Director of Naval Business Development

Ricardo Defense Inc

Director of Business Development at Detroit Defense driving growth and expansion of US Navy Customer portfolio. Leading strategic initiatives to capture new opportunities and foster long-term customer relationships.

Posted 5/26/2026full-timeRemote • California • 🇺🇸 United StatesLead💰 $180,000 per yearWebsite

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Establishes and maintains Navy customer intelligence and rapport; understands the customers’ mission, budgets, buying patterns, operational needs and requirements to identify opportunities for capture.
Operate as the account manager for the US Navy and USMC.
Supports all aspects of capture activities for opportunities in your portfolio to mature offerings and improve PWin, e.g., solution development, teaming, staffing, PTW, capability gap analysis, etc. for assigned opportunities.
Overall responsibility for customer development and relationships, supporting the development and implementation of the Capture Plan with capture managers through all phases of the capture and the proposal development process through award for assigned opportunities.
Lead gate reviews, ensuring effective and efficient implementation of proven best practices.
Establishes a schedule to accomplish required capture activities between gate reviews.
Develops initial capture and win strategies and works with Capture Manager and Proposal Team to ensure proposals address the needs of the customer, are compelling and meet pricing targets.
Lead necessary operations support for responding to RFI, White Papers, and RFP opportunities.
Attend Trade Shows and Industry Days.

Requirements

What you’ll need

A minimum of a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or University in a relevant field of study.
A minimum of five years of related experience in Business Development including three years of direct US Navy Business Development experience.
Must be able to obtain and maintain a United States Secret Clearance and Common Access Card (CAC).
A Track record of successful capturing and winning several >$15-$25M new business opportunities.
Experience within the Navy market, with a keen focus on Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) and associated organizations responsible for the acquisition, modernization and sustainment of the surface, subsurface and uncrewed platforms.
Additional experience and success in Business Development with NIWC Atlantic and NAVSEA is desired.
Must be a strategic thinker, with the ability to create and execute strategies that lead to the successful pursuit, capture and execution of new programs.
Ability to drive /follow the Shipley Capture Process from Opportunity Positioning and Qualification through Proposal Development and Opportunity Closing.
Experience with customer relationship management and opportunity tracking as well as experience and success in winning in a variety of contract types including cost plus fixed fee, fixed price, award fee, and performance-based contracting are key.
Familiarity with major acquisition vehicles is essential.

Benefits

Comp & perks

Medical, Dental & Vision Benefits
Company Paid Life and AD&D
Company Paid Short Term and Long-Term Disability
Flexible Spending & HSA Accounts
Legal & ID Shield Services
401k with Company Match
Paid Holidays
Paid Time Off (PTO)

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

Business DevelopmentCapture ManagementProposal DevelopmentOpportunity TrackingContract TypesCost Plus Fixed FeeFixed PriceAward FeePerformance-Based ContractingCapture Process

Soft Skills

Strategic ThinkingCustomer Relationship ManagementLeadershipCommunicationOrganizational SkillsTeam CollaborationProblem SolvingNegotiationAnalytical SkillsInterpersonal Skills

Certifications

Bachelor’s DegreeUnited States Secret Clearance