Program and Capture Manager

Capture Manager  About Doodle Labs  Doodle Labs builds the connectivity backbone of the autonomous systems revolution — resilient wireless mesh networks that let drones, robots, and unmanned platforms operate reliably in the world's most demanding environments. We sit at the intersection of defense, robotics, and next-generation autonomy, powering the machines that are changing how militaries, first responders, and industries operate in the field. Our core purpose is simple: connect anyone and anything, at any time, in any place.  For over 25 years, our team has been at the forefront of mesh networking, partnering with leading defense programs, robotics manufacturers, and system integrators worldwide. The work here doesn't sit in a slide deck — it ends up in the field, in the hands of people for whom failure isn't an option.  About the Role  The Capture Manager is a director-level role focused on winning strategically important government contracts through competitive capture and bid strategy. You'll lead the capture process from discovery through contract award, navigating government procurement requirements, managing prime contractor relationships, and positioning Doodle Labs for success.  This role combines deep government procurement expertise with business development acumen. While your primary mandate is winning the contract, you'll also develop customer relationships that naturally surface follow-on opportunities—understanding the customer's long-term strategy and positioning Doodle Labs as a strategic partner, not just a vendor.  This is an opportunity to lead one of Doodle Labs' most strategically important pursuits and establish the foundation for expanded presence in a key international market.  What You'll Do  * Develop and execute capture strategy and competitive positioning  * Navigate government procurement processes and regulatory requirements across international markets  * Manage prime contractor relationships and flow-down requirements, ensuring legal and operational compliance  * Lead capture team execution, managing schedules, deliverables, and cross-functional alignment  * Engage customer stakeholders at strategic and technical levels, building trust and understanding customer priorities  * Develop customer intelligence and identify follow-on opportunities that align with customer strategy and Doodle Labs' roadmap  * Coordinate with internal leadership and cross-functional teams to ensure alignment and strategic coherence through contract award  What Success Looks Like  * Contract awarded with strong customer alignment and clear expectations for post-award execution  * Capture team fully mobilized and positioned with compelling value proposition and competitive differentiation  * Strong cross-functional alignment and stakeholder buy-in across internal teams and customer leadership  * Clear pipeline of follow-on opportunities and customer insights positioned for future growth  * Doodle Labs established as a trusted strategic partner with the customer, not a transactional vendor  Who You Are  * 10+ years of progressive experience in government capture, procurement management, and/or proposal management  * Proven track record at director level winning high-stakes government contracts at major defense primes  * Deep understanding of international government procurement environments and regulatory frameworks  * Legal and contract fluency: you understand prime contractor flow-down obligations, compliance requirements, and risk mitigation  * Business development experience: you understand customer strategy, can develop consultative relationships, and naturally identify expansion opportunities  * Politically astute: you navigate complex stakeholder dynamics and understand how government customers think and make decisions  *  Operationally excellent: you manage complex pursuits with multiple workstreams, competing priorities, and external stakeholders  * Comfortable working in international markets and embedded with international teams  * Entrepreneurial: you thrive in a scale-up environment where capture wins directly shape the trajectory of the company  Preferred Qualifications  * Experience with autonomous systems, robotics, wireless networking, or defense electronics  * Experience working with OEMs or embedded systems/hardware products  * Program management background or experience with capture-to-execution transitions  * Fluency in European defense procurement or experience with international government agencies  * Advanced degree in business, engineering, or related field  Why Join Doodle Labs  * Lead and win a strategically important government contract for a cutting-edge technology company  * Work on technology powering the future of autonomous systems and defense communications  * Build strategic customer relationships that naturally expand into new opportunities  * Collaborate with engineers and innovators building industry-leading connectivity solutions  * Make a meaningful impact in a fast-growing company shaping the next generation of robotics and autonomous systems  * Expand Doodle Labs' presence in key international markets during a critical growth phase  * Competitive compensation package and the opportunity to grow with a scale-up building transformational technology  Travel Expectations  This role requires 20–30% travel for customer meetings, capture activities, stakeholder engagement, and team collaboration across multiple locations.

