Director, Market Research

Beehive Industries is dedicated to Powering American Defense by revolutionizing the design, development, and delivery of jet propulsion systems to support the warfighter. Through the integration of additive manufacturing, the company aims to meet the growing and urgent needs for unmanned aerial defense by dramatically improving a jet engine’s speed to market, fuel efficiency, and cost.  

Founded in 2020, the company is headquartered in Englewood, Colorado, with additional facilities in Knoxville, Tennessee, Loveland Ohio, and Mount Vernon, Ohio. Beehive is committed to grow and advance the defense industrial base while manufacturing exclusively in the USA. This role will be located at our Cincinnati, Ohio facility.

The Director of Market Research leads the development and execution of strategic initiatives that support market growth, competitive positioning, and product strategy within the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) ecosystem. This role is responsible for shaping insights that inform program development, acquisition alignment, and customer engagement—while ensuring Beehive Industries’ products are positioned to meet mission-critical needs across DoD agencies and program offices.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and execute comprehensive market research strategies focused on DoD programs, acquisition trends, defense modernization priorities, and capability gaps.
• Direct qualitative and quantitative research efforts, including defense customer interviews, government RFI/RFP analysis, congressional budget trends, and technology roadmaps.
• Monitor legislative, regulatory, and funding developments that influence DoD procurement decisions.
• Translate complex defense market data into actionable insights for engineering, capture, business development, and executive teams.
• Deliver executive-level reporting to support business planning, program alignment, and investment decisions.

• Define product positioning, messaging, and value propositions in alignment with military mission sets, program requirements, and operational needs.
• Lead go-to-market strategies tailored to defense acquisition cycles and milestone-driven programmatic environments.
• Collaborate closely with engineering, program management, legal, and business development to inform product roadmaps and ensure compliance with DoD requirements and contracting expectations.
• Develop pricing strategies, bid positioning narratives, and marketing materials for successful proposal and capture efforts.
• Analyze competitor activity in the federal/defense space, including teaming arrangements, technology offerings, and IDIQ/task order strategies.
• Maintain a deep understanding of end-user environments, CONOPS, and program-of-record trajectories.
• Establish tools and frameworks to standardize defense market assessments, customer insight gathering, and value articulation.
• Foster collaboration across engineering, contracts, supply chain, and executive leadership to ensure alignment between market intelligence and execution strategy.
• Manage departmental budgets and ensure efficient, compliant use of resources in support of federal business goals.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business, Economics, Political Science, or related field; Master’s degree preferred.
• 10+ years of experience in market research, product marketing, or capture strategy, with at least 5 years in a leadership role.
• Extensive experience supporting Department of Defense customers is required.
• Familiarity with DoD acquisition processes, program lifecycle stages, and relevant contracting mechanisms (e.g., FAR, OTA, IDIQ).
• Deep understanding of defense funding cycles, capability development processes (JCIDS), and key DoD stakeholders.
• Experience with market research and analysis tools (e.g., GovWin, FPDS, SAM.gov, budget justification books, SIPRNet reports).
• Excellent analytical, strategic communication, and storytelling skills.
• Military veterans and candidates with government o