Director of Strategic Capture and Growth
Wild West Systems is an American defense technology company with the mission to equip the civilized world with superior and affordable arms and advanced technologies – to dominate the battlefield of present and future threats, in a new era of asymmetrical warfare. We fuse versatile domain experience with novel approach and creativity to change the paradigm of defense – both for military arenas and civilian soft targets. We're an early-stage startup, rapidly moving and growing.
Love for America and passion for Wild West System's mission. Self-starter, capable of performing tasks as an individual as well as working well in a team. Bias for action. ITAR REQUIREMENT: To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.
Wild West Systems is seeking a Director of Strategic Capture and Growth to own the full arc of growth - from identifying and shaping opportunities in white space to driving them across the finish line. You will find the deal, build the strategy, lead the capture, and own the win.
This role spans the complete pursuit lifecycle: market shaping, opportunity qualification, customer engagement, competitive positioning, teaming, price-to-win, proposal strategy, and close. You will work directly with the Chief Strategy Officer to set targets and execute against them.
We are looking for someone who has done this before in a complex, hardware-centric defense environment - munitions, missiles, rockets, loitering munitions, counter-UAS, or adjacent lethal systems. You understand how programs are born, how requirements get written, and how awards get won. You know which doors to open and when to open them.
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Own the full capture lifecycle from opportunity identification through contract award
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Build and manage and qualify an opportunity pipeline across Army, Navy, Air Force, SOCOM, and international channels
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Shape requirements and influence acquisition strategies pre-RFP through sustained engagement with Program Offices, PEOs, requirements officers, and senior uniformed leaders
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Lead all capture planning activities: competitive assessments, teaming strategy, price-to-win analysis, win theme development, and gate reviews
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Drive proposal strategy and provide direct input to technical volumes, management approaches, and executive summaries
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Establish and maintain senior-level relationships at Program Office and command level across relevant Army, SOCOM, and DoD acquisition organizations
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Partner with engineering, product, and program leadership to translate customer problems into compelling WWS solutions
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Provide pipeline reporting, capture status, and win/loss analysis to executive leadership on a regular cadence
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10+ years of defense capture and business development experience with a demonstrated record of winning programs in munitions, missiles, rockets, loitering munitions, C-UAS, or adjacent lethal systems
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Proven capture leadership - you have personally led pursuits from qualification through award, not just supported them
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Deep familiarity with acquisition pathways including ACAT programs, OTAs, and rapid fielding mechanisms
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Existing relationships at the PM/PEO level within or equivalent organizations
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Experience building and managing large opportunity pipelines with disciplined qualification and stage-gate rigor
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Strong command of capture tradecraft: PTW, competitive intelligence, teaming strategy, color team reviews, and proposal win themes
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S. Citizen or eligible to work under ITAR requirements
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Prior military service, especially in combat arms
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Experience at a defense startup or non-traditional prime that grew primarily through OTAs, rapid prototyping vehicles, and early-adopter government partnerships
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Existing network within DoW amongst customers that buy these capabilities
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Familiarity with the emerging loitering munitions and autonomous weapons market and the competitive landscape within it
This role can be remote, but a hybrid role in Leander, TX is preferred.
