Lead – Federal

Cognition

Capture Lead position driving federal business operations for an AI lab focused on building end-to-end software agents. Partnering with leadership to structure deals and improve capture strategies.

Posted 7/22/2026full-timeWashington DC • District of Columbia, Washington • 🇺🇸 United StatesSeniorWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

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Demonstrates expertise in federal business operations and capture management, with a strong analytical foundation to build models and analyze data. Proficient in federal procurement processes and capable of developing effective strategies for proposal responses and contract vehicle management.

Highest-signal resume keywords

Federal Business OperationsCapture ManagementFederal ProcurementAnalytical SkillsProposal Development

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills

Capture LifecycleContract VehiclesFAR/DFARS KnowledgeProposal Response ManagementMetrics DefinitionDashboard CreationRFI/RFP TrackingBid/No-Bid DecisioningRed-Team ProcessOperational Bottleneck Identification

Soft Skills

Analytical ThinkingRelationship ManagementAdaptabilityProblem SolvingCollaboration

Certifications & Qualifications

Security Clearance

Industry Keywords

Defense TechFederal SaaSGovernment ServicesGSAOTAsIDIQsSBIRPrime/Sub Relationships

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Partner with Federal sales leadership on quarterly and annual capture planning
Partner with GTM, Mission Success, and Engineering on deal structuring, pricing strategy, and negotiation across contract vehicles
Track and prioritize contract vehicle strategy (GSA, OTAs, IDIQs, SBIR pathways, prime/sub relationships)
Identify and track relevant federal solicitations, from initial RFI through final RFP
Build the operational backbone for proposal response: intake, qualification, bid/no-bid decisioning, color team review cadence, and compliance
Manage relationships with proposal and capture partners supporting RFI-to-RFP response on Cognition's behalf
Build and maintain proposal collateral, and maintain the past performance, capabilities, and pricing libraries that compound across pursuits
Define the metrics that matter for a federal GTM motion and build dashboards that surface them
Own solicitation response tracking across active pursuits
Run the red-team/AAR process on wins and losses; turn lessons learned into repeatable best practices
Identify operational bottlenecks and build the systems, processes, and tooling to remove them

Requirements

What you’ll need

4+ years of experience in federal business operations, capture management, or revenue strategy at a defense tech, federal SaaS, or government services company
Deep fluency in federal procurement: contract vehicles, working knowledge of FAR/DFARS, capture lifecycle, and the rhythm of federal sales cycles
Strong analytical foundation—you can build the model, run the analysis, and tell the story
Track record of working in and building capture programs from scratch in a fast-moving environment
Comfort operating without a playbook, and a low ego about doing the work yourself
Based in Washington, DC, or willing to relocate
Security clearance preferred, or ability to obtain one

Benefits

Comp & perks

Equal Opportunity Employer
Commitment to reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities