Senior Director, Mission Systems Growth and Market Entry

Viasat is a global communications company on a mission to deliver connections that change the world. They are seeking a Senior Director to drive growth in mission systems supporting the U.S. Department of War, focusing on integration opportunities and strategy development for defense programs.

Responsibilities:

• Analyze USAF, SOCOM, Space Force, Joint Staff, and industrial partner strategies, budgets, and operational priorities to identify and develop high-value growth opportunities in airborne mission systems integration
• Align Viasat’s technology roadmap and investments with evolving warfighter needs, with a specific focus on mission systems, digital infrastructure, data, sensors, surveillance, communications, tactical battle management, and cyber capabilities
• Lead early engagement and influence activities across requirements, acquisition, resourcing, and partner communities
• Lead and mentor a distributed team of program directors, technical leads, and senior managers specializing in complex aviation and mission system programs
• Translate operational gaps into compelling, executable solutions that inform government strategy, requirements development, and acquisition approaches
• Own the end-to-end strategy for selected large-scale aircraft missionization pursuits, including qualification, capture planning, teaming, proposal, and program execution
• Provide executive oversight for a portfolio of complex DoW programs, ensuring cost, schedule, performance, and compliance objectives are met
• Serve as senior point of contact for program risks, issues, and customer concerns
• Ensure disciplined program management practices consistent with FAR, DFARS, and internal governance standards
• Build and lead cross-functional teams spanning engineering, finance, contracts, operations, and external partners
• Drive internal company processes and execution to meet customer requirements and demand
• Establish and mature strategic partnerships across the Defense Industrial Base to support scale, resilience, and mission execution
• Develop unconventional teaming, acquisition, and contracting strategies (e.g., OTAs, prototypes, hybrid approaches) to accelerate capability delivery
• Serve as a senior collaborator with Flag-level leaders, SES, PEOs, PMs, OSD staff, and allied partners. Build and maintain trusted advisor relationships with customers and industry partners
• Represent Viasat in executive-level briefings, provide effective support with leadership analysis and feedback for white papers, industry forums, and strategic working groups
• Lead, mentor, and develop program directors, program managers, and functional leaders
• Foster a culture of accountability, compliance, and mission focus
• Support workforce planning and succession strategies across programs
• Build, lead, and implement strategies (to articulate and generate consensus for strategic vision, action plan, competitive intelligence, investments, argument, etc.) within the targeted markets and agencies
• Monitor and interpret evolving DoW requirements, operational priorities, and budget signals to anticipate shifts in customer demand and position Viasat solutions accordingly
• Translate emerging mission needs and future operating concepts into early market shaping, investment alignment, and capture strategies, ensuring relevance before formal requirements and solicitations are defined
• Develop and lead overall strategic opportunities, with emphasis on communications, SATCOM, networking, cyber-resilient architecture, and operational interoperability
• Engage customers to gain intimacy and knowledge of their problems to better identify and shape opportunities and requirements
• Support Captures and Proposals to maintain continuity across the BD lifecycle, improving our ability to win as opportunities pass from qualification into capture and then proposal
• Direct program leadership in agile and effective execution with all customers and across functional program areas to define new requirements, assess capability feasibility and implement program execution plans for a wide variety of Government contracts
• Be an effective leader in formal customer and partner presentations, ensuring credibility, clarity, and mission alignment

Requirements:

• Bachelor's Degree and 15+ years of service experience within the US Defense or related Industry positions
• 6+ years in senior program, portfolio, or leadership roles
• Demonstrated experience shaping and leading large, complex programmatic efforts
• Proven track record guiding cross-functional teams
• Deep understanding of DoW strategy, requirements, and budget processes
• Deep understanding and experience with coordination of initiatives, engineering, test, and integration of new capabilities across diverse customer programs
• Established relationships across the DoW, USAF, USSOCOM, the Space Operations branch, Joint Staff leadership, OSD, and/or Combatant Commands
• Executive-level customer engagement
• Program and financial management
• Risk management and compliance
• Leadership, mentoring, and team development
• Clear, concise executive communication
• MS Office skills (PowerPoint, Excel, Word)
• Exceptional interpersonal skills (both written and verbal)
• Active Top Secret security clearance or expired clearance that may be reactivated
• Prior Strategy Development experience within industry, the DoW, and/or USAF programs
• 10 years of experience in Program Management and portfolio leadership
• Direct business lead and ownership of large profit and loss (P&L), DoW programs
• Experience in DoW with airborne Programs, Weapons, Sensors, Technologies, and Active Communication Programs
• Experience in industry to include program management, engineering, marketing, capture, and proposal activities (generation or review)