Warfighter CONOPS, Customer Engagement & Business Development Lead

Warfighter CONOPS, Customer Engagement & Business Development Lead

At WingXpand®

Locations:

Chicago (Schaumburg), IL | St. Louis, MO

‍Type

Full-Time | Open 1/4/26 | Close 1/18/26

About WingXpand

WingXpand is Expanding What’s Possible™ with Autonomous Systems with our 8ft smart plane that expands from a backpack to help farmers grow more yield, public safety crews respond to disasters faster, and keep soldiers safe.

We’re a rapidly growing startup that is creating the future of smart, connected, robotics. We want you to play a key role in our journey!

Position Description

WingXpand is seeking a Warfighter CONOPS, Customer Engagement & Business Development Lead to develop operational concepts, support DoW business development efforts, and engage directly with government customers. This role is ideal for a former or transitioning military officer (or equivalent experience) with hands-on experience operating, employing, or integrating UAS who understands modern operations and how unmanned systems are used in real missions. This is a hands-on, execution-focused role centered on writing, customer engagement, and operational storytelling. You will create CONOPS customer-facing materials that explain what WingXpand systems do, how they are employed, and why they change mission execution.

Key Responsibilities

Warfighter CONOPS & Operational Concept Development

• Develop, refine, and maintain CONOPS enabled by WingXpand capabilities, grounded in real-world operational experience.
• Translate autonomy, ISR, sensing, and networking capabilities into operational use cases for defense and government customers.
• Continuously evolve concepts based on customer feedback, demos, experiments, and field engagements.
  
  

Customer Engagement & Business Development Support

• Support defense and government business development efforts through direct customer engagement and operational storytelling.
• Develop customer-facing materials that clearly communicate autonomous systems capabilities, limitations, and mission value.
• Support customer briefings, demos, and engagements alongside the business development team.
• Clearly articulate not just what the system does, but how it enables new ways of executing missions.
  
  

Proposal & Capture Support

• Write, develop and deliver proposal content for defense and government opportunities, from initial concept through final submission.
• Craft clear, compelling operational, technical, and mission-focused narratives that resonate with end users, requirements owners, and acquisition stakeholders.
• Work closely with business development, engineering, and leadership to shape proposal strategy, win themes, and positioning aligned with customer priorities.
• Coordinate reviews with internal stakeholders, incorporate feedback, and manage revisions to ensure high-quality, compliant submissions.
• Translate customer conversations, field insights, and CONOPS into proposal content that clearly communicates operational value and differentiation.
• Support capture planning activities, including shaping customer messaging, solution concepts, and competitive positioning ahead of solicitations.
  
  

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with leadership to align CONOPS, proposals, and customer messaging.
• Partner with engineering teams to understand system updates, performance changes, and technical constraints.
• Incorporate engineering updates and customer feedback into CONOPS, proposals, and external-facing materials.
• Provide structured feedback to engineering based on customer questions, proposal themes, and field insights.
• Support development of concise reference and employment materials to reinforce customer understanding.
• Travel to support conferences, in-person customer engagments, and flight demonstrations.
  
  

‍

Qualifications

• 8 years of relevant experiences
• Former or transitioning military officer, or equivalent experiences
• Background in a technical discipline, strategy, planning, political science, or War College education.
• Demonstrated experience with unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), including operational employment, integration, or evaluation.
• Demonstrated experience writing CONOPS, operational concepts, white papers, proposals, or decision briefs.
• Strong understanding of government acquisition and the roles of end users, requirements owners, and acquisition stakeholders.
• Comfortable operating with intent-based guidance and executing independently.
• Clear, concise writer able to explain complex systems and operational concepts accurately.
• Strong collaboration skills across business development and engineering teams.
  
  

Additional Qualifications

• Experience with Group 1–3 UAS platforms strongly preferre
• Experience supporting defense or government proposal efforts and capture activities.
• Familiarity with autonomy, ISR, sensors, networking, or emerging defense technologies.
• Experience supporting UAS demos, experiments, evaluations, or field deployments.
  
  

What Else You Need To Know

To conform to U.S. Government aerospace technology export regulations, applicant must be a 'U.S. Person' (U.S. Citizen or a Permanent Resident/Green Card Holder).

We offer a competitive package based on level of experience, including the possibility of WingXpand stock options and advancement opportunities as the company expands.

If you are a self-motivated, results-driven individual with a passion for innovation and technology, we want to hear from you! Apply today and join us on the journey of expanding what’s possible with aerial intelligence for those that keep our world running!

Please apply with your resume and / or CV explaining why you are the perfect candidate for this role.