System Development Manager Jobs in Austin, TX (NOW HIRING)

About Gallatin
At Gallatin, we are rebuilding logistics infrastructure for the national security missions of the United States and allied partners. We build AI systems that determine how logistics decisions are made - not just how they're executed. From factory to foxhole, we operate at the layer where data becomes decisions, and decisions make the advantage.
About the Role
A Mission Development Manager at Gallatin is responsible for identifying, shaping, and advancing mission-aligned growth opportunities across the federal defense, national security, and adjacent commercial markets. The role sits at the intersection of customer discovery, operational problem framing, solution positioning, capture support, and partner coordination.
This role requires understanding how military and government customers define mission problems, how acquisition pathways mature, how operational requirements translate into funded opportunities, and how Gallatin's Navigator platform can be positioned against priority workflows in sustainment, logistics, mobility, readiness, and mission planning. Reporting to the Head of Business Development, you will own a defined portfolio - building qualified pipeline, developing customer and partner relationships, shaping early opportunities, supporting capture activities, and ensuring Gallatin's external growth motion stays grounded in real mission needs.
We are hiring against multiple portfolios now and expect to open additional Mission Development Manager seats as the year progresses. Portfolios are aligned to the markets where Gallatin can move the most logistics readiness in the shortest time:

• Army / SOCOM / Navy - service-level commands, program executive offices, operational units, and the formations that move and sustain the force.
• DLA / GSA / TRANSCOM / AMC - the joint and enterprise sustainment, mobility, and acquisition organizations that run U.S. logistics at scale.
• Federal civilian (non-DoD) - State Department, DHS (including FEMA), DOE, and adjacent civilian agencies whose missions hinge on resilient logistics.
• Commercial - large logistics-heavy industry and the technology enablers that move freight, fuel, parts, and people for the U.S. economy.

You are an experienced operator with deep relationships, sharp commercial instincts, and a credible track record of advancing complex enterprise pursuits inside at least one of these portfolios. You bring fluency in AI, data, SaaS, and enterprise software - enough to hold your own in a technical conversation, and enough to translate operator problems into commercial pathways. You are equally at home in a SCIF, a logistics command operations center, a Capitol Hill office, or a Fortune 100 boardroom.
What You'll Do
Mission and Market Development

• Identify priority mission areas, customer organizations, program offices, operational units, and acquisition pathways where Gallatin can create measurable mission value.
• Develop account and territory plans across target defense, federal, and commercial customers - including stakeholders, mission owners, technical evaluators, contracting paths, budget signals, partner dependencies, and likely barriers to adoption.
• Translate operational pain points into clear opportunity narratives that connect customer mission needs to Navigator's decision support, planning, logistics, sustainment, and workflow capabilities.
• Track emerging requirements, solicitations, SBIR/STTR opportunities, OTA activity, prototype programs, exercises, experiments, and partner-led pursuits relevant to Gallatin's growth strategy.

Customer Discovery and Relationship Development

• Conduct structured customer discovery with operators, planners, logisticians, acquisition personnel, program managers, and technical stakeholders.
• Develop and maintain relationships with government users, transition partners, system integrators, primes, advisory networks, and ecosystem stakeholders.
• Prepare for and support customer meetings, capability briefings, technical exchanges, industry days, conferences, demonstrations, and follow-up actions.
• Capture customer feedback, mission requirements, workflow gaps, operational constraints, data access assumptions, integration needs, and procurement dynamics in a format usable by Growth, Product, Engineering, and Capture.

Opportunity Shaping and Capture Support

• Qualify opportunities based on mission fit, customer urgency, budget alignment, competitive position, acquisition feasibility, and probability of transition.
• Develop call plans, account notes, opportunity briefs, stakeholder maps, competitive assessments, partner strategies, and next-step recommendations.
• Shape opportunities before solicitation release by clarifying mission need, influencing problem statements where appropriate, identifying evaluation drivers, and aligning Gallatin's solution narrative to customer priorities.
• Support proposal development through customer context, win themes, operational use cases, partner inputs, compliance support, and reviewer coordination - in close partnership with the Capture Lead and proposal team.
• Maintain disciplined pipeline hygiene - honest stages, real probabilities, current next steps, identified risks, and clean forecast inputs.

