Director, Business Development - Air & Strike Warfare at Zone 5 Technologies, Arlington, VA

Director, Business Development - Air & Strike Warfare at Zone 5 Technologies in Arlington, VA. Contract. $138,000 to $178,000 a year. Apply with swipeandhired.

At Zone 5 Technologies, we're redefining what's possible in precision weapons and unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). Our team of engineers and innovators are developing cutting-edge autonomous solutions to deliver affordable and scalable precision weapons, interceptors, and UAS.

We're building the next generation of munitions and unmanned systems for the United States and its allies. If you're driven by hard problems, energized by rapid innovation, and ready to make an impact on defense technology, you belong here.

Zone 5 Technologies is seeking a technically grounded Director of Business Development to lead the company's precision deep strike weapons business, anchored by the RUSTY DAGGER (AGM-188) product line. This role is built for a U.S. Air Force (USAF) or U.S. Navy (USN) strike warfare professional: a strike, fighter, or bomber aviator; a Weapons Systems Officer (WSO) or Naval Flight Officer (NFO); a Weapons and Tactics Instructor (WTI); a U.S. Air Force Weapons School (USAFWS) or Navy Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN) graduate; a Test Pilot School (TPS) graduate or test squadron veteran; or a weapons acquisition and test leader who can speak fluently to engagement envelopes, carriage and release integration, mission planning, kill-chain integration, and program-of-record pathways because they have employed, tested, or fielded air-launched weapons, not simply sold around them. Operational experience employing these weapons in combat or in large-force exercises is strongly desired in addition to the technical and acquisition background described below.

The Director will own the domestic precision deep strike weapons pursuit portfolio, engaging directly with USAF and USN requirements owners, program offices, operational and test organizations, and government-funded research and development (R&D) organizations, and will serve as the senior technical sales authority and point of contact as relationships mature into substantive capability and integration discussions. This individual's operational and engineering credibility will be leveraged to strengthen capture strategy and proposal development, ensuring technical narratives are accurate, defensible, and compelling. The role requires close, sustained cross-functional integration to keep messaging, positioning, and pursuit strategy aligned across the company.

The Director is the accountable owner of the precision deep strike weapons pipeline: the Director sets probability of win (Pwin) and probability of go (Pgo) assessments, makes bid/no-bid recommendations directly to executive leadership, serves as capture lead with direction over the proposal and technical staff assigned to each pursuit, and is the company's accountable voice to USAF and USN customers for this portfolio. Within 24 months, the Director is expected to have advanced at least one RUSTY DAGGER pursuit to a funded program-of-record transition or production contract with the USAF or USN and to have secured Zone 5 Technologies participation in at least one service-led affordable mass or stand-off strike experimentation campaign.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic Business Development and Capture Leadership

• Own the precision deep strike weapons opportunity pipeline, Pwin assessments, and Pgo assessments from identification through award; set pursuit priorities, capture strategy, and bid/no-bid recommendations for executive leadership.

• Serve as the subject matter expert on air-launched precision deep strike weapons, translating the RUSTY DAGGER (AGM-188) program into terms relevant to USAF and USN requirements, concepts of operations (CONOPS), tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTP), carriage platforms, and program-of-record maturation paths.

• Engage directly with USAF requirements, acquisition, and test stakeholders, including Air Combat Command (ACC), Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC), Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), Headquarters Air Force A5/7 (Air Force Futures), the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) Armament Directorate (AFLCMC/EB) and Program Executive Office (PEO) Weapons at Eglin Air Force Base, the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Munitions Directorate (AFRL/RW), Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office (AFRCO), the 53rd Wing, the 96th Test Wing and Air Force Test Center (AFTC), Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center (AFOTEC), Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Command Test Center (AATC), USAFWS at Nellis Air Force Base, and Big Safari.

• Engage directly with USN requirements, acquisition, and test stakeholders, including Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (OPNAV) N98 (Air Warfare) and N96 (Surface Warfare), Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) and PEO Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons (PEO(U&W)) and its Program Manager, Air (PMA) offices PMA-201 Precision Strike Weapons, PMA-242 Direct and Time Sensitive Strike, and PMA-280 Tomahawk, Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD) at China Lake and Point Mugu, Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) at Patuxent River, Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center (NAWDC) and TOPGUN at Fallon, Air Test and Evaluation Squadrons VX-9, VX-23, and VX-31, and Commander, Operational Test and Evaluation Force (COMOPTEVFOR).

