Director, Business Development (Advanced Energy)

Avalanche is a Seattle-based start-up developing compact fusion machines for clean, energy-dense power generation at a scale you can hold in your hands.  Our unique approach allows us to build, test, break, learn and iterate in days.  The modular design is designed to provide power to applications from austere environments to deep sea vehicles and maritime transport to lunar power. 

We know we have an incredibly ambitious mission, and that it requires a wide combination of skills, attitude, and grit to make it happen. If you have a passion for abundant energy, and how we can improve life with it, we want to have a chat with you.

Avalanche might be fit for you if: You are self-motivated, energized by problem solving and working closely with hardware. You enjoy hands-on, creative collaboration with a small, tight-knit team you can work with, laugh with, and learn with on a wide variety of topics.  You can learn and pivot between priorities when necessary and you can slide the headphones on, focus, and auger deep into a single topic as needed.  You thrive in an atmosphere of development, and you are an ardent learner who’s always looking for ways to grow and improve.

About the Role

We are seeking a senior business development professional to drive commercialization activities for our various energy technologies during a period of rapid growth. Avalanche will remain R&D-intensive for the next several years, and this leader will connect mission needs, acquisition and budget strategy, technology maturation, and commercialization while helping the company build scalable operating discipline.

You will secure government and commercial contracts and agreements, establish strategic partnerships across government, industry, national labs, and academia, and support the development of value chains required to go to market. This role is critical to the commercialization of Avalanche Energy’s fusion and fusion-enabling technologies effort and could grow into a GM-level role with P&L responsibility.

This position reports to the Director of Strategy and will work closely with executive, technical, legal, finance, regulatory, compliance, and operations leadership to align business development priorities with RDT&E, commercialization, and growth objectives.

Key Responsibilities:

Federal Capture (DOE/NNSA-first, broader federal as needed)

• Own a 12–24-month federal contracts pipeline from opportunity shaping → proposal process → award execution handoff.

• Produce presentations, white papers, technical proposals, and agency responses.

• Lead capture operations from opportunity qualification and bid/no-bid through capture planning and solution development.

• Organize and lead cross-functional proposal teams to secure non-traditional and FAR-based prime and sub-contracts/agreements that accelerate technical milestones (e.g., neutron source development, isotope production pathway, and fusion power system maturation) and eventually long-term production and procurement contracts.

• Negotiate teaming agreements, subcontracts, and awards, with attention to pricing, cost share, IP and technical data rights, flow-downs, security, and transition rights.

• Translate complex science into compelling, fundable value propositions for both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

• Support strategic Congressional and Departmental engagement activities.

Strategic Partnership Development

• Build and maintain senior relationships across DOE program offices, NNSA, national labs, and aligned industry partners needed for technology development and scale-up.

• Structure partnerships that unlock facilities, test capabilities, supply chain, manufacturing, and deployment and disposal channels.

• Represent Avalanche at relevant conferences, customer engagements, and partner meetings to build credibility, partnerships, and deal flow.

Commercialization and Value Chain Development

• Work with strategy and technical teams to ensure BD priorities map to the GTM/commercialization plan.

• Drive continuous market and customer discovery efforts and feed findings back into R&D and engineering priorities and program plans.

• Develop and negotiate teaming agreements and other commercial agreements that support technology commercialization.

• Develop GTM pathways that lead to long-term recurring revenue streams for emerging company products and services.

• Source materials, procure suppliers, support marketing, sales, and customer success activities, and advise on how to organize the firm to enable successful GTM.

• Lead future site selection efforts with an eye towards scaling production and operations.

• Support the development of Avalanche’s federal business unit.

Required Qualifications:

• 15+ years’ experience in business development and capture/proposal management with referenceable success winning $10M+ DOE (and other federal) prime RDT&E grants, contracts, and agreements.

• Deep experience spanning DOE, national labs, and industry—including a strong network and demonstrated ability to navigate the DOE and funding processes and lab partnership mechanisms.

• Proven history of successfully negotiating and closing multi-million dollar, high-risk, long-term contracts involving government regulation, complex financing structures, and highly technical products/services.

• Strong understanding of the FAR, federal contract vehicles and types, and the various grants and agreements used by the DOE, such as partnership intermediary agreements, cooperative agreements, other transaction agreements, consortium agreements, etc.

• Experience collaborating with engineers and scientists to translate complex technical concepts into detailed white papers, proposals, RFI responses, presentations, and other tactical communications for business development purposes.

• Understanding of the federal regulatory landscape for fusion or nuclear and its related processes, including newly emergent, fusion-specific regulations.

• Startup “builder” mindset: comfortable wearing many hats and driving outcomes in ambiguous, resource-constrained environments.

• Bachelor’s degree in business, engineering, finance, or a related technical field. MBA or advanced technical degree is strongly preferred.

• Ability to obtain and hold a DoW TS/SCI or DOE Q clearance.

Preferred / Bonus:

• Direct experience with fusion, nuclear, neutron sources, isotopes, radiation-relevant programs, or adjacent deep-tech hardware commercialization and deployment.

• Direct experience with commercializing or deploying complex capital projects.

• Experience with capturing and negotiating federal procurement or production contracts.

• Experience with selling technical services to the federal government and industry.

• Experience in defense-tech or other high-compliance environments.

• Business development experience with the DoW and major defense primes.

• International business development experience.

• Experience with DFARS.

• Experience working for or with non-traditional contractors.

• PMP (or equivalent) and experience with strong program/capture operating cadence.

• Experience with financial modeling and business case development.

• Active DoW TS/SCI or DOE Q clearance.

• Previous P&L responsibility.

Benefits:

• Excellent medical, dental and vision benefits: We pay 100% of your premiums

• 10 paid holidays and company-wide December holiday break

• Generous paid vacation and sick time

• Small, tight-knit team with low barriers to action

• Exposure to a wide variety of problems for unparalleled, hands-on professional growth

• Weekly employer provided team meals, a well-stocked kitchen, and employee events on and off-site

• Opportunity for Equity

Avalanche values people of all races, ethnicities, genders, ages, religions, and sexual orientations. We also acknowledge the value that different life experiences bring to our organization. Avalanche is an equal opportunity employer, and you do not need to match every listed expectation to apply for this position. We encourage all individuals who are excited about delivering fusion energy to the world to apply.

Notice to Recruitment Agencies

Avalanche Energy does not accept unsolicited resumes or candidate submissions from staffing agencies, search firms, or third-party recruiters. Agencies should not submit candidate information through our careers site or directly to hiring managers or employees without prior authorization from our Talent Acquisition team.

Avalanche Energy will not be responsible for placement fees or other charges associated with unsolicited submissions. Agency partnerships and candidate submissions must be authorized in advance and supported by a signed agreement with Avalanche Energy.