Vice President of Business Development, Navy & Marine Corps

Persistent Systems is seeking an experienced, growth-oriented executive to serve as Vice President of Business Development, Navy & Marine Corps. In this leadership role, you will define and execute the strategic growth campaign across both the U.S. Navy (USN) and the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC), driving operational adoption and program transition of our Wave Relay® mobile ad-hoc networking (MANET) ecosystems and tactical edge compute platforms across surface, undersea, expeditionary, aviation, and unmanned domains.

Reporting directly to executive leadership, you will lead a high-performing business development and capture team, own the annual Navy and Marine Corps bookings quota, and cultivate strategic partnerships across the modern defense acquisition framework—including newly established Portfolio Acquisition Executive (PAE) organizations, Systems Commands, Warfare Centers, Fleet and Force Commanders, and tier-1 defense prime contractors. Your mission is to position Persistent Systems as the core resilient tactical transport and edge compute layer for distributed naval and expeditionary warfare.

Location: National Capital Region (NCR / Washington, D.C. area) preferred; open to strategic Naval and Marine Corps hubs (Quantico / Northern Virginia; San Diego, CA; Norfolk, VA; Patuxent River, MD) or Remote with regular domestic travel

Position Responsibilities

• Architect and execute comprehensive capture and business development strategies tailored specifically to Navy and Marine Corps operational requirements and budget lines; own the annual operating plan (AOP) bookings quota, pipeline maturation, and multi-year Program of Record (PoR) transition roadmaps across both services
• Directly lead, mentor, and resource a distributed team of business development directors, capture managers, and field solutions engineers; establish clear pipeline milestones, win-strategy frameworks, and capture governance
• Engage operational fleet and fleet marine force users, requirements authorities, and program offices early in the capability life cycle to embed Wave Relay® MANET and edge compute into service-specific and joint architectures: 

• U.S. Marine Corps Concepts: Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations (EABO), Stand-in Forces (SIF), Force Design modernizations, and MAGTF tactical communications
• U.S. Navy Concepts: Distributed Maritime Operations (DMO), Littoral Operations in a Contested Environment (LOCE), and Project Overmatch / CJADC2 data fabrics

• Cultivate and expand trusted partnerships across both service acquisition communities:

• Marine Corps Acquisition: Headquarters Marine Corps (DC CD&I, DC I), Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory (MCWL), and PAE Marine Corps / Marine Corps Systems Command (MCSC)
• Navy Acquisition: OPNAV (N2N6 Information Warfare, N9 Warfare Systems), Fleet Commands (USFFC, PACFLT), PAE Mission Systems (PEO C4I and PEO Digital portfolios), PAE Robotics & Autonomous Systems (RAS), and PAE Maritime / Undersea
• Warfare Centers & S&T: Naval Information Warfare Centers (NIWC Pacific / Atlantic), Naval Surface/Undersea Warfare Centers (NSWC / NUWC), the DON Rapid Capabilities Office (DON-RCO), and the Office of Naval Research (ONR)

• Forge strategic teaming and OEM integration agreements with tier-1 defense primes to embed Wave Relay® into unmanned surface/undersea vehicles (USVs/UUVs), collaborative combat aircraft (CCA/sUAS), tactical ground combat vehicles, and expeditionary sensor nodes
• Direct capture strategies and technical participation in premier fleet demonstrations, warfighting experiments, and joint exercises (e.g., Fleet Battle Problems, Trident Warrior, RIMPAC, Project Convergence Capstone, and MCWL Service-Level Experiments) to validate tactical edge networking in contested and communications-degraded (A2/AD) environments
• Collaborate with Bid & Proposal, Product Management, and Engineering to develop winning strategies across the Adaptive Acquisition Framework—leveraging Middle Tier of Acquisition (MTA), rapid fielding, Software Acquisition Pathways (SWP), Other Transaction Authority (OTA) consortia (e.g., IWRP), and sole-source Program of Record transitions

Minimum Qualifications 

• 12+ years of proven business development, capture management, or acquisition leadership within the defense and aerospace sector, with a demonstrated record of identifying, shaping, and closing multi-million-dollar defense programs across Navy or Marine Corps portfolios
• In-depth technical and operational understanding of Radio Frequency (RF) communications, Line-of-Sight (LOS) and Beyond-Line-of-Sight (BLOS) tactical IP networking, mobile ad-hoc networking (MANET) waveforms, and distributed edge computing architectures
• Thorough working knowledge of the Defense Acquisition System (DoD 5000 / Adaptive Acquisition Framework), with direct experience navigating MTA Rapid Prototyping/Fielding pathways, OTA consortia, Commercial Solutions Openings (CSOs), and SBIR Phase III transition mechanisms
• Working knowledge of Project Overmatch, CJADC2 tactical data transport architectures, Link 16/tactical data link gateways, and naval/expeditionary sensor-to-shooter mesh networks
• Proven experience leading, mentoring, and holding accountable distributed business development and technical capture teams
• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, computer science, business, or related technical discipline
• Active U.S. Secret clearance required; must be eligible to obtain and maintain a Top Secret/SCI clearance
• Willingness to travel up to 50–60% domestically to customer sites, warfare centers, fleet/expeditionary demonstrations, and company facilities

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in business administration (MBA), systems engineering, or national security / strategic studies
• Prior military or civilian leadership within the U.S. Navy or U.S. Marine Corps, with experience in Information Warfare, Surface Warfare, Naval Aviation, or Expeditionary / MAGTF Communications
• Active U.S. Top Secret clearance with immediate SCI eligibility
• Established executive relationships across:

• PAE Marine Corps / Marine Corps Systems Command (MCSC) and Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory (MCWL) in Quantico
• PAE Mission Systems / NAVWAR / PEO C4I (PMW 160 tactical networks, PMW 170 communications, PMW 150 command and control)
• PAE Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS) and uncrewed vehicle task forces
• Naval Information Warfare Centers (NIWC Pacific / Atlantic)
• DON Rapid Capabilities Office (DON-RCO) and the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU)

• 15+ years of defense industry business development experience with verifiable overachievement against bookings targets and multi-year program transitions ($50M+ total contract value)

 The base pay for this role can vary from $200,000 to $240,000 a year based on individual qualifications. Eligible for sales incentive compensation plan. Persistent Systems, LLC offers a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance; paid time off (sick time and vacation time); flexible spending accounts; 401(k) plan with company match; fitness membership reimbursement; tuition assistance; mental health benefits; and pet discounts. We will accept applications on a rolling basis until the role is filled.

Persistent Systems, LLC, a leader in defense technology, has been engineering secure Mobile Ad Hoc Networking (MANET) solutions since 2007, enabling joint forces and multinational coalitions to communicate, collaborate, and achieve mission success. Persistent created the Wave Relay® Ecosystem, a unified data network for unmanned systems, sensors, and software, empowering warfighters to accomplish tactical objectives across the operational area.  Built on the company’s Wave Relay MANET and Cloud Relay™ technologies, this ecosystem delivers a global data fabric for military, first responders, and commercial users. Persistent has offices in New York City, Colorado, North Carolina, Montana, North Dakota, and Wyoming.