• Engage U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) aviation and joint stakeholders where RUSTY DAGGER employment overlaps, including Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One (MAWTS-1) at Yuma, the Deputy Commandant for Aviation, U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) Special Operations Forces Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics (SOF AT&L) and PEO Fixed Wing, joint program offices, Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and government-funded R&D organizations, including service laboratories, Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs), and University Affiliated Research Centers (UARCs), to identify emerging requirements and shape early opportunity development.

• Build and sustain relationships with operational, technical, and program stakeholders that position Zone 5 Technologies as a credible, informed partner rather than a transactional vendor.

• Track and interpret evolving adversary threats, doctrine, force design, and acquisition strategy relevant to long-range and stand-off strike, affordable mass, and munitions industrial base priorities, including the USAF Extended Range Attack Munition (ERAM) and Franklin Affordable Mass Missile (FAMM) lines of effort.

International Sales Support

• Provide senior technical sales expertise to the international business development team, supporting partner-nation engagements as they progress beyond introductory conversations into substantive Letter of Request (LOR), request for proposal (RFP), and integration discussions, especially those involving unique CONOPS or non-U.S. launch platforms.

• Partner with international sales to tailor technical positioning of RUSTY DAGGER to partner-nation air force and naval aviation requirements, threat environments, and export considerations.

Proposal and Capture Execution

• Leverage operational and engineering background to lead technical volume development, win themes, and discriminator articulation on proposals across domestic and international pursuits.

• Serve as capture lead, directing proposal writers and technical contributors to ensure technical accuracy, credibility, and consistency across proposal, white paper, and request for information (RFI) and RFP responses.

• Lead development of technical exchange meetings (TEMs), capability briefings, and government stakeholder demonstrations, including captive-carry, separation, and live-fire events.

Cross-Functional Integration

• Maintain close, ongoing coordination with portfolio and engineering leadership to ensure business development activity reflects current product maturity, roadmap, and technical constraints.

• Partner with marketing on the development of technically accurate capability collateral, briefing materials, and messaging for air and strike warfare audiences.

• Coordinate with international sales leadership to align technical engagement strategy with country-level pursuit plans and export posture.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Prior USAF or USN service (uniformed or civilian) in a strike warfare role: strike, fighter, or bomber aviator; WSO or NFO; WTI, USAFWS, or TOPGUN graduate; TPS graduate or operational or developmental test squadron veteran; or a weapons acquisition, test and evaluation, or systems engineering role directly tied to air-launched weapons. Operational employment experience in combat or large-force exercises is strongly desired.

• Deep technical understanding of the effects required for the missions of interest to USAF and USN audiences: strategic attack, air interdiction, offensive counter-air (OCA), suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD) and destruction of enemy air defenses (DEAD), maritime strike and anti-surface warfare (ASuW), close air support (CAS), dynamic targeting, and long-range stand-off strike, derived from a genuine operational and engineering background, not solely a sales career.

• Working knowledge of air-launched weapons integration and certification: MIL-STD-1760 aircraft and store electrical interconnection, MIL-STD-1553 data bus, MIL-STD-3014 Universal Armament Interface (UAI), MIL-STD-8591 airborne stores suspension equipment, MIL-STD-1316 fuze safety, MIL-STD-2105 insensitive munitions and hazard assessment, MIL-STD-882 system safety, MIL-STD-810 environmental and MIL-STD-461 electromagnetic compatibility testing, MIL-HDBK-244 aircraft and stores compatibility, the SEEK EAGLE certification process, mission planning, carriage and release constraints, and platform operational flight program (OFP) cycles.

• Demonstrated ability to communicate credibly with engineers, program managers, and operators on system performance, integration, and employment considerations, and to brief at the general officer, flag officer, and Senior Executive Service (SES) level.

• Exceptional writing skills: demonstrated ability to produce clear, precise, and persuasive technical prose, including proposal volumes, white papers, capability statements, and correspondence for general officer, flag officer, and SES audiences, with minimal editing. Writing samples will be requested.

