Strategy & Operations

Squadra; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity in startup

Competitive salary

Health insurance

401k

Team retreats

Job summary

Airbase is seeking a Strategy & Operations lead to work directly with the CEO, splitting time between go-to-market and business operations. You will own outcomes end-to-end across multiple domains, wear many hats, and take on more as the company scales.

This core role includes equity and significant ownership in a fast-moving defense-tech startup. Location is in-office in New York City with regular travel to Washington, DC, and customer sites.

Qualifications

• Experience in operations, strategy, BD, acquisition, finance, or military leadership with clear ownership of outcomes.
• Understanding of how the government procurement process works.
• A track record of building something from scratch or taking on large scope beyond title.
• Excellent writing and structured thinking.
• Strong presentation and communications skills.

Responsibilities

• Go-to-market and BD: plan and execute the federal pipeline, map stakeholders, funding lines, and contract vehicles.
• Shape contracting strategy across OTAs, CSOs, SBIRs, BPAs, and GSA; manage partnerships.
• Own proposal operations from kickoff to submission with engineering and domain experts.
• Maintain program momentum: deliverables, milestones, reporting, and relationships with government customers.
• Business operations: manage contracts, legal, budgeting, forecasting, and monthly close.
• Lead high-priority special projects for the CEO and build scalable processes.

Skills

Operations ownership

Strategy development

Business development

Acquisition & contracts

Finance planning

Clear ownership of outcomes

Strong writing & communication

Presentation skills

Job description

Airbase builds the software platform for radio frequency spectrum licensing, coordination, and intelligence. Backed by a16z, we are a fast-moving, dual-use startup transforming wireless communication from a static, analog bottleneck into a dynamic, software-defined advantage.

Today, the world’s most advanced hardware—from satellite mega-constellations to Army UAS swarms and Electronic Warfare systems—is grounded by 20th-century paperwork. Spectrum coordination relies on fragmented databases, missing systems of record, and decades of static PDFs. Airbase is fixing this. We’ve built novel AI pipelines to digitize this analog bureaucracy and translate it into a software-defined, machine-readable data layer. We are transforming the spectrum from a static bottleneck into a dynamic advantage, delivering machine-speed tactical deconfliction for the military and automated licensing for commercial innovators.

The Strategy & Operations lead works directly with our CEO to win and then execute on that scope of work, and to build the business behind it. You will split your time between go-to-market and business operations, own outcomes end to end, wear many hats, and take on more as the company grows. This is a core role with real ownership and equity.

What you will do

The role is split across multiple areas, including:

Go-to-market and BD

• Plan and execute on the federal pipeline: track opportunities, build capture plans, and map the stakeholders, funding lines, and contract vehicles behind each one.

• Shape contracting strategy across OTAs, CSOs, SBIRs, BPAs, and GSA, and manage partnerships with other companies.

• Own proposal operations from kickoff to submission, working with engineering and our domain experts.

• Keep active programs on track: deliverables, milestones, reporting, and the relationships with our government customers.

Business operations

• Manage contracts and legal operations: NDAs, teaming agreements, subcontracts, and government contract compliance, working with outside counsel.

• Support finance operations: budgeting, forecasting, board and investor materials, and our monthly close with our accountants.

• Take on high-priority special projects for the CEO and build processes that scale as we quickly grow the team.

Required qualifications

• Experience in operations, strategy, BD, acquisition, finance, or military leadership, with clear ownership of outcomes.

• Working knowledge of how the Department of War buys and operates.

• A track record of building something from scratch or taking on scope well beyond your title.

• Strong writing and structured thinking.

• Excellent presentation and communications skills.

Nice to have

• Military or government experience, especially in electronic warfare, intelligence, or acquisition.

• A JD or experience with contracts and government contract compliance.

• Experience with federal capture or proposals, or at an early-stage defense tech company.

• An engineering or technical background.

Logistics

• Location: In office in New York City, with regular travel to DC and customer sites.

• Clearance: Active clearance is a strong plus. Must be eligible to obtain a US security clearance.

Benefits & Perks

• Competitive salary, with opportunities for growth, and equity in an early stage startup.

• Comprehensive health insurance plans & 401k.

• Regular team-building events and company retreats.