Vice President Capture Excellence - Defense Sector

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At Leidos, we deliver innovative solutions through the efforts of our diverse and talented people who are dedicated to our customers' success. We empower our teams, contribute to our communities, and operate sustainably. Everything we do is built on a commitment to do the right thing for our customers, our people, and our community. Our Mission, Vision, and Values guide the way we do business.

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Leidos is seeking a Vice President, Capture Excellence to join the Defense Sector Growth Organization in Reston, VA. This newly established senior leadership role will be accountable for leading and providing oversight and capture guidance across the full portfolio of strategic Defense Sector opportunities with a  focus on the most complex and highest-value captures. As the capture excellence leader for the Defense Sector, this individual will serve as a capture manager, capture executive, capture coach, and capture mentor — driving a best-in-class capture culture across all Defense Business Areas.

This role reports directly to the Defense Sector Growth SVP and will work in close partnership with the Business Area growth leads and the corporate Capture Operations & Excellence (CO&E) organization.

THE MISSION

The Defense Sector Capture Excellence function exists to provide best-in-class capture expertise, disciplined process execution, and strategic leadership as a critical enabler of Defense Sector growth. This VP will set the standard for how the Defense Sector wins — instilling rigor, consistency, and competitive advantage across every high-priority pursuit.

THE CHALLENGE:

• Lead and personally execute capture management on Defense Sector's highest-value, most complex opportunities ($500M+)
• Provide oversight, guidance, and quality assurance across all priority Defense Sector captures, ensuring consistent application of Leidos Win Plan processes and policies
• Serve as a subject matter expert on all aspects of capture: strategy, teaming, pricing, win themes, proposal development, and gate reviews
• Develop and execute capture plans across all phases of the capture and proposal process, from opportunity qualification through award
• Build and lead industry teams and internal Leidos pursuit teams; assess win probability and develop robust win strategies for each target opportunity
• Establish and implement customer engagement plans including call plan creation, execution, and customer requirement validation
• Develop value propositions, support business cases, and drive early win strategy development and evolution throughout the capture lifecycle
• Plan and lead capture activities including white papers, RFIs, opportunity gate reviews, black hat sessions, win theme workshops, and proposal reviews
• Develop and control capture budgets; ensure responsible stewardship of new business investment funds
• Conduct after-action reviews for all business opportunities; document lessons learned and implement improvements to capture technique and strategy
• Deliver coaching, mentoring, and formal training to grow capture talent across the Defense Sector BD and capture community
• Communicate capture status and strategy to senior leadership at specified milestones and as needed
• Identify and rapidly respond to quick-reaction opportunities through an agile capture process

WHAT SETS YOU APART:

• Bachelor's degree in a related field and 15+ years of related experience; 15+ years of demonstrated, relevant federal capture leadership experience may be considered in lieu of degree
• Extensive, proven success leading and winning captures of Defense Sector opportunities at $500M+ Total Contract Value
• Demonstrated experience coaching teams and interacting with all levels of executive and line management in a large defense contractor environment
• Comprehensive understanding of all DoD customer communities including Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Space Force, SOCOM, and OSW.
• Demonstrated understanding and experience winning standard and rapid acquisitions including OTAs, CSOs, FEDSIM, and of all contract types (non-IDIQ, IDIQ single or multiple award) and payment types (FFP, T&M, cost plus).
• Demonstrated deep understanding of the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and DoD acquisition processes
• Ability to work and execute quick reaction processes
• Ability to influence constructively and interact at the highest levels of corporate structure
• Excellent interpersonal, problem solving, and business acumen
• Confidence and experience dealing with senior executives in a fast-paced, time-sensitive environment
• Ability to lead local and geographically dispersed teams across multiple simultaneous captures
• Exceptional verbal and written communications skills with extensive executive briefing experience

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Experience with federal government budget, investments, and acquisition processes across multiple defense appropriation categories
• Ability to deliver effective coaching, mentoring, and training on capture and proposal processes to develop the next generation of capture leaders
• Proven bias for action and orientation toward solving problems rather than solely identifying them
• Experience with Leidos Win Plan or equivalent large defense contractor capture methodology
• Formal Shipley capture and proposal training

CLEARANCE REQUIRED:

• TS/SCI desired; not required.

At Leidos, we outthink, outbuild, and outpace the status quo — because the mission demands it. We're not hiring followers. We're recruiting the ones who disrupt, provoke, and refuse to fail.

If you're looking for comfort, keep scrolling. At Leidos, we outthink, outbuild, and outpace the status quo — because the mission demands it. We're not hiring followers. We're recruiting the ones who disrupt, provoke, and refuse to fail. Step 10 is ancient history. We're already at step 30 — and moving faster than anyone else dares.

Original Posting:

October 27, 2026

Pay Range:

Pay Range $223,800.00 - $360,000.00

The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline only and not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not limited to) responsibilities of the job, education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity, alignment with market data, applicable bargaining agreement (if any), or other law.