Government Contracts Director

Talascend is currently seeking a Government Contracts Director for a direct hire opportunity with our client located in Washington, DC.

Position Overview:

Our client is seeking a dynamic and experienced Director, Account Management for its Washington, D.C. office to lead business development and customer engagement across the U.S. government, military services, and defense and aerospace sectors.

This is a true business development role requiring a highly motivated, entrepreneurial professional who can leverage an established network to identify opportunities, build relationships, and grow the presence across the defense industrial base. The ideal candidate will bring strong existing relationships within the Federal Government and Pentagon, with particular emphasis on the U.S. Army. Relationships across other military branches, government agencies, and major defense and aerospace organizations are also highly valued.

The Director will serve as a key point of contact for government and defense customers and will be responsible for developing new opportunities, managing strategic relationships, and supporting responses to government solicitations. This individual should be comfortable operating independently, opening doors, navigating government procurement processes, and driving opportunities from initial engagement through contract negotiation and ongoing customer management.

The position is based in the Washington, D.C. office and will require approximately 15% travel to company facilities and customer locations, including Las Vegas, Mountain Pass, Fort Worth, and other locations as business needs require.

Position Responsibilities:

• Develop and grow relationships across the U.S. Federal Government, Department of Defense, military service branches, and defense and aerospace contractors, with particular emphasis on the U.S. Army and Pentagon.
• Leverage an established network of government and industry contacts to identify, develop, and pursue new business opportunities.
• Serve as a true business development "hunter," proactively opening doors, developing customer relationships, and expanding presence within government and defense markets.
• Lead and coordinate responses to government solicitations, including RFIs, RFPs, RFQs, BAAs, and OTAs, utilizing internal and external resources as appropriate.
• Navigate U.S. government procurement and acquisition processes and identify strategies for successfully positioning with government customers.
• Serve as a primary relationship manager for key government, military, defense, and aerospace customers.
• Manage opportunities and customer relationships from initial engagement through solicitation, contract negotiation, product rollout, and ongoing supply.
• Develop a strong understanding of customer requirements and ensure those needs are effectively communicated across the company.
• Partner with internal commercial, contracts, engineering, quality, operations, and leadership teams to develop solutions that meet customer objectives.
• Support complex contract negotiations and understand how contractual requirements translate into commercial and operational execution.
• Track customer activity, opportunities, and business development efforts using existing tools and spreadsheets while supporting the organization's future transition to a CRM platform.
• Maintain flexibility to travel to facilities and customer locations based on organizational and customer needs.
• Contribute to a high-energy, collaborative, mission-driven culture and operate with a strong sense of ownership and accountability.

Basic Qualifications:

• Undergraduate degree or higher.
• 7+ years of experience in business development, government procurement, government solicitation response, government sales, account management, or a related defense-sector role.
• Established network of relationships within the U.S. Federal Government, Department of Defense, military service branches, Pentagon, and/or broader defense industrial base.
• Demonstrated experience working with or selling to U.S. government procurement organizations.
• Strong understanding of U.S. government procurement and solicitation processes, including experience with RFIs, RFPs, and RFQs.
• Experience developing government business opportunities and moving relationships from initial engagement through procurement and contract execution.
• Experience with complex contract negotiations and an understanding of how contractual terms impact operational and commercial execution.
• Strong relationship-building, communication, presentation, and negotiation skills.
• Entrepreneurial mindset with demonstrated ability to operate as a self-starter in a fast-paced environment.
• High energy, self-motivated, proactive, and comfortable working with limited structure while building new processes and relationships.
• Ability and willingness to travel approximately 15%, with flexibility to travel more frequently as business needs require.

Desired Qualifications:

• Strong existing relationships with the U.S. Army and/or Pentagon.
• Relationships across additional military service branches and major defense, aerospace, or space organizations.
• Prior experience within the Department of Defense, a military service branch, government procurement organization, or defense contractor.
• Active or previously held U.S. government security clearance.
• Knowledge of export restrictions and applicable government trade and compliance requirements.
• Knowledge of magnet applications, critical minerals, advanced materials, or related defense supply chains.
• Experience supporting the commercialization or rollout of sophisticated products or manufacturing capabilities for government and defense customers.

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