Director, Business Development

Aptima is a technological leader in the national security industry. Our mission is to drive the future of national security by engineering scalable solutions that fuse technological innovation with human potential to transform how individuals and teams train, develop, and perform in mission-critical environments. Our culture is rooted in core values: Integrity, Ingenuity, Excellence, Respect, Engagement, and Teamwork. We focus on the human component—an area often overlooked by engineering firms—researching, developing, and innovating to bring impactful solutions to light.

How You Will Make An Impact

Aptima is expanding its Business Development team and seeks a seasoned Director of Business Development with a proven track record securing contracts in readiness and training, modeling and simulation, test and evaluation, and wargaming/exercise support for the U.S. Navy and maritime domains. In this role, you will own Service-level portfolio planning, pipeline maturation, win strategies, and strategic teaming, driving the transition of Aptima’s innovations into operational use across the U.S. Navy and the Department of Defense (DoD). You will align customer needs with Aptima’s technology roadmap, translating Navy performance imperatives into winning business outcomes. Success requires bridging technical capabilities, operational requirements, acquisition pathways, and key partnerships.

Responsibilities

• Business Development
  • Own and optimize a dynamic opportunity pipeline, prioritizing pursuits based on strategic fit, probability of win (p(win)), and ROI.
  • Monitor competitive landscape, market trends, customer budgets, and emerging requirements; adapt strategies accordingly.
  • Provide leadership, mentoring, and performance oversight across all Navy pipeline opportunities.
  • Identify and qualify new opportunities across Navy and joint customers.
  • Support company-level growth initiatives, pipeline reviews, and forecasting with executive leadership.
• Operational Customer Engagement
  • Cultivate and sustain relationships across the U.S. Navy, DoD acquisition organizations, PEOs/PAEs, SYSCOMs, Fleet commands, and mission partners to influence program direction and position Aptima as a trusted partner.
  • Identify operational customers and mission users for Aptima’s technology offerings.
  • Lead customer engagements and needs analyses.
  • Guide the alignment of Aptima technologies with operational requirements.
  • Support development of engagement artifacts (e.g., presentations, videos, demonstrations, strategic communications).
• Technology Alignment
  • Partner with technical staff to align offerings with customer requirements and shape how capabilities are communicated to stakeholders.
  • Influence prioritization of technical activities to ensure innovations translate into operational impact.
  • Help shape solution evolution, transition strategies, and value propositions to maximize relevance to Navy missions.

Requirements

• Prior U.S. Navy active duty experience combined with a recent, successful track record in defense contracting Business Development.
• Demonstrated success transitioning technologies into secure or operational environments, ideally within the DoD or other federal agencies.
• Deep understanding of DoD acquisition processes, Navy PEO/SYSCOM structures, and emerging technology and budget trends.
• Experience with technology development, integration, or deployment within government or defense contexts.
• Exceptional leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills, with proven ability to engage senior customers, partners, and end-users.
• Eligibility for a U.S. Security Clearance is required.