Federal Growth Leader; Maritime

Job Description

Canopy A&D is built to accelerate the future of advanced materials for space, defense, and maritime systems. Canopy delivers specialized materials and components that carry customers from concept through sustainment. Canopy A&D’s advanced signal attenuation technologies and production-scale manufacturing accelerate the fielding of platforms that are faster, cooler, and quieter. Our adaptive approach ensures solutions evolve at the pace of shifting challenges, keeping our customers ahead of the curve.

The Federal Account Executive for Canopy is a leadership role who owns and expands Canopy’s relationships across the U.S. government (primarily the Department of Defense) and adjacent prime integrators. This person will focus on shaping new government programs, navigating the path from R&D to acquisition, and ensuring that our advanced materials find their way into real-world defense systems. You’ll work closely with lab-based researchers, acquisition officers, primes, and technical leads to align our product development roadmap with federal priorities.

This is not a passive BD role – this is a front-line leadership position designed for someone who thrives at the intersection of technology, strategy, and impact.

This role will start as an individual contributor role, and the individual should be prepared to walk in the door as a skilled operator who can win US government R&D contracts within the first 3-6 months. You’ll work closely with contributors across the Canopy A&D platform companies, specifically technical leadership who are responsible for building and executing complex technical efforts. Long-term success is defined as driving significant top-line revenue that from government programs that is squarely aligned with Canopy’s technical product development strategy.

• Own an extreme passion for understanding our government partners’ missions across both commercial and defense sectors – especially where next-gen functional materials can 10x performance across both traditional and emerging maritime systems
• Build and deepen relationships with key stakeholders representing maritime system development
• Shape new funding opportunities with federal R&D stakeholders that align with Canopy’s roadmap in advanced signal attenuation materials and advanced manufacturing technologies
• Partner with defense primes to align technical capabilities and support transition planning for emerging government needs
• Lead and support proposal efforts as a prime contractor and teaming partner
• Act as a technical advisor and market translator, collaborating with internal teams to guide prioritization and respond to evolving federal needs
• Work with technical teams post-award to ensure technical execution stays aligned with evolving mission priorities
• Promote and advocate for Canopy’s products, services, and priorities to position the team as the most trusted next-gen supplier in the world
• Maintain a high-fidelity customer knowledge management system

• Sincere excitement for the technologies Canopy develops and problems we solve for our customers
• Undergraduate or graduate degree in engineering or science
• 7+ years of experience in government engagement, advanced R&D, or business development within the maritime domain
• Acquisition expert : clear understanding of how the government budgets, prioritizes, and contracts with industry
• Technical enough to explain material performance, system integration risks, and manufacturing limitations—and comfortable in rooms with both PhDs and program managers
• Energized by hard problems and long-cycle revenue generation — but still able to show urgency, close gaps, and move programs forward
• Experienced in writing and winning proposals, particularly within defense R&D and for subsystem-level innovations and as a strategic supplier through teaming agreements
• Previous success across the entire customer lifecycle in a B2B sales / business development function for hardware products or technical services
• Distinguished performance leading negotiations with customers and closing deals
• Expert-level communication…