• Experience leading or writing technical content for proposals, capture efforts, or government-facing technical documentation; familiarity with Other Transaction Authority (OTA), Middle Tier of Acquisition (MTA), and traditional Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) pathways.

• Ability to travel 25 to 50 percent, domestically (primarily) and internationally, to support client engagement, demonstrations, and industry events.

• Active U.S. Secret clearance required.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) clearance.

• Direct engineering, test, or operational experience with air-launched precision strike effectors: AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) and Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM), AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW), AGM-84 Harpoon and Standoff Land Attack Missile-Expanded Response (SLAM-ER), GBU-31/38/54 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) and JDAM-Extended Range, GBU-53/B Small Diameter Bomb II (StormBreaker), AGM-114 Hellfire and AGM-179 Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM), Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile (HACM), or AGM-183 Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW); or with extended-range loitering munition and one-way attack (OWA) systems.

• Graduate of USAFWS, TOPGUN, the Strike Fighter Weapons and Tactics program, or the MAWTS-1 WTI course; or graduate of USAF TPS, USN TPS, or the U.S. Army Experimental Test Pilot program.

• Prior experience engaging government-funded R&D organizations, service laboratories, FFRDCs, or UARCs on emerging weapons system requirements.

• Experience supporting international or Foreign Military Sales (FMS) engagements alongside a business development team.

• Bachelor's degree in an engineering, systems, or physical science discipline; advanced degree a plus.

• Previous employment with DIU or DARPA.

• Previous employment within USAF operational flying units (fighter, bomber, or special operations wings), operational test, developmental test, or rapid acquisition organizations: 53rd Wing, 96th Test Wing and AFTC, AFOTEC, AFRCO, AATC, AFRL/RW, AFLCMC/EB, USAFWS, or Big Safari.

• Previous employment within USN operational strike fighter squadrons or carrier air wings, naval aviation test, tactics, or acquisition organizations: NAWDC, TOPGUN, NAWCWD, NAWCAD, VX-9, VX-23, VX-31, COMOPTEVFOR, PMA-201, PMA-242, PMA-280, or OPNAV N98 and N96 staff.

• USSOCOM SOF AT&L, PEO Fixed Wing, or AFSOC weapons and tactics experience.

CORE COMPETENCIES

• Technical credibility: speaks the language of engineers and operators, not just program managers and contracting officers.

• Relationship building: establishes trust quickly with operational, technical, and program stakeholders across the services, R&D organizations, and partner nations.

• Cross-functional leadership: operates fluidly across portfolio, engineering, marketing, and international sales without losing message discipline, and sets direction for supporting business development and capture staff.

• Exceptional writing: produces clear, precise, decision-quality prose for proposals, white papers, and executive correspondence with minimal editing.

• Verbal communication: briefs general and flag officers, SES leaders, and partner-nation delegations with precision and brevity.

This role is eligible for performance bonuses in addition to the base salary.

Pay range for this role (base salary)

$138,000 — $178,000 USD

Pay range with eligible performance bonuses

$241,500 – $311,500 USDUSD with eligible performance bonuses. Bonus components are variable and not guaranteed.
Pay range for this role
$138,000 — $178,000 USD

What's in it for you:

Benefits:

• Competitive total compensation package

• Comprehensive benefit package options include medical, dental, vision, life, and more.

• 401k with company-match

• 3 weeks of paid time off each year

• 40 hours of sick time

• 12 annual company holidays

Why Join Zone 5 Technologies?

• Innovative Environment: Work on cutting-edge technology that is shaping the future of defense and aerospace.

• Collaborative Culture: Join a team of passionate professionals dedicated to pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.

• Career Growth: Opportunities for professional development and career advancement.

If you are passionate about unmanned aircraft technology and want to be a part of a dynamic and growing company, we would love to hear from you. Apply today and join the Zone 5 Technologies team!

In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire.

Zone 5 Technologies is a federal contractor and participates in E-Verify to confirm employment eligibility. As required by law, we will verify the identity and employment authorization of all new employees using the E-Verify system. Learn more about your rights and responsibilities under E-Verify: https://www.e-verify.gov .