Capitol Museum Services (a division of Capitol Exhibit Services, Inc.) | Manassas, VA | Custom fabrication and design-build | Full-time
We build museum exhibits. Detailing, millwork and casework, specialty fabrication, graphic production, AV integration, crating, delivery, installation and long-term support — all of it under one roof in a 110,000-square-foot facility in Manassas, with our own people. Since 1988 we have built for the Smithsonian Institution, NASA, the National Archives and the Kennedy Library, and we hold a GSA Schedule that federal agencies use to buy from us directly.
We are hiring a Senior Account Executive to own new business and long-term client relationships for the museum division.
The job
Find the institutions, agencies and design firms with exhibit projects coming. Get us onto the short list before an RFP is written. Lead our response when it is. Then stay with the project through fabrication and installation as the link between the client, the design firm and our shop.
Three things you should know before you read any further, because they define this job:
It is a three-to-five-year sale. Projects run as much as $15M+. Design alone often takes 12–24 months before fabrication is bid. You will not close anything major in year one, and we do not expect you to — our incentive compensation is structured around that reality rather than pretending otherwise.
The design firm is often the real gatekeeper. Institutions usually hire an exhibit designer first, and that firm writes the spec and advises on which fabricators are qualified to bid. A meaningful part of this job is earning standing with the design community. If you have sold through architects or specifiers, you already understand this.
Much of the work is federal. Interior and the National Park Service, the Smithsonian, DoD, DHS, State and the National Archives are the largest buyers in this market. Expect solicitations, past performance, GSA Schedule ordering and IDIQ vehicles alongside private and donor-funded work.
What this is not: it is not fundraising, it is not a quarterly-quota seat, and it is not an inbound role.
We are interested if:
You know this world already. You have worked in museum or cultural exhibits — at a fabricator, a design firm or a media producer, or on the institutional side as an exhibitions director, exhibit project manager or developer who has commissioned fabrication. Let's talk.
Or you've sold something structurally like this. You have spent years selling a custom, shop-drawn, fabricated and installed product into institutional or public-sector buyers, usually through someone else's specification, on a bonded contract with submittals, milestones and change orders. Same sale, different mission. Backgrounds that translate well: architectural millwork and casework, specialty subcontracting, A/E and design-build business development, federal capture and GSA Schedule work, environmental graphics and architectural signage, themed entertainment fabrication, museum AV and experiential media, and conservation-grade display case manufacturing.
If your background isn't on that list but the shape of your work matches, apply and tell us why.
What we're screening for
- Five or more years in business development or outside sales in a project-based or custom-manufactured business
- Experience responding to formal RFPs, RFQs or public-sector solicitations
- Genuine tolerance for a multi-year cycle — very difficult to teach and the most common reason people fall short
- The ability to build influence with a prospect who isn't your customer
- Curiosity about how the thing gets built, and enough drawing literacy to hold a technical conversation
- Judgment about margin on a fabricated product, not just revenue
- Comfort in a room with a curator, a conservator, a designer and a contracting officer, all wanting different things
College Degree welcome but not required. Valid driver's license and willingness to travel to client institutions, design firm offices and installation sites.
What we'll teach you
Conservation and object safety — off-gassing, case microclimates, humidity and UV, mount making. The production shop, from detailing through installation. The media and interactive element, if you don’t already have it. And introductions into the museum and design community. Expect a structured job training process and a real ramp.
Compensation and benefits
Competitive Base salary plus goals built for a multi-year project cycle — we will explain exactly how that works in the first conversation. Medical, dental, vision, life and disability coverage; retirement plan with company contribution; paid time off and holidays; mileage and expense reimbursement; company-supported conference attendance.
To apply
Send a resume and a short note about one pursuit you carried over 1 year before it closed — who the client was, who else was included in the decision, and what you did during the interim when nothing appeared to be happening. That note tells us more than the resume does. We read every application and respond within 3 business days.
Pay: $85,000.00 - $100,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
- Health savings account
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
Work Location: In person
