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David Careers

Vice President, Expeditionary

Posted today

ocean aeroLebanon (NH)
Chief ExecutivesSearch, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing

SENIORITY

Manager

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About the role

About Ocean Aero: Ocean Aero is an award-winning US company that has created the world’s first and only environmentally powered Autonomous Underwater and Surface Vehicle (AUSV). Ocean Aero’s autonomous marine robot, the Triton, operates exclusively on wind and solar energy and performs long endurance missions on the ocean surface with the ability to dive below the waves for underwater operations. The Triton uses a complex array of custom-built sensors, marinized electronics and software systems to operate, sense and communicate in the environment. Ocean Aero has a collaborative culture with plenty of opportunities for growth and ownership, and comprehensive benefits.
Role Description: Ocean Aero is seeking an accomplished Vice President, Expeditionary to lead the company's business development and sales strategy across the U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Transportation Command. This executive will own the Expeditionary growth portfolio, developing and managing a disciplined pipeline from early market shaping and customer engagement through qualification, capture, proposal, award, and transition to execution. The VP, Expeditionary will build senior-level relationships across Army and Marine Corps operational commands, requirements organizations, acquisition offices, Program Acquisition Executives (PAEs), Capability Portfolio Executives (CPEs), laboratories, modernization organizations, contracting activities, USTRANSCOM and its component commands, and industry partners. The executive will identify mission needs that align with Ocean Aero's autonomous maritime capabilities and convert those needs into funded opportunities. The role will serve as the company's senior representative for the portfolio and coordinate closely with executive leadership, Sales, Engineering, Product, Programs, Contracts, Finance, Mission Operations, and external advisors to develop executable win strategies and deliver measurable bookings and revenue growth. Success in this role requires deep credibility across the Army, Marine Corps, and broader joint logistics and mobility enterprise; a demonstrated record of creating and closing complex defense business; disciplined pipeline and capture leadership; executive presence; and the ability to translate expeditionary, littoral, logistics, sensing, and operational requirements into differentiated autonomous maritime solutions.
Role Responsibilities:
  • Expeditionary Land Forces Strategy & Business Development
  • Own and execute Ocean Aero’s growth strategy, account plans, pipeline, bookings objectives, and multi-year market development priorities across the U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, and USTRANSCOM.
  • Identify, qualify, shape, pursue, and close new business opportunities across the Army, Marine Corps, USTRANSCOM, and adjacent Joint and Department of War organizations supporting expeditionary operations, contested logistics, maritime mobility, sensing, and force protection.
  • Build and maintain a balanced, measurable pipeline with clear opportunity stages, validated customer need, funding source, acquisition path, competitive position, probability of win, next actions, and forecasted award timing.
  • Establish strategic account plans for priority Army, Marine Corps, and USTRANSCOM organizations, mapping operational sponsors, requirements owners, technical evaluators, PAEs/CPEs, resource sponsors, contracting activities, acquisition pathways, component commands, and industry partners.
  • Use customer insight, Service and Joint budget/POM signals, acquisition forecasts, modernization priorities, experimentation activity, logistics and mobility requirements, and competitive analysis to identify emerging requirements and position Ocean Aero ahead of formal solicitations.
  • Develop annual and long-range portfolio growth plans with measurable pipeline, bookings, revenue, win-rate, customer-access, and strategic-positioning objectives. Executive Customer Engagement & Market Development
  • Build trusted relationships with senior Army and Marine Corps leaders, operational commanders and staffs, requirements organizations, acquisition executives, PAEs/CPEs, technical organizations, contracting stakeholders, USTRANSCOM leadership and component commands, and end users.
  • Serve as Ocean Aero’s senior representative for Army, Marine Corps, and USTRANSCOM customer meetings, capability briefings, industry engagements, demonstrations, exercises, experimentation events, technical exchanges, and strategic forums.
  • Understand customer mission priorities and operational gaps relevant to autonomous systems, expeditionary and littoral operations, ISR, sensing, communications, contested logistics, port and terminal operations, strategic mobility, force protection, multidomain operations, and persistent distributed operations.
  • Translate Army, Marine Corps, and USTRANSCOM requirements into actionable account strategies, demonstrations, Concepts of Operations (CONOPS), experimentation pathways, requirements-shaping activities, and funded acquisition opportunities.
  • Develop strategic relationships with prime contractors, integrators, technology partners, logistics and transportation partners, research organizations, and other partners that expand market access and strengthen Ocean Aero’s competitive position. Pipeline, Capture & Proposal Leadership
  • Lead the full opportunity lifecycle from identification and qualification through capture, proposal, negotiation, award, and transition to program execution.
  • Establish disciplined opportunity qualification and gate-review processes; prioritize company resources against pursuits with the strongest strategic fit, funding probability, customer access, and win potential.
  • Lead capture strategy for priority pursuits, including customer and stakeholder mapping, win themes, competitive positioning, teaming, solution strategy, pricing inputs, Price-to-Win considerations, and executive engagement plans.