THIS IS CRADLE Proteins are the molecular machines of life, used for many therapeutic, diagnostic, chemical, agricultural and food applications. Designing and optimizing proteins takes a lot of expert knowledge and manual effort, through the use of custom computational and biological tools. Machine learning is revolutionizing this space, by enabling high-fidelity protein models. At Cradle, we offer a software platform for AI-guided discovery and optimization of proteins, so that biologists can design proteins faster and at scale. We are already used by clients across biopharma, biotech, agri-tech, food-tech, and academia. We're an experienced team of just over 100 people. We've built many successful products before and have enough funding for multiple years of runway. We are distributed across three offices in Amsterdam, Boston, and Zurich, alongside a few remote colleagues. We offer our employees a very competitive salary, a generous equity stake in the company and a wide range of benefits and career progression opportunities. YOUR ROLE As an Engagement Manager within our Customer Success team, you’ll ensure that Cradle’s largest customers achieve success across their entire protein R&D portfolio. While your Scientific Advisor peers drive success at the project level, you will own success at the portfolio level — building deep relationships with senior stakeholders, aligning on portfolio success metrics, and ensuring our software and services deliver measurable value across departments and programs. You’ll serve as a trusted partner to senior leaders in global biopharma and industrial biotech companies, guiding strategic planning, adoption, and expansion of Cradle’s platform. Working closely with Scientific Advisors, Account Executives, and Product teams, you’ll translate Cradle’s scientific impact into business outcomes and long-term partnerships. YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES Strategic Account Leadership * Oversee post-sale success across global biotech and pharma customers, from initial onboarding to long-term, broad adoption. * Define and track portfolio-level success metrics and ROI, presenting progress to senior customer stakeholders. * Establish and lead steering committees to align stakeholders and ensure Cradle delivers measurable impact. * Understand customer budget cycles, licensing models, and R&D roadmaps to identify timely opportunities for growth and renewals. * Partner with Account Executives to expand Cradle’s footprint across new business units and therapeutic areas. Program and Relationship Management * Coordinate with Scientific Advisors to ensure smooth project initiation, resource allocation, and execution within licensed project slots. * Manage multi-workstream engagements, ensuring alignment across Science, Product, and ML teams. * Inspire and lead your cross-functional Cradle team to deliver seven star customer experiences. * Act as the primary escalation and coordination point for enterprise accounts. Customer Experience and Voice of Customer * Solicit, capture and communicate customer feedback, driving improvements in Cradle’s product and service delivery. * Partner with Product and Machine Learning Research teams to align customer strategic priorities and Cradle’s roadmap. * Design and co-create training and education initiatives that empower scientists to succeed on the Cradle Platform. * You will advocate for Cradle’s customers internally without losing sight of the delivery efficiency and interests of the Cradle team. YOUR QUALIFICATIONS Must-haves * Deep understanding of biopharma R&D workflows and the ability to confidently engage with executive stakeholders as well as experimental and computational scientists. * 5–7+ years in enterprise client-facing roles (program management, consulting, or customer success) ideally in Life Sciences. * Proven ability to lead complex, multi-stakeholder programs and drive measurable ROI. * Strong relationship-building, executive presence, crisp communication, and excellent organizational skills. * Comfortable presenting scientific and business insights to internal and external cross-functional audiences. * MSc or advanced degree in Molecular Biology, Biotechnology, Bioengineering, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience. * Willingness to travel to- and work from customer sites (20% of the time). Nice-to-haves * Experience managing enterprise SaaS deployments. * Familiarity with services commercials (SOWs, budgeting, resourcing, and change orders). * Experience with machine learning applications in life sciences or biotech. OUR COMMITMENT TO INCLUSIVE HIRING Cradle evaluates all candidates based on merit, regardless of sex, gender, ethnicity, socio-economic background, or any other aspect of identity. We maintain zero tolerance for discrimination and actively encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply. AI DISCLOSURE Cradle uses an applicant tracking system that includes basic AI-assisted features which may generate scores or rankings based on how applications match a job description. These outputs are not used to make or meaningfully influence hiring decisions — all candidates are evaluated through a thorough, human-led review by our recruiting team. A NOTICE ABOUT RECRUITMENT SCAMS Please be aware that scammers are posing as us in order to get your personal details or money. We only communicate via @cradle.bio email addresses, we only make job offers after having met you in person at our office in Zurich or Amsterdam, and we never ask you to pay for anything during the interview process.