Business Development Director

The Business Development Director role oversees market and product growth, and leads the business development team and corporate strategy for technology integration into Karman system solutions and product line growth. The Business Development Director is responsible for sales growth with a focus on products that utilize or combine Karman’s manufacturing technologies into a turn key system solution for customers.

The Business Development Director reports to the Operations General Manager.

About Us

Karman Space & Defense provides concept-to-production solutions for mission-critical systems on spacecraft, launch vehicles, missiles, hypersonics, and integrated defense systems. We believe that solving the industry’s most complex and mission-critical challenges requires relentless determination and a willingness to push the boundaries of possibility. Karman Space & Defense brings to bear unparalleled production capabilities, unmatched engineering expertise, and unflinching analysis to render the impossible, possible.

Compensation & Benefits

• Medical, Dental, Vision
• Company Paid Life Insurance
• 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan
• Paid Time Off (PTO)
• Paid Holidays
• Tuition Reimbursement*

• Customer & Stakeholder Engagement:
• Interface as the primary POC with key customers and stakeholders, understand customer needs and tailor solutions to meet those needs, ensuring satisfaction and fostering repeat business.
• Communicate directly with customers and stakeholders on a consistent basis both in person and remotely to ensure responsiveness and high quality engagement
• Represent Karman at various conferences and industry events

• Oversee proposal team that may include proposal managers, estimators, proposal engineers and other team members
• Ensure proposal compliance and on-time delivery
• Growth Strategy:
• Interface with Karman team members including engineering, business development, and operations to develop a long-term product roadmap to support various divisions aligned with market trends
• Track and monitor sales performance using CRM and ensure goals for bookings, revenue, profit margin, and customer satisfaction are exceeded
• Financial Forecasting:
• Accountable for CRM data to track sales process from lead to deal and ensure high conversion rate
• Present financial forecasting results to leadership to determine market trends, strategy, and customer satisfaction
• Contracting & Negotiations:
• Support Contracts and Operations in negotiations with customers on contract pricing and delivery schedules ensuring profitability while maintaining competitive pricing strategies in line with market conditions and internal costs

• Required Education: A Bachelor’s degree, advanced degree is a plus
• 10+ years of experience in leadership position for business development and/or internal sales, proposals and/or quoting
• 5+ years of experience in related technical field
• 5+ years of experience managing key prime contractor and customer relationships in aerospace and defense sectors
• Ability to present highly technical information to various audience members
• Strong interpersonal, communications, and negotiating skills
• Experience with CRM and financial forecast tools (Salesforce, HubSpot, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Pipedrive, etc.) is a plus
• Knowledge of aerospace & defense standards and familiarity with industry certifications (i.e. AS9100, ISO9001) is a plus
• Ability to travel >25%
• Must be a U.S. citizen

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities. The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information.

Karman is committed to equal employment opportunity. We will not discriminate against employees or applicants for employment on any legally recognized basis (“protected class”) including, but not limited to race; color; religion; genetic information; national origin; sex; pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions; age; disability; citizenship status; uniform servicemember status; or any other protected class under federal, state, or local law. Our management is dedicated to ensuring the fulfillment of this policy with respect to hiring, placement, promotion, transfer, demotion, layoff, termination, recruitment advertising, pay, and other forms of compensation, training, and general treatment during employment.