness for both government and commercial customers.

Requirements

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

• Lead end-to-end capture execution for multiple concurrent pursuits across technical domains and customer types
• Perform opportunity qualification and competitive analysis to support bid/no-bid recommendations, including customer priority assessment and differentiation strategy, competitive landscape analysis, risk identification and mitigation planning to inform pursuit decisions
• Own capture plan development and pursuit schedules, establishing milestones, staffing needs, and decision gates
• Collaborate with Proposal Management to coordinate bid readiness activities, including translating win themes into compliant, compelling proposal structures, ensuring responsiveness to solicitation requirements, supporting proposal input timing and review cycles
• Partner with Contracting to align capture strategy with compliance and contract considerations early in the cycle
• Work closely with Engineering and technical SMEs to shape solution approaches and strengthen the technical narrative for customer requirements
• Develop and drive teaming strategy; define partner roles and support bid-ready readiness
• Produce and maintain capture/pursuit artifacts as applicable (e.g., competitive intelligence summaries, win themes, risk registers, lessons learned)
• Provide executive-level opportunity health updates and elevate decision needs and risks in time for effective course correction

OTHER JOB FUNCTIONS:

• Comply with government and corporate laws, rules, regulations, policies, and procedures
• Ensure 100% compliance with the Chemring Operational Framework, Code of Conduct and U.S. Code of Ethics and Business Conduct
• Special projects and additional duties as assigned

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY:

N/A

EDUCATION:

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, business, or a related field, or equivalent experience
• APMP certification or ability to gain certification within 12 months of placement

EXPERIENCE:

• Minimum of 4 years pertinent experience in Aerospace & Defense industry
• Minimum of 4 years pertinent experience in US Government, specifically Defense, program capture activities

SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS:

• Lawful US Person (ITAR restrictions)
• Must be eligible to possess explosives under the Safe Explosives Act of 2003 (as amended) as required by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) for all employees of Chemring Energetic Devices
• Experience leading capture/business development pursuits in the A&D / government contracting environment
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple simultaneous opportunities with strong planning and follow-through
• Proven experience influencing bid/no-bid outcomes and win-theme strategy for both government and commercial pursuits
• Strong understanding of proposal fundamentals; compliance/responsiveness, bid readiness, and cross-functional proposal execution
• Ability to collaborate effectively across BD, Proposal Management, Contracting, Engineering, and technical stakeholders
• Excellent communication skills with demonstrated ability to drive alignment and decisions among cross-functional leaders.
• Direct experience in one or more of the following: CAD/PAD energetic devices, missiles, space systems, aircrew safety system testers, test & evaluation solutions
• Experience pursuing DoD and/or broader USG opportunities
• Familiarity with cost/schedule risk framing and proposal review best practices

PHYSICAL AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS:

Lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling, or otherwise moving objects, weighing up to 20 pounds occasionally and/or a negligible amount of weight frequently. Involves sitting most of the time but may involve walking or standing for brief periods of time. Daily and extensive computer usage.

DISCLAIMER:

The preceding job description has been designed to indicate the general nature and essential job functions of this position. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees assigned to this job. Employees will be expected to perform other job functions and duties as may be needed and/or required.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER:

Chemring Energetic Devices (CED) is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, genetic information and other legally protected characteristics.

CED is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities.

If you need a reasonable accommodation because of a disability for any part of the employment process, please send an e-mail to [e-mail] or call [phone]and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information.