Hiring: Senior Director of Business Development Company: Zone 5 Technologies Location: San Luis Obispo, CA Job Posted Time: 2026-09-12 10:17:01 About the job Experience: •5 years of business development experience within a successful defense start-up or a major defense prime, with direct responsibility for an emerging product line. •10 years of business development experience Required Skills: •BD Leadership & Team Oversight •Lead, mentor, and manage the International Business Development team and Portfolio BD Directors, setting clear pursuit priorities, performance expectations, and capture discipline across the organization. •Establish consistent capture processes and reporting cadences across portfolios and international geographies to give executive leadership a unified view of the BD pipeline. •Build BD bench strength through coaching, structured pursuit reviews, and hands-on involvement in the highest-priority opportunities. •Partner with Portfolio VPs to assess opportunity qualification, technical fit, and program timing, ensuring pursuit decisions are grounded in operational and technical realism rather than optimism. •Identify and elevate “bold” plays — strategically significant opportunities that fall outside normal pursuit cadence and require accelerated tasking, dedicated resources, and direct executive sponsorship to pursue credibly. •Work directly with Portfolio Vice Presidents and Finance to develop and refine price-to-win strategy for priority pursuits, balancing competitive positioning against margin and delivery realities. •Bring technical and operational judgment to price-to-win discussions, ensuring cost and schedule assumptions reflect genuine system and program maturity rather than aspirational positioning. Qualifications: •Minimum of 5 years of business development experience within a successful defense start-up or a major defense prime, with direct responsibility for an emerging product line. •Comprehensive expertise in the general defense capture process, both intra-Department of War and international, with particular strength in domestic U.S. capture. •Strong technical and operational pedigree sufficient to credibly guide Portfolio Vice Presidents and BD Directors on opportunity prioritization and technical fit. •Demonstrated experience developing price-to-win strategy in direct partnership with Finance and Portfolio/Program leadership. •Prior experience managing, mentoring, or directly leading a team of business development professionals. •Demonstrated capacity to operate effectively at the executive level, translating strategy into resourced, prioritized action across a distributed BD organization. •Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree in business, engineering, or a related field preferred. •Active U.S. Secret clearance required. •Prior U.S. military experience (uniformed or civilian) in a role relevant to weapons systems, capability development, and acquisition. •Established relationships across the U.S. Department of War acquisition community and/or international defense customers. Compensation: •Comprehensive benefit package options include medical, dental, vision, life, and more Interested candidates, please apply directly through the job posting on company's career page or try via AI auto apply on this platform. Don't miss this opportunity to join a forward-thinking team!