Director of Capture and Proposal Operations

About the Job

As the Director of Capture & Proposal Operations, you will own the end-to-end lifecycle of our federal acquisition pipeline. Moving beyond traditional business development, you will lead the strategic shaping, competitive positioning, and rigorous execution of high-value proposals for the U.S. Space Force (USSF), SpaceWERX, Air Force Research Lab (AFRL), Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), Space Rapid Capabilities Office (Space RCO), Space Development Agency (SDA) and other Department of War (DoW) and Intelligence Community (IC) entities. This role sits at the intersection of strategy and tactical execution, translating technical capabilities into compliant, high-scoring, and winning programmatic bids, including formal Request for Information (RFIs), Request for Proposal (RFPs), Other Transaction Authority (OTAs), Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO’s), Broad Agency Announcements (BAA’s), etc.). You will autonomy to manage, grow and shape your future team, directly contributing to the strategic vision for Lodestar.

Qualifications

• Experience: 6–10+ years of proven experience in federal capture management and proposal operations, specifically within the defense aerospace, defense software, space systems, or national security technology sectors.
• Track Record: Demonstrated success winning prime contracts with the Department of War, U.S. Space Force, U.S. Air Force, DIU, MDA, NRO, etc. Strong familiarity with FAR/DFARS regulations, contracting structures and non-traditional pathways such as OTAs, Consortiums, IDIQ’s, Multiple Authority Announcements (MAA’s) and Middle Tier of Acquisitions (Section 804).
• Skills: Mastery of formal capture and proposal methodologies. Exceptional technical writing skills with the ability to convey technical jargon, complex orbital mechanics, space domain awareness and hardware architecture concepts clearly to non-technical evaluators. Previous experience using capture and proposal writing software.
• Security Clearance: Active Secret clearance required; TS/SCI preferred or must be eligible to obtain.
• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Aerospace, Political Science, Business, or a related field required. Master’s degree in a related field preferred.
• Preferred Skills & Experience: Experience operating within a fast-paced, venture-backed, defense tech startup environment, where challenging the status-quo is the norm. Existing, strong professional relationships within the defense space ecosystem (e.g., USSF, OSD, SSC, DIU, DoW, SpaceWerx, Space RCO, SDA, AFRL-RV, etc.).