At Northrop Grumman, we push the boundaries of what’s possible across land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace. Join our team of passionate professionals dedicated to delivering real-world solutions that transform human space exploration, national defense, and scientific discovery. We offer a culture that values your voice, fosters career growth, and inspires purposeful work every day. With competitive pay and comprehensive benefits, Northrop Grumman is where you can launch your career and help define the future.
We are currently seeking a strategic and results-driven Business Development Manager 3 in our Space Superiority Division (SSD) to join their team.
The preferred location for this role is Dulles VA; however, an ideal candidate may also be based at our El Segundo, CA facilities.
Northrop Grumman is seeking a strategic and results-driven Business Development leader for the Space Segment Production business area. The BD Manager will report to the Mission Capabilities & Operations (MCO) BD and Strategy Director and lead business development activities related to emerging space and sensing programs to include rapid and emerging space superiority, R&D/prototyping, ground, resiliency, and foundational technology markets. This Business Development Manager will work with a campaign team of capture professionals, business development professionals and industry partners, supporting activities to realize long range strategy plan commitments.
We are looking for self-starters that help bring out the best of the larger team. Core skills include critical/strategic thinking, organization, and attention to detail. In addition, the candidate must have a result driven attitude and a proven capability of working in a collaborative environment across distributed and diverse locations and organizations.
Key Responsibilities:
- Create and execute customer engagement plans; serve as point of contact for government and customer organizations; Report results of customer activities and engagements
- Develop early-win strategies for customer outreach and targeted influence, including initial technical discussions, white paper creation, and government relations/legislative advocacy planning
- Identify key portfolio differentiators and win themes that create and shape new business
- Manage pipeline growth by collaborating with program and capture teams, ensuring that customer needs are translated into tailored solutions and effective capture strategies
- Conduct market and opportunity research, analysis and business case development, to include competitor analysis, opportunities, and budgets
- Drive customer engagement through strategic briefings, RFI responses, and cross-functional meetings, supporting executive-level bid/no bid decisions
- Oversee all stages of the Northrop Grumman Business Acquisition Process, from identifying new opportunities and setting pursuit priorities to managing internal investments and ensuring successful capture outcomes
- Convene multi-functional teams to innovate and deliver affordable, high-quality technology and engineering solutions
- Support annual and long-range strategic planning and technical roadmaps
Basic Qualifications:
- 7+ years of relevant experience with a bachelor’s degree, or 5+ years with an advanced degree
- At least 3 years in space programs, capture management, business development, proposal development, or related discipline
- Demonstrated expertise in shaping requirements, developing customer talking points, and representing the company at industry events
- Ability to quickly develop an understanding of technical capabilities and their applications to customer needs
- Possess a strong understanding of DoD and/or national agency space missions.
- Dynamic self-starter with strong attention to detail, the ability to function independently, who responds to challenges with resilience, and can make informed decisions at the speed of relevance
- Strong interpersonal skills that ensure collaborative and trusting relationships with all levels of the organization, including executive leadership and technical experts
- Proven ability to create, compose and edit written materials, and consolidate data from multiple sources into concise executive caliber summaries
- Proficiency with CRM software and advanced data analysis
- Ability to work requisite hours to support executive deadlines in fast-paced environment
- Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment, managing multiple priorities and adapting to evolving market landscapes.
- Candidates must have a current/active Top Secret/SCI level security clearance at the time of application
- The selected candidate will be required to obtain, and maintain, Special Access Program (SAP/SAR) clearances
- Ability to travel 25% to 50% of the time
Preferred Qualifications:
- Active TS/SCI with Polygraph with existing Special Access
- Advanced degree in a STEM field or business
- Pre-existing network of relationships within the Space Superiority Community
- Experience with Space Superiority missions and capabilities
- Proven ability to conduct independent initial technical and concept discussions with the Space Superiority customer community, Department of War, U.S. Space Force, Intelligence Community, and Congress
- Domain expertise in space systems, including experience with space system design, development, and production
- Demonstrated ability to think strategically, to identify and qualify new program opportunities, and to develop and implement creative approaches for executing early phase program activities
- Experience working in a matrix organization where leadership through influence, rather than authority, was required
- Thorough knowledge of business development processes; experience in business development success across the phases of the Business Acquisition Process (BAP)
- Deep understanding of executive and legislative branch operations including authorizations and appropriations, PPBE, defense acquisition, and space policy frameworks.
- Experience with requirements/architecture development, mission planning/analysis, program management, and procurement/acquisitions
- Previous experience developing and implementing customer engagement plans from the action officer level to the SES/GOFO level
If you’re passionate about redefining what’s possible and excel at crafting strategies that transform bold ideas into real-world defenses, we invite you to join Northrop Grumman.
