Head of Defense Growth

Head of Defense Growth

Federal / Department of War 

Role Summary 

Red Cell Partners is building something fundamentally different from any other organization in the defense innovation ecosystem: a venture builder designed to identify critical national security problems, build companies around them, and scale those companies into enduring capabilities for the U.S. Department of War and federal government.  

The Head of Defense Growth is the senior leader responsible for translating that ambition into real-world impact. This role sits at the intersection of venture creation, mission problem‑solving, and federal scale‑up. You will define how Red Cell and the companies it builds identify opportunities, shape demand, win programs, and grow into long‑term solutions for the American warfighter. 

This is a hands‑on leadership role for someone who wants to build the system, not inherit one. 

 

About This Role 

This is not a conventional “VP of Sales” or “Head of BD” position. You are not being hired to sell a single product, manage a catalog, or inherit a stale pipeline. You are being hired to rewrite the playbook: to creatively combine capabilities across the Red Cell portfolio, uncover non‑obvious paths to adoption, and solve complex mission problems that do not fit neatly into existing acquisition models. 

We are looking for someone who thrives in fast-moving environments with limited oversight. Someone who can look at an operational gap, a fragmented funding landscape, and an early stage capability and find a way through. 

You will have broad ownership over Red Cell’s public sector growth strategy, with initial focus on Department of War, shaping where we play, how we play, and how we win. That means using the full suite of capabilities across the Red Cell portfolio to deliver next-generation solutions to the warfighter. 

 

What You’ll Do 

• Define, own, and operationalize Red Cell’s public sector and DoW growth strategy across priority missions, agencies, and acquisition pathways. 

• Lead “left-of-bang” shaping with mission owners, program offices, contracting offices, and other acquisition stakeholders before solicitations exist. 

• Set bid/no-bid decisions and prioritize opportunities across the portfolio. 

• Architect creative solutions that may include leveraging capabilities from multiple portfolio companies with a focus on solving hard mission problems and accelerating adoption. 

• Build and run a scalable BD → Capture → Close growth engine that portfolio companies can plug into. 

• Recruit, mentor, and lead a high‑ownership growth team spanning BD, capture, proposals, and contracts. 

 

What Success Looks Like 

• A clear, differentiated Red Cell presence across priority DoW and federal mission areas. 

• A portfolio‑wide pipeline that consistently converts early engagement into real programs. 

• Faster transitions from pilot and prototype efforts into enduring programs of record. 

• A repeatable federal growth engine that compounds across multiple ventures—not just one. 

 

Who You Are 

• A senior public sector growth leader with experience turning complex, technical capabilities into scaled programs. 

• A creative problem‑solver who enjoys working at the edge of structure and inventing new approaches. 

• Comfortable owning ambiguity, making hard calls, and being accountable for outcomes. 

• Mission‑driven, operator‑empathetic, and motivated by solving problems that matter. 

 

Your background should include senior growth, capture, or federal sales leadership roles at high-growth defense technology companies, next-generation primes, or elite GovCon organizations, but what matters most is your ability to build something new. 

 

Required Qualifications 

We are looking for a proven public sector growth leader who has personally built, shaped, and closed complex deals, not someone who has only supported the process. 

Experience & Track Record 

• 12–20+ years of private sector experience selling to public sector, at least some of that time in an executive position in either business development, capture, or federal sales, and ideally with a focus on defense or national security. 

• Demonstrated ownership of the full lifecycle from early shaping (“left of bang”) through capture, award, and&