Product and Mission Translation

• Serve as the translation layer between external mission stakeholders and internal Product and Engineering teams.
• Convert customer discovery into concise problem statements, user workflows, use cases, demo requirements, and capability gaps.
• Support demo tailoring by identifying the operational context, user persona, workflow, data assumptions, and decision outcome that matter to the customer.
• Ensure external messaging is accurate, credible, and aligned with what Gallatin can demonstrate, deliver, and validate - no overselling, no underselling.

Partnership and Ecosystem Development

• Identify and develop partner relationships that improve Gallatin's access, credibility, contract vehicles, technical integration options, or customer reach.
• Support teaming discussions with primes, system integrators, small businesses, research organizations, and mission partners.
• Assess partner fit based on customer access, contract position, technical complementarity, reputation, and conflict risk.
• Represent Gallatin in early customer conversations, conferences, industry days, and partner forums.

What We're Looking For

• 8+ years of mission development, business development, capture, or senior account leadership experience advancing complex technology solutions into the U.S. government, commercial enterprise, or both.
• Demonstrable track record advancing and closing significant contracts and pursuits inside at least one of: (a) Army / SOCOM / Navy, (b) DLA / GSA / TRANSCOM / AMC, (c) federal civilian (DoS, DHS/FEMA, DOE, and adjacent agencies), or (d) large commercial logistics and industrial enablers.
• Deep understanding of how military and government customers define mission problems, how acquisition pathways mature, and how operational requirements translate into funded opportunities.
• Working fluency with the federal acquisition environment - FAR-based contracting, OTAs, IDIQ task orders, SBIR/STTR pathways, and the realities of how programs of record actually get funded and let.
• Domain fluency in AI, data systems, SaaS, and enterprise software - enough to lead a technical conversation with operators, program managers, and engineers, and to translate their problems into commercial pathways.
• Strong, current relationships inside your portfolio at the levels that actually make procurement decisions.
• Track record of building pipeline from a standing start - not just managing inbound or working a handed-down account plan.
• Expert verbal and written communication; able to brief a four-star, a contracting officer, a Senate staffer, and a Fortune 100 executive in the same week and adjust the register without losing the substance.
• Sharp commercial instincts and a high-ownership operating style; you anticipate the next move, surface risks early, and do what it takes to advance the mission.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-moving, ambiguous, early-stage environment with high autonomy.
• Must be eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. government security clearance.

Bonus Points

• Active U.S. government security clearance (Secret, TS, or TS/SCI).
• U.S. military or government service background - operational, acquisition, J4/G4/N4/A4, or equivalent.
• Prior mission development, BD, or account leadership experience at a defense-tech startup, growth-stage federal contractor, or hyperscale commercial logistics provider.
• Experience advancing AI, data, autonomy, or logistics/sustainment software into your portfolio.
• Existing relationships across primes, systems integrators, and defense innovation organizations (DIU, AFWERX, SOFWERX, NavalX, DEF, etc.) and relevant program offices.
• Familiarity with FMS and international procurement mechanisms.

Mission and Identity
We are building the system that enables faster, smarter logistics decisions in contested environments, and we're doing it with a team of seasoned entrepreneurs, operators, and technologists who have built and scaled solutions in this space before. We hold ourselves to an extremely high standard. We value clear thinking, direct communication, and the kind of ownership that doesn't stop until something actually works.
Our mission is to create decision advantage when the stakes are the highest. If we succeed, the system doesn't just run; it gets smarter. We're not building AI for its own sake. We're building it because faster, smarter decisions in the most demanding environments on earth can't wait. If you want to work somewhere the stakes are real and the mission is urgent - you'll fit in here.
Why Gallatin?
The logistics infrastructure that supports America's warfighters and humanitarian disaster responders is overdue for transformation, and we are building it. From defense operations to disaster response, we're solving the hardest problems that keep missions moving when it matters most. Join a team where the mission is the point.
Compensation
Gallatin offers competitive compensation commensurate with experience. Actual compensation may vary based on experience, skills, and location. In addition to base salary, we offer a generous equity grant, full healthcare coverage, 401k, unlimited PTO, and the perks of working in a high-caliber, mission-driven environment.
Gallatin is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.
This position may require the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government security clearance. The successful candidate must be able to work in a classified environment when necessary.
We comply with the United States Department of Labor's Pay Transparency provision.