Absolutely. For Indeed, I would position this as a hybrid commercial and federal program leadership role, rather than a conventional Business Development position. The person should be capable of developing customers while also taking ownership of SBIR, STTR, DoD, DOE, DARPA, and other federally funded R&D programs after award.
I would recommend the title Business Development & Federal Program Manager. It is clear enough for Indeed searches while communicating that this is not purely a sales position.
Business Development & Federal Program Manager
Location: Greensboro, North Carolina
Company: Soelect, Inc.
Employment Type: Full Time
About Soelect
Soelect, Inc. is an advanced battery technology company developing next generation lithium metal anodes, advanced electrode manufacturing technologies, and AI enabled material intelligence solutions.
Our technology portfolio includes Lithium-X®, an advanced lithium metal anode platform designed for high energy density batteries, and Pen-AI™ Material Intelligence, an AI based material intelligence platform that transforms image derived information into quantitative and actionable material insights.
Soelect works with commercial customers, research institutions, and U.S. Government organizations to advance technologies for next generation batteries, autonomous manufacturing, aerospace, defense, and other advanced technology applications.
We are seeking a highly motivated Business Development & Federal Program Manager who can bridge advanced technology, customer development, and federally funded R&D programs.
Position Overview
The Business Development & Federal Program Manager will have two primary responsibilities:
1. Business Development and Customer Management
Develop new commercial and strategic customers while supporting and expanding relationships with existing customers and partners.
2. Federal Research Program and Project Management
Lead the planning, execution, coordination, and reporting of federally funded R&D programs involving agencies and organizations such as the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, DARPA, Air Force, Army, Navy, and other U.S. Government organizations.
This position requires someone who is comfortable working across technology, business development, customer engagement, government programs, and internal R&D teams.
The ideal candidate does not need to be a battery scientist but must have sufficient technical capability to understand advanced technologies, communicate effectively with engineers and scientists, and translate technical capabilities into compelling customer and government program opportunities.
Key ResponsibilitiesBusiness Development and Customer Engagement
- Identify and develop new business opportunities within the battery, energy storage, aerospace, defense, advanced manufacturing, and related technology sectors.
- Develop relationships with prospective customers, strategic partners, government organizations, research institutions, and technology collaborators.
- Manage relationships with existing customers and support technical and commercial communications.
- Understand customer requirements and coordinate internally with engineering and R&D teams to develop appropriate technical and commercial responses.
- Prepare customer presentations, technical capability summaries, proposals, quotations, and other business development materials.
- Coordinate customer meetings, technical discussions, product evaluations, sample programs, and follow up activities.
- Maintain and manage the business development pipeline, customer opportunities, and strategic accounts.
- Support commercialization of Soelect technologies, including Lithium-X® and Pen-AI™ Material Intelligence.
- Identify strategic partnerships, licensing opportunities, joint development programs, and other potential commercialization pathways.
Federal Program Development
- Identify relevant federal funding opportunities aligned with Soelect's technology portfolio.
- Evaluate solicitations from organizations including DoD, DOE, DARPA, Air Force, Army, Navy, and other federal agencies.
- Support or lead preparation of technical proposals, white papers, concept papers, Statements of Work, schedules, budgets, milestones, and commercialization plans.
- Coordinate proposal development among internal technical teams, universities, national laboratories, subcontractors, and other external collaborators.
- Participate in discussions with government program managers and technical representatives.
- Help develop strategies for transitioning federally funded technologies into follow on programs, commercial opportunities, and defense applications.
Federal Program and Project Management
- Serve as the primary program management interface for assigned federally funded R&D projects.
- Translate contractual requirements and Statements of Work into clearly defined technical tasks, milestones, deliverables, schedules, and responsibilities.
- Coordinate activities among internal scientists, engineers, management, subcontractors, universities, national laboratories, and government stakeholders.
- Track program milestones, technical progress, budgets, schedules, risks, deliverables, and reporting requirements.
- Organize program reviews, technical meetings, kickoff meetings, milestone reviews, and customer presentations.
- Prepare and coordinate monthly, quarterly, annual, and final technical reports as required by individual programs.
- Identify schedule, technical, contractual, or budget risks and work with internal teams to develop appropriate corrective actions.
- Maintain accurate documentation for federally funded programs and support compliance with applicable contractual requirements.
- Support successful execution from initial proposal through award, R&D execution, demonstration, final reporting, and technology transition.
Cross Functional Leadership
This position will work closely with:
- Executive leadership
- Battery scientists and engineers
- AI and software development teams
- Manufacturing and process engineering teams
- Finance and administrative personnel
- Customers and strategic partners
- Universities and national laboratories
- U.S. Government program managers and technical representatives
The successful candidate must be capable of communicating technical information across both technical and nontechnical audiences.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in engineering, science, business, or a related field.
- Minimum 3 years of relevant experience in business development, technical program management, project management, government contracting, advanced technology commercialization, or a related field.
- Strong project management and organizational capabilities.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Ability to understand and communicate complex technical concepts.
- Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects, deadlines, and stakeholders simultaneously.
- Strong customer facing communication and presentation skills.
- Ability to work effectively with scientists, engineers, executives, customers, and government organizations.
- Strong proficiency with Microsoft Office and project management tools.
- Ability to travel within the United States as required.
Preferred Qualifications
Experience in one or more of the following areas is highly desirable:
- Lithium ion batteries, lithium metal batteries, solid state batteries, battery materials, or energy storage.
- Advanced materials or advanced manufacturing.
- Artificial intelligence, machine vision, digital manufacturing, or autonomous manufacturing.
- Aerospace or defense technologies.
- U.S. Government funded R&D programs.
- SBIR or STTR programs.
- DoD or DOE contracting.
- DARPA, Air Force, Army, Navy, or other defense related R&D programs.
- Federal proposal development and technical proposal writing.
- Program budgeting, milestone tracking, and technical reporting.
- Commercialization of emerging technologies.
- Experience working with universities, national laboratories, or government research organizations.
PMP certification or formal project management training is beneficial but not required.
What We Are Looking For
We are particularly interested in candidates who combine technical curiosity with strong business judgment and execution capability.
The successful candidate should be comfortable moving between a technical meeting with engineers, a customer business development discussion, a federal program review, and an internal project planning meeting.
We value individuals who are proactive, highly organized, intellectually curious, and capable of taking ownership of projects rather than simply coordinating meetings and schedules.
This is an opportunity to play a significant role in the commercialization of emerging technologies while helping lead advanced R&D programs involving commercial customers and the U.S. Government.
Why Join Soelect
Soelect provides an opportunity to work at the intersection of next generation batteries, advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and national security technologies.
The person joining this position will work directly with company leadership and technical teams and will have meaningful responsibility for developing new commercial opportunities and advancing federally funded technologies from research concepts toward real world deployment.
Soelect, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit, and business needs without regard to legally protected characteristics.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $50,000.00 - $100,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
Work Location: In person
