Head of Federal Growth

About Us Red Cell Partners is an incubation firm building and investing in rapidly scalable technology-led companies that are bringing revolutionary advancements to market in three distinct practice areas: healthcare, cyber, and national security. United by a shared sense of duty and deep belief in the power of innovation, Red Cell is developing powerful tools and solutions to address our Nation’s most pressing problems. About Us   Red Cell Federal ("RC Federal") is the public sector growth company created by Red Cell Partners to build a new category of national security company – one that creates AI-powered, mission-ready capabilities for the U.S. government. Aligning technological innovation with real-world mission demand. RC Federal is designed to scale into an enduring platform, translating complex government needs into repeatable, high-impact solutions.     Head of Federal Growth   Federal / Department of War     Role Summary    Red Cell Federal is building something fundamentally different from any other organization in the defense innovation ecosystem: an engine designed to identify critical national security problems, build solutionsaround them, and scale those solutions into enduring capabilities for the U.S. Department of War and federal government.     The Head of Federal Growth is the senior leader responsible for translating that ambition into real-world impact. This role sits at the intersection of mission problem ‑ solving ,  and venture  scale . You will define how Red Cell Federal and the  AI -power ed  products 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 translate hard mission problems into new, productized capabilities built on top of RC Federal’s flagship AI platform. You will 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 Federal’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 leveraging existing products, building new, mission-ready capabilities ,    or drawing from the broader Red Cell portfolio in order to deliver next-generation solutions to the warfighter.   What  You’ll  Do    Define and operationalize Red Cell Federal’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.   Translate pipeline and program traction into the GTM narrative and metrics that fuel venture growth.   What Success Looks Like    A clear, differentiated Red Cell Federal presence across priority DoW and federal mission areas.    A 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.    A builder with a venture mindset, energized by the opportunity to fuel the growth of an AI-native company.   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 – as well as built growth processes and teams from the ground up – not someone who has only supported the process.    Experience & Track Record    12+ 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 post ‑ award expansion.    At least $100M+ in cumulative contract value influenced, captured, or closed over the course of a career.    History of moving efforts from prototype / pilot / SBIR / OTA into enduring programs of record.    Contracting & Acquisition Depth    Strong working knowledge of DoW and federal acquisition pat