Defense Business Development Manager

Defense Business Development Manager ABOUT US Crane 1 Services and Craneworks design, build, install, inspect and maintain overhead lifting equipment for operations where failure is not an option. Currently supporting the U.S. Navy, we are now taking that mission-ready, high-compliance crane capability to the wider defense manufacturing base. That means missile and hypersonics production, rocket engine test and assembly, naval shipbuilding, and unmanned systems. THE ROLE We need a business developer who has lived in the defense world. You will open doors across the Department of War (DoW) and the prime contractors, shipyards and new-space and drone manufacturers that build for it. Then you will turn those relationships into qualified, winnable crane programs. You will own generating warm leads by finding the pain, the budget and the real decision-makers. You will then stay involved through triage, technical sales, proposal and award. You know the difference between a KO and a COR, between an IDIQ and an OTA, and between a GOGO and a GOCO facility, and you know why each one changes the deal. When you walk onto a base or a shipyard floor, people already know you, or they know someone who does. TARGET MARKET — WHO YOU WILL CALL ON You will work a defined set of strategic accounts across four defense manufacturing verticals. Each is a high-compliance, specification-driven environment where lifting equipment is mission-critical: Missiles / Hypersonics Production, integration and energetics facilities building tactical, strategic and hypersonic weapons systems. Rocket Engines Propulsion development, test and assembly sites across established primes and new-space launch providers. Shipbuilding Naval shipyards, ship repair yards and naval engineering firms supporting surface and undersea fleets. Drones / Unmanned Systems Manufacturers of unmanned air, sea and ground systems, from large primes to fast-growing defense tech companies. You will also support relationships with Navy and other DoW installation customers, including program offices, Public Works, and Weight Handling Equipment (WHE) and Crane Certification stakeholders. WHAT YOU WILL DO Create warm leads. Use your network across active-duty, Guard/Reserve, DoW civilian, and prime/sub contractor communities to find facilities with lifting needs, the funding behind them, and the people who sign off. Map the decision chain. Know who matters on each account: the Program Manager, Facilities/Public Works, Safety, Contracting Officer (KO/CO), COR, and the prime's supply chain and capital-projects leads. Know how each of them makes decisions. Qualify hard. Bring opportunities to the Triage Team with enough detail for a fast Go/No-Go call: scope, budget source (O&M, MILCON, RDT&E, procurement or corporate CapEx), contract vehicle, competition, and fit with our core capabilities. Position the right entity. Recognize GOGO vs. GOCO vs. contractor-owned environments and route each opportunity to Craneworks, Crane 1 or a hybrid model. Shape the requirement early. Engage before the RFP drops. Influence Sources Sought and RFI responses, Statements of Work, and industry days so our capabilities are reflected in the spec. Partner on capture. Work with Technical Sales Leads on site walks and estimating inputs, and with our Contract Manager (former KO/CO) on proposals, teaming agreements and pricing strategy. Be the face of the company. Represent Crane 1 / Craneworks at AUSA, Sea-Air-Space, Space Symposium, AUVSI XPONENTIAL, NDIA events, SAME, base and installation industry days, and regional defense councils. Own the number. Build and maintain your pipeline in our CRM, forecast accurately, and hit commission-based targets tied to qualified pipeline and awarded revenue. WHAT YOU BRING — REQUIRED 7+ years in defense business development, capture, or program/acquisition roles, or an equivalent combination of military service and BD experience. An active, working network inside the DoW an…

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