Full-Time
Director of Business Development
Tagup
11-50 employees
AI-driven logistics optimization and predictive maintenance
Compensation Overview
$170k - $200k/yr
No H1B Sponsorship
New York, NY, USA
In Person
US Top Secret Clearance Required
 Business & Strategy (1) |
|---|
- BA/BS required; Master’s degree preferred.
- 15+ years of relevant acquisition/business development experience in defense technology, including capture and proposal leadership.
- Proven wins in logistics, sustainment, AI/ML, analytics, or related domains; strong understanding of FAR/DFARS, OTA authorities, and SBIR/STTR transitions.
- Ability to establish and leverage senior-level Department of the Army/Army DoD relationships; working knowledge of logistics/sustainment organizations (e.g., LOGCOM, DLA, NAVSUP, AMC, AFMC).
- Technical acumen to align advanced technology with customer strategy and acquisition plans.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including executive presentations and clear technical narratives.
- Success leading cross-functional teams in fast-paced, ambiguous environments.
- Ability to travel and to obtain/maintain a TS/SCI clearance.
- Prior exposure to defense logistics information systems and enterprise sustainment data flows (preferred).
- Experience managing BD/proposal staff or leading proposal teams in a growth-stage startup (preferred).
- Lead BD, Capture, and Proposal from early qualification through award; conduct competitive analyses, probability-of-win assessments, and teaming strategies; shape RFIs/RFPs/OTAs via solution alignment; develop win themes, discriminators, and value propositions.
- Manage capture budgets, progress reviews, color-team reviews, proposal schedules, and compliance.
- Own pricing in partnership with finance/leadership to ensure compliant, competitive, profitable bids, including price-to-win inputs and rationale.
- Maintain a proposal content library (past performance, resumes, corporate qualifications, technical write-ups, boilerplate) with version control for rapid, high-quality submissions.
- Build and manage a multi-year pipeline (e.g., GovWin, SAM.gov) and maintain accurate CRM hygiene (e.g., HubSpot) for prospecting, forecasting, and contact management.
- Develop and sustain senior relationships with DoW program offices and partner firms; collaborate with operations, engineering, manufacturing, and program management to guide product and delivery strategy.
- Represent Tagup at industry events, trade shows, and working groups.
- Drive teaming strategy and formal agreements (e.g., NDAs, data-sharing) to maximize PWIN and delivery success.
- Align capture strategy and delivery approach with program leadership and engineering; translate customer needs into product roadmaps and transition-to-production plans.
- Ensure on-time, compliant, high-quality proposal submissions.
- Master’s degree (preferred).
- Prior exposure to defense logistics information systems and enterprise sustainment data flows (preferred).
- Experience managing BD/proposal staff or leading proposal teams in a growth-stage startup (preferred).
Tagup uses artificial intelligence to optimize defense and industrial logistics through its Manifest platform, a SaaS that unifies data from sensors, maintenance logs, and asset metadata to create a complete asset record. It applies proprietary machine learning, including reinforcement learning designed for low-data scenarios, to estimate remaining useful life, predict failures, and generate optimized maintenance and supply plans. The company differentiates itself by combining diverse data sources with expert knowledge to support high-stakes decisions when data are scarce, unlike many AI vendors that require large datasets. Its goal is to give customers logistical superiority by reducing unplanned downtime, lowering operating costs, and improving safety.
Company Size
11-50
Company Stage
Grant
Total Funding
$220K
Headquarters
Somerville, Massachusetts
Founded
2015
Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- KBR alliance on April 21, 2026, integrates Manifest into U.S. military ground equipment operations.
- Lieutenant General Flem B. Walker Jr. joined Defense Advisory Board, enhancing Army logistics expertise.
- SBIR contracts fund Manifest development for U.S. Marine Corps supply and maintenance operations.
What critics are saying
- KBR underperformance terminates Tagup's access to DoD contracts within 18 months.
- 19-employee team fails to scale for KBR's global deployments, causing delays in 12 months.
- Palantir outcompetes Tagup's $10M funding, capturing defense logistics contracts in 12 months.
What makes Tagup unique
- Tagup's Manifest platform uses Generative Reinforcement Learning to optimize military logistics under uncertainty.
- Founded at MIT in 2017 by Jon Garrity and Dr. Will Vega-Brown, Tagup merges expert knowledge with limited data.
- Manifest features conversational AI interface simulating millions of scenarios for seconds-fast decisions.
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Benefits
Health Insurance
401(k) Retirement Plan
Stock Options
Growth & Insights and Company News
6 month growth
↑ 2%1 year growth
↑ 0%2 year growth
↓ -2%Tagup, a defence technology company specialising in AI-powered logistics, has appointed Lieutenant General Flem B. "Donnie" Walker Jr. (U.S. Army, Ret.) to its Defence Advisory Board. Walker previously served as Deputy Commanding General of the United States Army Materiel Command, where he oversaw enterprise-level logistics, readiness and force support. The appointment strengthens Tagup's mission to deliver logistics decision advantage across supply, maintenance and mobilisation operations. Walker brings decades of experience managing large-scale Army logistics and sustainment operations, particularly in contested environments. Tagup's Defence Advisory Board also includes Lieutenant General Brad Webb (U.S. Air Force, Ret.), Lieutenant General Neil Thurgood (U.S. Army, Ret.) and Rear Admiral John Neagley (U.S. Navy, Ret.). The company develops AI software designed to improve military readiness and operational decision-making.
Tagup, a defence technology company specialising in AI-driven military logistics, has appointed Lieutenant General Flem B. "Donnie" Walker Jr. (U.S. Army, Ret.) to its Defence Advisory Board. The move strengthens the company's mission to deliver logistics decision advantage for military readiness in contested operational environments. LTG Walker brings decades of senior leadership experience, including serving as Deputy Commanding General of the United States Army Materiel Command, where he oversaw enterprise-level logistics and readiness. He joins Tagup's distinguished advisory board alongside Lieutenant General Brad Webb (U.S. Air Force, Ret.), Lieutenant General Neil Thurgood (U.S. Army, Ret.), and Rear Admiral John Neagley (U.S. Navy, Ret.). Tagup's platform, Manifest, uses AI to simulate and optimise logistics courses of action under operational constraints.