The role focuses on designing and scaling Nominal's federal business operations, driving strategic coordination, managing pipelines, and executing high-impact initiatives in a rapidly growing environment.
About Nominal
Nominal is building the connected test and operations platform powering the world's most advanced hardware systems, from spacecraft and autonomous vehicles to next-generation defense programs. Our platform gives hardware engineering teams a single place to ingest data, analyze performance, automate test execution, and collaborate across every phase of development, so they can move faster without sacrificing safety or precision. We're a fast-moving team that owns problems end-to-end, works across disciplines, and thrives at the intersection of hardware and software.
We serve top-tier commercial and defense customers, from autonomy leaders like Anduril and Shield AI to next-generation aerospace teams like Hermeus and REGENT, and performance engineering teams like Pratt Miller Motorsports, alongside mission partners within the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force on programs where failure isn’t an option. We’re backed by Sequoia, General Catalyst, Founders Fund, Lux Capital, and Lightspeed. Our team draws from SpaceX, Palantir, Anduril, Applied Intuition, and other leading companies, united by a common mission: giving hardware engineers the tools to build the future with speed, safety, and confidence.
We're looking for an operator to help design and scale the government business during a period of rapid growth. You'll help drive how a leading defense technology company wins and scales its rapidly growing federal business, with exposure across the U.S. Government, including the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, NASA, and other critical agencies. You'll work directly with senior leadership, shape how the team operates, and help drive some of our most important opportunities from pipeline to contract.
💼 What you'll do
- Act as a force multiplier to Government leadership: Operate as a trusted extension of leadership, helping set priorities, drive decision-making, and ensure execution against team’s highest-impact initiatives.
- Design and scale the government operating system: Build and evolve how the team runs - including opportunity qualification, pipeline management, forecasting, and cross-functional coordination - with a focus on enabling repeatable, scalable growth.
- Drive strategic coordination across the business: Lead cross-functional efforts across BD, Commercial Sales, Product, Engineering, Legal, and Operations to move priority opportunities from pipeline to contract and through successful delivery. Coordinate with other Growth teams at Nominal to extend and adapt best practices for the Government team.
- Improve visibility and predictability: Help design and run systems that connect pipeline, program execution, and financial outcomes - enabling leadership to make better, faster decisions.
- Translate strategy into execution: Break down ambiguous, high stakes opportunities into structured plans with clear owners, timelines, and measurable outcomes.
- In this role, success means helping Nominal’s federal business evolve from a set of high-potential opportunities into a repeatable, predictable growth engine.
🚀 We’re looking for someone with
- 5+ years in government, policy, operations, or program management (e.g., federal agencies, Congress, think tanks) or fast-paced background with similar operational rigor (e.g., consulting, startups)
- Experience operating at the intersection of strategy and execution in ambiguous, high-growth environments.
- Experience in Chief of Staff, program, or operations leadership roles where you owned outcomes, not just tasks
- Experience scaling teams and processes in fast-paced, rapid-growth, ambiguous environments: a political campaign, a new government initiative, or a startup where you helped write the playbook
- Exceptional communication skills—able to synthesize complex inputs, write clearly, and run efficient, high-impact meetings
- Strong analytical skills, with a bias to outcomes-based results
- Highly organized with strong attention to detail
- Willing to travel up to 25%
- The ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. TS Clearance is an advantage
🎯 Skills that supercharge us
- Background in military, national security, defense policy, or federal program management
- Prior experience at a defense tech or gov tech company is a plus, but not required
- Experience managing up to senior leadership and operating as a strategic partner
- A graduate degree in government affairs, technology policy, international relations, or a related field is preferred
✨ Benefits/Perks
- 🏥 100% coverage of medical, dental, and vision insurance
- 🏖️ Unlimited PTO and sick leave
- 🍽️ Free lunch, snacks, and coffee
- 🚀 Professional Development Stipend
- ✈️ Annual company retreat
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.
ITAR Requirements
To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.
CompensationThe base pay range for this role is $120,000 – $160,000 per year.
Nominal New York, New York, USA Office
New York, NY, United States
Similar Jobs
Big Data • Information Technology • Software • Analytics • Energy
Handle incoming owner relations inquiries about revenue, land, division orders, JIB, A/R, and A&P. Log and follow up cases in a tracking system, build trusting client relationships, manage difficult situations calmly, provide accurate timely responses, and participate in cross-training.
Top Skills:
MS Office
Big Data • Information Technology • Software • Analytics • Energy
Serve as a strategic advisor driving adoption and value of Enverus Power & Renewables products. Lead onboarding, training, client engagements, and account strategy; present analytics, gather product feedback, support renewals, and expand user adoption while collaborating with sales and product teams.
Top Skills:
APIsMosaicPanoramaPrismPythonSalesforce
Fintech • Professional Services • Consulting • Energy • Financial Services • Cybersecurity • Generative AI
Lead end-to-end delivery of large capital markets technology transformation programs, managing governance, financials, risk, and stakeholder relationships. Guide engineering, architecture, product, and delivery teams to implement cloud-native, secure, scalable solutions, modernize post-trade systems and market infrastructure, and embed AI/automation capabilities.
Top Skills:
Agentic AiAPIsAWSCi/CdCloud-NativeContainer TechnologiesDevsecopsDtccEvent-Driven ArchitectureGenerative AiGoogle Cloud PlatformMicroservicesAzureModern Data PlatformsPlatform EngineeringReal-Time Processing Architectures
What you need to know about the NYC Tech Scene
As the undisputed financial capital of the world, New York City is an epicenter of startup funding activity. The city has a thriving fintech scene and is a major player in verticals ranging from AI to biotech, cybersecurity and digital media. It also has universities like NYU, Columbia and Cornell Tech attracting students and researchers from across the globe, providing the ecosystem with a constant influx of world-class talent. And its East Coast location and three international airports make it a perfect spot for European companies establishing a foothold in the United States.
Key Facts About NYC Tech
- Number of Tech Workers: 549,200; 6% of overall workforce (2024 CompTIA survey)
- Major Tech Employers: Capgemini, Bloomberg, IBM, Spotify
- Key Industries: Artificial intelligence, Fintech
- Funding Landscape: $25.5 billion in venture capital funding in 2024 (Pitchbook)
- Notable Investors: Greycroft, Thrive Capital, Union Square Ventures, FirstMark Capital, Tiger Global Management, Tribeca Venture Partners, Insight Partners, Two Sigma Ventures
- Research Centers and Universities: Columbia University, New York University, Fordham University, CUNY, AI Now Institute, Flatiron Institute, C.N. Yang Institute for Theoretical Physics, NASA Space Radiation Laboratory
