Director Government Operations Jobs in Virginia (NOW HIRING)

Luna Labs is hiring a Director of Government Capture & Commercialization to lead our government capture strategy and commercialization efforts during an important next stage in our growth. We’ve built strong technology through the SBIR/STTR program, but now we need to transition those capabilities into sustained government contracts like Phase III sole-source opportunities, programs of record, and Other Transaction Authorities. This position will require proactive, long-horizon relationship building rather than a purely reactive RFP-response approach.

This role is equal part strategist, relationship builder, coach, and commercialization lead. You’ll rely on your existing network, cultivate additional relationships across the DOD, navigate consortia, and teach our technical staff how to position their work for government transition. You’ll also bring rigor towhichtechnologies we pursue andhow– building go-to-market strategies, financial projections, and business cases that turn promising R&D into fundable, sellable government solutions. You’ll need an extensive network, patience for multi-year budget cycles, and comfort operating in an environment where the decisions you help make will decide which technologies move forward and how they go to market.

If you’re the kind of person who gets frustrated by the political realities of defense acquisition, this isn’t your role. If you understand those realities and know how to navigate them effectively while maintaining integrity – and you’re equally comfortable building a financial model as you are building a relationship – we should talk.

Government Capture & Pipeline Development

• Work with engineers and product developers to understand the technology portfolio, identify mature technologies, and find market-relevant product-solution fit to match with a government need.
• Create and pursue Phase III sole-source opportunities emerging from our SBIR portfolio.
• Build and maintain relationships with Program Managers, Program Executive Offices (PEOs), Capability Managers, and Requirements Owners across multiple DOD agencies to position our technologies for programs of record.
• Build and maintain a qualified pipeline that supports annual growth targets and manage that pipeline through CRM and gate reviews with Leadership team.
• Develop multi-year capture strategies that account for budget cycles, acquisition timelines, and political dynamics.
• Shape requirements and influence pre-RFP processes through strategic engagement with stakeholders. This includes supporting operational experiments, working with end users, participating in demonstrations, and identifying capability gaps.
• Manage relationships within consortia and pursue Other Transaction Authority (OTA) opportunities.
• Own the full deal lifecycle for identified opportunities — lead generation, prospect qualification, pitch development, negotiation, and close — in coordination with Leadership on final terms.

• Coach scientists and engineers on relationship building, stakeholder engagement, and positioning their technologies for government adoption.
• Partner with product development teams to define product vision and strategy based on validated customer/agency needs, ensuring what’s built matches what a program office will actually buy.
• Develop and implement capture plans that balance technical merit with relationship cultivation and political awareness.
• Identify when to pursue opportunities and when to walk away based on competitive landscape and relationship positioning.

• Apply structured commercialization processes — market research, product-market fit validation, competitive analysis, and financial modeling — to prioritize which technologies in the assigned portfolio are ready to pursue for government or prime contractor adoption, and how.
• Develop go-to-market strategy for each pursued technology within government and dual-use commercial channels, including recommended path (direct government sale, sale/partnership with a prime, teaming agreement, or licensing to a government-focused end user) and bring recommendations to Leadership for resourcing decisions. Not every technology is best positioned as a direct government sale; Director will assess which options yield a faster or more durable path to adoption.
• Build financial projections and business cases to support capture and sales pursuits — informing internal investment and prioritization decisions for government and prime-facing opportunities.

• Build and maintain a robust network of government and commercial stakeholders before opportunities formally exist.
• Understand organizational dynamics, budget pressures, and decision-making processes within target agencies.
• Navigate ecosystems where relationships, timing, and alignment matter as much as technical capability.
• Represent Luna Labs at government forums, conferences, and stakeholder meetings.

We need someone who thrives at the intersection of technology, government acquisition, and commercialization strategy. You understand that the best solution on paper doesn’t always win, and you know how to position technologies for success in that reality —sometimes that means a direct government sale, and sometimes it means partnering with or licensing to a prime who already owns the program. You’re comfortable with the long game — relationships take years to cultivate, budget cycles move slowly, and political processes can feel opaque — while also bringing commercialization rigor (market validation, competitive analysis, financial modeling) to determine which opportunities to pursue and how. You can translate between the technical language of innovation, the bureaucratic language of acquisition, and the financial language of the business, and you know how to develop relationships with scientists and engineers to better align technology development with both government customer needs and commercial viability.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Science, Business, or related fields. An MBA or advanced technical degree is a plus.
• 8+ years of demonstrated business development or capture management experience in defense contracting with a deep understanding of Phase III sole-source authorities, Other Transaction Authorities, and the defense acquisition process
• Extensive network of relationships across multiple DoD agencies and program offices.
• Experience with consortia management and collaborative contracting vehicles.
• Proven ability to shape requirements and influence pre-RFP stakeholder engagement.
• Strong understanding of defense budget cycles, acquisition politics, and decision-making processes.
• Excellent communication skills with ability to translate between technical and acquisition audiences.
• Due to government contracting regulations, U.S. Citizenship is required; must have ability to obtain and maintain security clearance.

• Active security clearance.
• Experience working with small businesses or startups in the defense ecosystem.
• Established relationships with specific program offices in Army, Navy, Air Force, or DoD agencies.
• Track record coaching technical staff on government engagement and capture processes.
• Experience with medical or human performance technologies in defense applications.
• Familiarity with transition pathways for dual-use technologies.
• Background in product management or working cross-functionally with engineering/R&D teams to shape a technology toward market or customer needs
• Experience evaluating or recommending commercialization pathways (e.g., direct sale, licensing, partnership/JV) for early-stage or IP-driven technologies
• Demonstrated ability to build financial projections, business cases, or ROI models to support investment or prioritization decisions
• Familiarity with commercialization frameworks: market research, product-market fit validation, competitive analysis, or go-to-market strategy development

Other

Full-time

$140,000 - $180,000 per year