Constellation (CGC) Business Lead in McLean, Virginia at Merlin International Inc
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Job Description
About Merlin Group
Merlin Group operates at the intersection of cyber innovation, national security, and technology-driven transformation. With a mission to accelerate the adoption of high-impact technologies across the U.S. public sector and regulated commercial markets, Merlin is uniquely structured around three core tenets – Invest, Enable, and Scale – each designed to address a specific stage of the technology lifecycle. Together, our affiliates – Merlin Ventures, CGC, and Merlin Cyber – form a flywheel that builds enduring capability for customers, partners, and the broader cyber ecosystem, operationalizing technological advancement into mission-ready, enterprise-grade solutions.
At Merlin, we believe our strength lies in our people. Team members are encouraged to be creative, collaborative, and nimble, pursuing paths to deliver the cutting-edge cybersecurity solutions that our customers rely on. From next-generation cyber defense to secure cloud and AI, we are united by one purpose – transforming innovation into mission impact.
The Opportunity
The Constellation Government Cloud (CGC) Business Lead will own and lead the CGC component of Merlin’s strategic flywheel, serving as the executive responsible for operational excellence, compliance maturity, customer confidence, and market positioning.
This leader will oversee all CGC business operations, including platform performance, compliance progression, FedRAMP escalation pathways (e.g., Moderate to High, High to IL5 and beyond), customer readiness, executive stakeholder engagement, and ecosystem influence. They will ensure CGC is positioned not only as a compliant cloud environment, but as a differentiated strategic growth engine for Merlin.
This role requires an executive operator with deep federal cloud, compliance, and go-to-market expertise—someone who can manage internal execution while also serving as the external face of CGC to prospective customers, C-suite buyers, federal decision-makers, and the broader cyber ecosystem.
The CGC Business Lead will be responsible for transforming CGC from an operational capability into a market-leading business platform that drives customer trust, revenue growth, and long-term enterprise value.
Primary Duties & Responsibilities
CGC Business Ownership & Strategy
- Own the overall business strategy, performance, and long-term growth of Constellation Government Cloud (CGC)
- Establish CGC as a core driver of Merlin’s growth flywheel, aligning cloud operations with customer acquisition and strategic revenue generation
- Define operating models, service delivery standards, business priorities, and executive reporting structures for CGC
- Develop and execute strategic plans for scale, market expansion, and competitive differentiation
- Lead executive strategy for compliance maturity and authorization progression across CGC
- Oversee FedRAMP escalation pathways including Moderate to High, High to IL5, and future mission-critical compliance targets
- Partner with Security, Compliance, Delivery, and Engineering teams to ensure readiness, audit success, and sustainable authorization management
- Remove operational barriers and accelerate decision-making required to advance compliance posture
- Serve as executive sponsor for customer trust, regulatory confidence, and security credibility
Operations & Performance Leadership
- Oversee day-to-day CGC operational performance, governance, and business health
- Establish KPIs, executive dashboards, service-level expectations, and operational accountability models
- Ensure alignment across infrastructure, delivery, customer success, security, and commercial teams
- Drive operational excellence, scalability, and continuous improvement across the CGC environment
Executive Customer & Market Leadership
- Serve as the executive face of CGC to prospective customers, C-suite executives, government stakeholders, and strategic partners
- Lead executive-level customer conversations around trust, security, compliance, and mission readiness
- Support business development and sales efforts by positioning CGC as a strategic differentiator in customer pursuits
- Represent Merlin and CGC across the broader cybersecurity, cloud, and federal technology ecosystem
- Build credibility and influence with industry leaders, channel partners, and key government decision-makers
Cross-Functional Leadership
- Partner closely with Sales, Growth, Security, Product, Delivery, Compliance, Finance, and Executive Leadership teams
- Align CGC priorities with broader corporate strategy, revenue goals, and customer commitments
- Build and lead the future CGC business organization as scale and complexity increase
Qualifications
Required- Bachelor’s degree or advanced degree preferred (MBA, MPA, MS, or related field) but will consider experience in lieu of education
- 12+ years of progressive executive leadership experience in federal cloud operations, government technology, cybersecurity, compliance leadership, or adjacent enterprise functions
- Demonstrated success leading highly regulated cloud environments and compliance-driven business operations
- Deep understanding of FedRAMP, IL4/IL5 authorization pathways, government cloud operations, and federal customer requirements
- Proven experience driving executive-level customer engagement and complex federal technology sales support
- Strong knowledge of public sector procurement environments and customer decision-making processes
- Executive presence with the ability to influence internal stakeholders and external enterprise buyers
- Experience leading large-scale cross-functional initiatives in high-growth, high-accountability environments
Preferred
- Experience leading government cloud businesses such as AWS GovCloud, Azure Government, Google Public Sector, or similar regulated cloud environments
- Background in cybersecurity, zero trust, SaaS, cloud platform operations, or mission-critical infrastructure
- Experience with Robotic Process Automation tools, e.g. Power Platform
- Existing credibility and network within the federal cyber ecosystem and executive buyer community
- Experience supporting classified, defense, or highly sensitive government workloads
Key Success Metrics (First 12–18 Months):
- CGC business strategy and executive operating model fully established
- FedRAMP and compliance maturity roadmap accelerated and measurable progression achieved
- Authorization advancement milestones successfully delivered (Moderate to High, High to IL5, etc.)
- Executive customer engagement model established and actively supporting revenue growth
- CGC is positioned as a differentiated strategic platform in customer pursuits and partner ecosystems
- Operational KPIs, reporting, and governance frameworks fully implemented
Leadership Competencies
- Executive Presence
- Strategic Vision
- Operational Excellence
- Compliance Leadership
- Customer Influence
- Commercial Acumen
- Cross-Functional Leadership
- Ecosystem & Industry Credibility
- Change Leadership
Benefits & Perks
We want to empower and inspire employees to be and do their best. Our workdays are dynamic, collegial, and fun. Our office features multiple places to work unconstrained by typical office barriers. Our wellness package provides access to an on-site gym and includes medical, dental, and vision insurance along with options for FSA and EAP. We offer 401(k) with employer match, unlimited PTO, and a culture respectful of the reality that not everything in one’s personal life is guaranteed to happen only after hours.
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, local, or international law.