  • Direct and contribute to proposals, white papers, RFIs, capability statements, presentations, demonstrations, and other customer-facing materials, ensuring a clear and differentiated value proposition.
  • Coordinate with Contracts, Finance, Engineering, Product, Program Management, Operations, and Security to ensure proposed solutions are technically executable, compliant, appropriately priced, and supportable.
  • Maintain accurate pipeline and forecast reporting for executive leadership, including opportunity health, risks, investment requirements, next milestones, probability of win, expected bookings, and revenue timing.
Required Qualifications:
  • Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, National Security, Defense Studies, or a related field; equivalent senior military, government, acquisition, or industry experience highly desired.
  • Minimum 12 years of progressively responsible experience in business development, sales, capture, strategy, account management, military operations, acquisition, logistics, or defense markets, with substantial direct experience supporting the U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, USTRANSCOM, or closely related Joint customers.
  • Demonstrated record of identifying, shaping, capturing, and closing complex Service, Joint, or Department of War opportunities, including competitive procurements and strategically significant new business.
  • Established senior-level relationships and demonstrated credibility within the Army, Marine Corps, USTRANSCOM, or broader Joint force, with the ability to develop relationships across operational, requirements, acquisition, logistics, technical, and contracting communities.
  • Strong understanding of Service and Joint organizations, Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE), acquisition and contracting processes, requirements development, funding cycles, competitive procurement, and capability transition pathways.
  • Experience developing and managing a multi-year opportunity pipeline and providing reliable bookings/revenue forecasts using CRM or comparable pipeline-management tools.
  • Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional capture teams and coordinate technical, operational, contracts, pricing, proposal, and executive stakeholders.
  • Exceptional executive communication, briefing, negotiation, relationship-management, and written communication skills.
  • U.S. Citizenship required. Candidate must be eligible to obtain a Secret or Top Secret clearance, and must be able to maintain required security access for assigned customer missions.
Preferred Qualifications:
  • 15+ years of relevant Army, Marine Corps, USTRANSCOM, Joint, defense, national-security, or federal business development experience.
  • Prior senior military or civilian service within the U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, USTRANSCOM enterprise, acquisition community, logistics community, or comparable defense mission environment.
  • Eligible Secret or Top Secret clearance is preferred; ability to obtain additional accesses is desirable for pursuits requiring Joint, Special Operations, or intelligence-community access.
  • Experience developing business across multiple organizations such as Headquarters, Department of the Army; Army Futures Command; Army Materiel Command; Army PAEs/CPEs; DEVCOM; RCCTO; Headquarters Marine Corps; Marine Corps Systems Command; PAE Land Systems; Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory; Marine Forces and Marine Expeditionary Forces; USTRANSCOM; Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command; Military Sealift Command; Air Mobility Command; and relevant contracting activities.
  • Experience selling or integrating autonomous systems, unmanned systems, maritime systems, ISR, sensing, communications, edge processing, AI/ML, robotics, contested logistics, port or terminal security, data exploitation, or other mission technologies relevant to Ocean Aero’s portfolio.
  • Experience with strategic teaming, prime/subcontractor relationships, OTAs, BAAs, CSOs, IDIQ vehicles, rapid acquisition pathways, experimentation-to-program transition, and FAR/DFARS contracting environments.
  • Advanced degree in Business, Engineering, National Security, Strategic Studies, Acquisition, or a related discipline.
Key Competencies:
  • Executive Business Development Leadership
  • Army, Marine Corps & USTRANSCOM Market Expertise
  • Pipeline Management & Forecasting
  • Strategic Account Planning
  • Capture Management & Win Strategy
  • Executive Customer Relationships
  • Defense Acquisition, Requirements & Funding Strategy
  • Competitive & Market Intelligence
  • Strategic Partnerships & Teaming
  • Proposal & Executive Briefing Leadership
  • Mission-to-Solution Translation
  • Negotiation & Commercial Judgment
  • Accountability for Growth & Results
Additional Requirements:
  • Ability to travel frequently throughout the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, Huntsville, Alabama, Quantico and other Marine Corps locations, USTRANSCOM/component locations, and other customer sites to support engagements, demonstrations, exercises, industry events, and capture activities.
  • Ability to work in controlled or classified environments and comply with all applicable security, export-control, ethics, and government-contracting requirements.
  • Ability to travel internationally when required by company and customer priorities.
  • Ability to obtain and maintain a valid U.S. Passport.
  • Successfully pass background investigation, drug screening, and motor vehicle screening as required by company policy and customer access requirements. Role Preference:
  • Remote position with the ability to travel frequently to customer locations, Ocean Aero facilities, demonstrations, exercises, and strategic engagements as required.
  • Existing executive relationships across the U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, USTRANSCOM, or associated Joint organizations and demonstrated experience converting those relationships into qualified, funded opportunities.
  • Experience in a growth-stage defense technology company where the executive personally develops customer access, shapes requirements, establishes acquisition pathways, and drives pursuits through award.

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