Become a part of a team that’s making history – but defining the future of global military capability.
Explore your future and launch your career today.
Primary Level Salary Range: $175,400.00 - $262,300.00The above salary range represents a general guideline; however, Northrop Grumman considers a number of factors when determining base salary offers such as the scope and responsibilities of the position and the candidate's experience, education, skills and current market conditions.Depending on the position, employees may be eligible for overtime, shift differential, and a discretionary bonus in addition to base pay. Annual bonuses are designed to reward individual contributions as well as allow employees to share in company results. Employees in Vice President or Director positions may be eligible for Long Term Incentives. In addition, Northrop Grumman provides a variety of benefits including health insurance coverage, life and disability insurance, savings plan, Company paid holidays and paid time off (PTO) for vacation and/or personal business.The application period for the job is estimated to be 20 days from the job posting date. However, this timeline may be shortened or extended depending on business needs and the availability of qualified candidates.Northrop Grumman is an Equal Opportunity Employer, making decisions without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected class. For our complete EEO and pay transparency statement, please visit http://www.northropgrumman.com/EEO. U.S. Citizenship is required for all positions with a government clearance and certain other restricted positions.Skills Required
- Bachelor’s degree with 7 or more years of relevant experience, or an advanced degree with 5 or more years of relevant experience
- At least 3 years of experience in space programs, capture management, business development, proposal development, or a related discipline
- Expertise shaping requirements, developing customer talking points, and representing a company at industry events
- Ability to understand technical capabilities and apply them to customer needs
- Strong understanding of Department of Defense and/or national agency space missions
- Strong strategic thinking, organization, attention to detail, resilience, independence, and decision-making skills
- Strong interpersonal and collaborative relationship-building skills across organizational levels
- Ability to create, compose, edit, and consolidate written materials into concise executive summaries
- Proficiency with CRM software and advanced data analysis
- Ability to work requisite hours supporting executive deadlines in a fast-paced environment
- Ability to manage multiple priorities and adapt to evolving market conditions
- Current and active Top Secret/SCI security clearance at application
- Ability to obtain and maintain Special Access Program/Special Access Required clearances
- Ability to travel 25% to 50% of the time
- Active TS/SCI with polygraph and existing Special Access
- Advanced degree in a STEM field or business
- Pre-existing relationships within the Space Superiority Community
- Experience with Space Superiority missions and capabilities
- Technical and concept discussion experience with Space Superiority, Department of War, U.S. Space Force, Intelligence Community, and Congressional stakeholders
- Domain expertise in space systems, including space system design, development, and production
- Experience identifying and qualifying program opportunities and executing early-phase program activities
- Experience leading through influence in a matrix organization
- Knowledge of business development processes and success across the Business Acquisition Process
- Understanding of executive and legislative branch operations, authorizations and appropriations, PPBE, defense acquisition, and space policy frameworks
- Experience with requirements and architecture development, mission planning and analysis, program management, and procurement or acquisitions
- Experience developing and implementing customer engagement plans from action officer through SES/GOFO levels
Northrop Grumman Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Northrop Grumman and has not been reviewed or approved by Northrop Grumman.
-
Retirement Support — 401(k) matching is considered strong, with additional defined-benefit coverage for certain cohorts and options like catch-up contributions. Retirement programs are repeatedly highlighted as a core strength of the total rewards.
-
Leave & Time Off Breadth — PTO, company-paid holidays, and compressed work schedules (such as 9/80) provide meaningful time away and flexibility. These scheduling options are cited as a major quality-of-life benefit across many locations.
-
Parental & Family Support — Paid parental leave alongside caregiver leave, adoption assistance, and back-up care supports a range of family needs. These programs have been expanded recently, signaling continued investment in family support.
Northrop Grumman Insights
What We Do
We are a close-knit community of big thinkers collaborating to keep the world safe. Our passion, creativity and expertise bring next-level technology solutions to life in autonomous systems, cyber, C4ISR, strike, space, and logistics and modernization for our customers around the globe. On the Northrop Grumman team, you’ll join our pursuit of excellence immersed in a dynamic culture of innovation and respect. Your unique perspective will help achieve our shared vision for the future of global security. Every step of the way, you'll be supported by world-class training, employee resource groups and a comprehensive benefits package that enables greater health and happiness for you and your family. Worldwide and across disciplines, we’re challenging what’s possible for technology to protect people and places from undersea to outer space and into cyberspace. And we see the impact of our performance every day. We are Northrop Grumman, and we work on what matters—now, you too can make a difference. Explore opportunities in engineering, IT, manufacturing, business management, cybersecurity and more with us. Northrop Grumman is committed to hiring and retaining a diverse workforce. We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
