Director, Federal Affairs

The Role

We’re looking for a Director of Federal Affairs to lead Corridian’s engagement with Congress and turn our priorities into enacted authorization and appropriations outcomes. Reporting to our VP of Strategy & Growth and working closely with our Growth, Engineering, and executive teams, you’ll be a leading voice with Members of Congress and their staffs. If you’re a seasoned government relations operator who understands how the defense budget moves on Capitol Hill and want to help put mission-critical maritime hardware in the ocean, this is for you.

What You’ll Do

• Own our legislative strategy: set annual authorization and appropriations priorities and time engagement to the markup and conference calendar

• Lead campaigns regarding appropriations and annual NDAA language, from request through enactment and obligation with the Navy

• Build and sustain relationships with defense committee professional staff, personal office national security staff, coalition partners, and our advisory board

• Align congressional action with Navy, OSD, and requirements and resource sponsors as an integral part of our Growth team

• Track the President’s Budget, committee marks, unfunded priority lists, and market activity, briefing leadership on what matters

• Develop and implement company policy governing our legislative engagement

• Represent Corridian at industry conferences, trade shows, and customer-facing events

• Direct outside lobbying and consulting support

• Create written work products that directly support congressional engagements

What You Bring

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in a related discipline

• Substantial experience engaging with defense authorizing and appropriations committees in a congressional, Department of Defense, or industry role

• A record of contributing to enacted defense funding or policy outcomes, or comparable resourcing outcomes in industry or the executive branch

• Working command of the defense budget calendar, member request process, bill and report language, and DoD Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) process

• Working knowledge of the Lobbying Disclosure Act, congressional gift and ethics rules, and procurement integrity requirements

• Comfortable operating independently and acting as a trusted advisor to the executive team and other internal stakeholders

• Based in the National Capital Region, with regular engagement with congressional offices and willingness to travel up to 50% of the time

• U.S. citizen; eligible for TS/SCI security clearance

Nice To Haves

• Professional staff experience on the House or Senate Armed Services Committees or Defense Appropriations Subcommittees, or as a defense legislative assistant or national security advisor to a member on those committees

• An active network across defense committee and personal office staff

• Operational experience in the U.S. submarine force, Naval Special Warfare, or with unmanned undersea systems

• Business development or capture experience, especially converting enacted funding increases into executed contracts

• Experience securing funding or policy outcomes at an early-stage defense technology company

• Active TS/SCI clearance

What We Offer

• Competitive compensation + generous equity package

• Benefits: Company-supported medical, dental, and vision coverage, PTO, flexibility, and the chance to make a big impact early

Additional Notes

• Applicants must disclose any post-government employment or lobbying restrictions as applicable

• Lobbying Disclosure Act registration may be required if applicable