Director of U.S. Military and Government Sales

Description

Lead the strategy. Shape the opportunity. Drive growth. As Director of U.S. Military and Government Sales, you will lead Barrett’s government sales strategy, cultivate high-impact relationships across the U.S. Department of War, military services, and federal agencies, and turn emerging customer needs into strategic business opportunities. From market development and capture strategy through contract award and long-term growth, you will influence the future of Barrett’s weapons and munitions business. Partnering with executive leadership and cross-functional teams, you will align customer mission requirements with Barrett’s capabilities, drive business development, and strengthen the partnerships that support our customers’ missions.

About the role

• Develop and execute Barrett’s U.S. government and military sales strategy aligned with company growth objectives, strategic priorities, product capabilities, and available production capacity.
• Own and actively manage the U.S. government opportunity pipeline, including opportunity identification, qualification, prioritization, capture planning, probability assessment, forecasting, competitive positioning, and progression toward award.
• Identify and develop new business opportunities across the Department of War, U.S. military services, federal agencies, special operations, and other authorized government markets; establish senior-level relationships with military customers, program offices, acquisition organizations, contracting personnel, end users, defense primes, integrators, distributors, and strategic industry partners.
• Serve as a principal voice of the customer, translating mission requirements, operational needs, procurement priorities, funding environments, and acquisition timelines into actionable business opportunities and product development insights.
• Lead the government sales and capture lifecycle, including customer discovery, demonstrations, evaluations, technical discussions, requirements development, RFIs, RFQs, RFPs, proposal development, negotiations, contract awards, and post-award relationship management; develop disciplined capture strategies encompassing stakeholder mapping, competitive assessments, value propositions, win themes, pricing, teaming opportunities, risks, milestones, and internal resources.
• Coordinate proposal and bid activities with internal stakeholders to align customer requirements, technical capabilities, pricing strategy, delivery commitments, contractual requirements, and applicable regulatory obligations; maintain working knowledge of U.S. government acquisition processes, FAR/DFARS concepts, government contracting practices, appropriations and funding cycles, contract vehicles, and federal procurement pathways.
• Partner with Contracts, Legal/Compliance, and other responsible functions to support compliance with federal contracting, export control, trade, firearms, security, ethics, and regulatory requirements, including ITAR/EAR and applicable ATF requirements, while respecting designated compliance functions’ independent authority and responsibilities.
• Develop accurate government sales forecasts, pipeline analytics, opportunity status, bookings outlook, customer activity, competitive intelligence, and performance metrics; monitor defense budgets, acquisition priorities, procurement forecasts, technology trends, and emerging requirements to identify growth opportunities and provide actionable recommendations to executive leadership.
• Coordinate with Engineering, Product Development, Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, Program Management, Finance, Contracts, Legal/Compliance, and Marketing to inform product strategy, validate production capacity and delivery commitments, support contract execution, resolve significant customer concerns, and develop government-market messaging and capability materials.
• Represent Barrett professionally at military and government customer meetings, industry conferences, trade shows, weapons demonstrations, evaluations, range events, product trials, and strategic defense-industry events, including AUSA; lead event-related customer engagement, maintain comprehensive knowledge of Barrett products and competitive positioning, coordinate government order fulfillment and WAWF invoicing workflows, maintain disciplined CRM and business documentation, and perform other duties consistent with the scope and level of the position.

About You

You are a strategic, results-driven sales leader with a proven ability to develop government business, build senior-level military and industry relationships, and drive complex opportunities from capture through contract award. You bring strong knowledge of government contracting, defense acquisition, and strategic account management, with the ability to align customer mission requirements with business growth objectives.

• Bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, engineering, program/project management, or a related discipline; equivalent relevant education, military service, and experience considered. Direct experience in firearms, weapons systems, munitions, or defense manufacturing is strongly preferred.
• 10+ years of progressively responsible experience in U.S. government/military sales, defense business development, capture management, or government programs.
• Advanced knowledge of U.S. government and Department of War sales, defense acquisition, procurement, and government contracting processes.
• Proven success developing and advancing complex government opportunities, strategic accounts, and capture strategies.
• Demonstrated ability to build trusted relationships with senior military, government, acquisition, operational, technical, and industry stakeholders.
• Strong negotiation, strategic account management, business development, and customer engagement capabilities.
• Exceptional executive presence, communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills.
• Strong analytical capabilities in pipeline management, forecasting, market analysis, competitive assessment, and business-case evaluation.
• Proven ability to lead complex, cross-functional initiatives and capture teams through influence and matrixed leadership.
• Valid driver’s license, ability to obtain a U.S. passport and security clearance if required.
• Willingness to travel domestically and internationally up to 40–50%.