---
title: 'Government Relations Lead at Pilgrim'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/government-relations-lead-pilgrim-washington-mnh9nm8c97aw'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-14'
---

# Government Relations Lead at Pilgrim

- **Company:** Pilgrim
- **Location:** Washington, DC
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Posted:** 2026-09-23
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-14
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/pilgrim/6e014dc9-deb6-4c5b-85ac-015f2e8c0cff

## Job description

About Pilgrim: Pilgrim is building America’s biology prime - engineering, manufacturing, and deploying advanced biotechnology for defense and national security. Our primary platform, ARGUS, is a fully autonomous system for detecting biological threats in near real time, from naturally occurring pathogens to engineered agents. We engineer hardware for biology, turning breakthrough science into fielded capabilities. Based in Redwood City, our team brings together mechanical and electrical engineering, chemistry, and biology under one roof to deliver critical technologies to the people who need them. About the Role: As the Government Relations Lead at Pilgrim, you’ll own our federal lobbying, authorization, and appropriations strategy. You’ll build relationships with congressional offices and agency leaders, draft funding requests and legislative language, and personally advance Pilgrim’s priorities on the Hill. You’ll secure the policy support and funding needed to develop and deploy our technology. Pilgrim has raised over $30 million to date and is backed by Peter Thiel, Brian Armstrong, Fred Ehrsam, Dylan Field, and Bryan Johnson, alongside Buckley Ventures, Conviction, Cantos, and others. Responsibilities:

- Develop and execute Pilgrim’s federal lobbying, authorization, and appropriations strategy, translating company priorities into specific legislative and funding objectives.
- Maintain an active presence on Capitol Hill, building relationships with congressional offices and committee staff and personally advancing Pilgrim’s requests.
- Draft funding requests, proposed bill and report language, policy briefs, and supporting materials for congressional and agency audiences.
- Build congressional support for funding and legislative requests, track submissions and deadlines, and follow priorities through committee and final bill consideration.
- Engage agency policy, budget, and program officials to connect legislative support with budget requests, program plans, and implementation.
- Monitor legislation, hearings, budget proposals, and agency policy changes; recommend specific actions to protect or advance Pilgrim’s priorities.
- Organize congressional briefings, facility visits, and technology demonstrations with leadership, Government Operations, and technical teams.

Qualifications:

- Experience on Capitol Hill, in a federal policy or budget role, or in federal government relations.
- Demonstrated results securing authorization language, appropriations funding, or federal policy changes.
- Working knowledge of federal budget formulation, authorization and appropriations processes, and how congressional and agency decisions affect program funding.
- Established relationships with congressional offices, relevant committee staff, or agency policy and budget officials.
- Ability to independently draft funding requests, legislative or report language, and concise policy briefs.
- Must be a U.S. Person.

Preferred:

- Experience with the NDAA, defense or homeland security appropriations, biotechnology policy, or building a government relations function.

Pilgrim is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Certain positions require access to export-controlled information and are limited to U.S. Persons as defined by applicable export control regulations.

## About Pilgrim

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Pilgrim develops, validates, and deploys battlefield-ready biotechnology solutions to enhance the resilience and capabilities of military personnel.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Seed stage)
- **Headquarters**: Redwood City, California, United States
- **Founded**: 2023
- **Founders**: Not publicly disclosed (company was started by a 21-year-old founder, per Business Insider, but name not listed in available sources)

## Core Business
- Primary industry: Defense and Space Manufacturing / Military Biotechnology
- Target customers: U.S. Department of Defense, allied militaries, and national security agencies (B2G)
- Mission: "Where biology meets the battlefield" — building the warfighter of tomorrow by transforming breakthrough science into decisive capabilities for those who operate at the edge.

## Products & Services
- **[Kingsfoil](https://pilgrimlabs.com/)**: A hemostatic dressing that seals wounds and promotes healing – designed for battlefield and civilian use. (Medical device)
- **[Voyager](https://pilgrimlabs.com/)**: An inhaled mist intended to neutralize chemical threats, protecting warfighters from chemical warfare agents. (Biotechnology product)
- **[ARGUS](https://pilgrimlabs.com/)**: A surveillance platform for detecting biological and chemical hazards in high-risk environments. (Monitoring / detection system)

## Market Standing
- **Valuation / Market Cap**: Not disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total funding of **$7.55 million**, including a $4.3 million Seed round (March 2025) and a $3.2 million Pre-Seed round (March 2025), plus an earlier Angel round (November 2023)
- **Notable Investors**: Cantos (Seed lead), Thiel Capital, Refactor, and others
- **Growth Signals**: 
  - Headcount grew 50% year-over-year (from ~2 to 4 employees as of mid-2025)
  - 8 open positions posted on hiring platforms, indicating aggressive expansion
  - Featured in Business Insider (Aug 2025) for founder’s high-risk demonstration to secure funding

## Competitive Advantages
- First-mover focusing purely on **battlefield-ready biotechnology** for human performance and protection
- **Backed by prominent defense/tech investors** (Peter Thiel, Cantos, Refactor) lending credibility and network
- **Small, agile team** enables rapid prototyping and deployment of novel solutions
- Product pipeline addresses urgent, unmet needs (hemostatic control, chemical neutralization, bio-threat detection)

## Strategic Focus
- Move from concept to field-deployable products: Kingsfoil, Voyager, and ARGUS are in validation and testing phases
- Scale manufacturing and expand government contracts
- Continue building a talent-dense engineering and biotech team
- Extend dual-use applications (military and civilian emergency medicine)

## Why Work Here
- **Mission-driven culture** with direct impact on national security and warfighter survivability
- **Small, early-stage company** (currently 4 employees) offering outsized responsibility and the chance to shape product direction
- **In-office presence** in Redwood City, CA; some hybrid roles available (e.g., Biomedical Engineer on Built In)
- **Recent funding** provides runway and signals investor confidence
- **Exciting technical challenges** spanning electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, biomedical engineering, and industrial design – as seen in open roles

## Sources
1. [pilgrimlabs.com](https://pilgrimlabs.com/)
2. [LinkedIn – Pilgrim](https://www.linkedin.com/company/pilgrimlabs)
3. [Built In – Pilgrim](https://builtin.com/company/pilgrim)
4. [VentureRadar – Pilgrim, Inc.](https://www.ventureradar.com/organisation/Pilgrim,%20Inc_%5Bdot%5D_/f199410e-2af6-4f52-af75-4125b4970d99)
5. [Black Flag Job Board – Pilgrim](https://www.blackflag.vc/hiring/pilgrim)

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- [Systems Integration Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/systems-integration-engineer-pilgrim-redwood-city-ya39bvqezt3q) — Redwood City, CA
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