Director of Business Development (Engineering Background Required)

2057 Director of Business Development (Engineering Background Required)

Position Summary

The Director of Business Development will be a key member of the Business Development team, responsible for driving organizational growth across defense, industrial, mobility, and advanced manufacturing markets.

This position requires a strong foundational career in engineering, followed by demonstrated success in business development or technical sales. The ideal candidate will have the technical credibility to understand complex engineering and manufacturing challenges and translate those needs into strategic customer relationships and project opportunities.

The Director will focus on developing new business involving complex engineering services, applied R&D, advanced manufacturing, and technology solutions. This individual will work closely with government organizations, OEMs, suppliers, technology partners, and internal engineering teams to identify opportunities, develop technical solutions, secure project-based business, and support technology commercialization.

Key Responsibilities

Business Development & Technical Sales

• Identify, develop, and maintain relationships that generate new project-based business involving complex engineering services and applied R&D.
• Engage prospective customers to understand technical challenges, business requirements, and project objectives.
• Use a strong engineering background to establish technical credibility and build trusted customer relationships.
• Match internal engineering and technical capabilities with customer challenges to develop effective solutions.
• Serve as a bridge between external customer requirements and internal engineering teams.
• Manage technical sales activities for commercial and government customers, including proposal development, project scoping, opportunity qualification, and pipeline management.
• Provide pre-sales and post-sales support and introduce customers to new technical capabilities and service offerings.

Strategic Planning & Market Development

• Execute business development strategies aligned with organizational growth objectives and technical capabilities.
• Identify and pursue new markets, programs, customers, and funding opportunities across federal, defense, industrial, mobility, and commercial sectors.
• Build and maintain relationships with customers, government sponsors, OEMs, suppliers, industry organizations, and technology partners.
• Represent the organization at conferences, trade shows, networking events, and other industry engagements.
• Participate in key customer meetings to understand requirements, strengthen relationships, and maintain alignment on project objectives.
• Monitor industry and market developments and provide relevant market intelligence to leadership and technical teams.

Opportunity Capture & Revenue Generation

• Develop opportunities involving engineering services, technical solutions, and applied R&D projects rather than traditional manufactured-product sales.
• Balance new customer development with expansion opportunities within existing accounts.
• Lead opportunity identification, qualification, capture planning, and pursuit activities.
• Develop proposal strategies and lead or support proposal writing and submission.
• Ensure proposals are competitive, technically accurate, and responsive to customer requirements.
• Manage the business development pipeline using Salesforce (SFDC) and maintain accurate opportunity, forecasting, and reporting information.
• Support contract and commercial discussions throughout the sales process.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with engineering, program management, technology, and leadership teams to develop compelling technical and commercial solutions.
• Ensure proposed solutions align customer requirements with available technical expertise and organizational capabilities.
• Communicate customer feedback, market intelligence, and emerging opportunities to internal stakeholders.
• Collaborate across functions to support successful opportunity development, proposal execution, and customer engagement.

Required Qualifications

• U.S. citizenship required.
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Applied Sciences, or a related technical discipline.
• Significant professional experience working directly in an engineering role before transitioning into business development or technical sales.
• Proven success developing and selling complex engineering services, technical solutions, and/or applied R&D projects.
• Experience selling engineering expertise and solutions rather than primarily manufactured parts or components.
• Strong understanding of engineering, manufacturing processes, technology commercialization, and/or advanced materials technologies.
• Experience developing business within commercial, government, defense, or industrial markets.
• Demonstrated ability to independently manage a complex business development pipeline and multiple opportunities simultaneously.
• Experience with Salesforce or a comparable CRM platform.
• Strong proposal development, technical writing, presentation, communication, and negotiation skills.
• Ability to work independently in a dynamic environment with changing priorities and deadlines.

Preferred Qualifications

• MBA or advanced technical degree.
• Experience developing business with federal government or defense organizations.
• Familiarity with government acquisition, contracting, and funding processes.
• Experience working with OEMs and Tier suppliers.
• Experience supporting technology commercialization or applied research initiatives.
• Established relationships within advanced manufacturing, defense, mobility, or related technical markets.

Key Competencies

• Technical Acumen
• Business Development & Technical Sales
• Customer Relationship Management
• Strategic Market Development
• Opportunity & Pipeline Management
• Proposal Development
• Engineering & Manufacturing Knowledge
• Communication & Negotiation
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Independent Execution
• Adaptability & Problem Solving
• Professionalism & Integrity

First-Year Objectives

• Build and maintain a qualified opportunity pipeline of approximately 3x the annual business development target.
• Generate measurable growth in secured project business and active proposal opportunities.
• Develop new customer relationships while expanding opportunities within existing accounts.
• Strengthen relationships with key government and commercial organizations and develop new partnerships with OEMs, suppliers, and industry partners.
• Maintain accurate opportunity tracking, pipeline management, and forecasting through Salesforce.