Business Operations - Federal Business Development

About NominalNominal is building the software infrastructure that powers the world's most advanced hardware systems - from spacecraft and autonomous vehicles to next-generation industrial machines. Our platform ingests high-rate telemetry, validates complex autonomy software in real time, and helps engineering teams iterate faster without sacrificing safety or precision. We're a small, fast-moving team of engineers and operators who own problems end-to-end, work across disciplines, and thrive on solving challenges at the intersection of hardware and software. As a dual-use platform, we're serving top-tier commercial and defense customers, including the U.S. Navy, United States Air Force, Anduril, General Atomics, and more.

We're backed by top-tier investors - Sequoia, General Catalyst, Founders Fund, Lux Capital, and Lightspeed Ventures - who share our mission to accelerate innovation in mission-critical systems. Our team brings experience from SpaceX, Palantir, Anduril, and Bain & Co., as well as from the U.S. Navy, Army, and Air Force. We're united by a common goal: enabling hardware engineers to push the boundaries of advanced technology with speed, safety, and precision.

We're looking for someone to be the operational backbone of our Federal BD team during a period of rapid growth. You'll have a front-row seat to how defense technology companies win and scale federal business, with exposure across the U.S. Government, including the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, NASA, and other critical agencies. You'll work directly with senior leadership, shape how the team operates, and help drive some of our most important opportunities from pipeline to contract.

Key Responsibilities:

• Own the team's operational picture: Own the team's plan and timeline for major milestones, proposal deadlines, contract deliverables, customer engagements, and travel.
• Drive strategic coordination: Lead cross-functional work on Federal capture planning, pipeline reviews, and internal reporting. You set the standard for how work gets done across teams.
• Shape how we operate: Design and run the team's internal rhythms, with latitude to build systems that work and retire ones that don't.
• Be a trusted partner to Federal BD leadership: You will be a strategic advisor whose perspective on priorities, operations, and opportunities is valued.

Requirements:

• 3+ years in government, policy, or program management (e.g., federal agencies, Congress, think tanks) or fast-paced background with similar operational rigor (e.g., consulting)
• Experience in Chief of Staff, program, or operations leadership roles where you owned outcomes, not just tasks
• Comfort in fast-paced, ambiguous environments: a political campaign, a new government initiative, or a startup where you helped write the playbook
• Clear communicator who writes well, runs tight meetings, and translates complexity into action
• Strong analytical skills, with a bias to outcomes-based results
• Highly organized with strong attention to detail
• Willing to travel up to 25%
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. TS Clearance is an advantage

Preferred Qualifications:

• Background in military, national security, defense policy, or federal program management
• Prior experience at a defense tech or gov tech company is a plus, but not required
• Experience managing up to senior leadership and operating as a strategic partner
• Graduate degree in government affairs, technology policy, international relations, or a related field preferred

ITAR Requirements:

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. Learn more about the ITAR here.