Director, Business Development (Defense & Space

Avalanche Energy is a Washington-based startup building compact, deployable fusion systems through rapid hardware iteration. Rather than pursuing fusion as a single grid-scale outcome, Avalanche develops transportable fusion machines designed to be built, tested, and operated on short cycles, turning real hardware into steady progress. This approach enables near-term applications that demand extreme energy density and endurance—starting with fusion neutron production for radioisotope power and other defense and space uses—while advancing the underlying fusion platform.

Backed by U.S. government programs and a team experienced in delivering complex systems, Avalanche is focused on building fusion that runs in the real world, not just on paper.

We are seeking a senior business development professional to grow and lead Avalanche Energy's Defense and Space business during a period of rapid growth. Avalanche will remain R&D-intensive for the next several years, and this leader will connect mission needs, acquisition and budget strategy, technology maturation, and commercialization while helping the company build scalable operating discipline.

You will secure prime and sub-contracts/agreements, create transition pathways from R&D and demonstration into programs of record and production, establish strategic partnerships, and help Avalanche build the contracting and compliance capabilities required to scale as a non-traditional contractor. This role could grow into a GM-level position with P&L responsibility.

This position reports to the Director of Strategy and will work closely with executive, technical, legal, finance, security, compliance, and operations leadership to align business development priorities with RDT&E, commercialization, and growth objectives.

• Own an opportunity pipeline across DoW, NASA, NRO, the Intelligence Community (IC), and major defense and space primes from early shaping through proposal, negotiation, award, and execution handoff.
• Shape opportunities before solicitation and develop transition plans that connect mission needs, technical readiness, test and evaluation, operational demonstration, program-of-record funding, follow-on production, and recurring procurement.
• Lead capture operations from opportunity qualification and bid/no-bid through capture planning and solution development.
• Organize and manage cross-functional proposal teams to secure non-traditional and FAR-based prime and sub-awards, contracts, agreements, and task orders.
• Produce white papers, proposals, presentations, and agency responses.
• Negotiate teaming agreements, subcontracts, and awards, with attention to pricing, cost share, IP and technical data rights, flow-downs, security, and transition rights.

• Build senior relationships with DoW requirements owners, program executive offices, program managers, service laboratories, operational users, acquisition executives, budget sponsors, NASA mission directorates and centers, NRO, IC, and other national security stakeholders.
• Use the PPBE/POM cycle, appropriations, unfunded requirements, reprogramming actions, and Departmental and Congressional engagement to create budget-backed pathways, while translating customer discovery into R&D priorities and demonstration plans.

• Build and maintain senior relationships with major primes, system integrators, launch and spacecraft providers, government laboratories, FFRDCs/UARCs, suppliers, and other partners needed for maturation and deployment.
• Structure teaming, subcontract, consortium, and strategic relationships that provide access to platforms, test infrastructure, classified programs, manufacturing, integration, and customers while preserving Avalanche's long-term product, IP, and data-rights position.

• Help build Avalanche's defense and space contracting infrastructure, including capture governance, pipeline and forecast discipline, proposal processes, pricing and approval workflows, contract…