.png){kind=logo}
The Business Development Director will lead growth strategies in defense sectors, managing the sales cycle, building partnerships, and analyzing market needs.
Description
We are looking for a high-impact Business Development Director to lead our growth within the defense and government sectors in the USA. This is a role for a closer - someone who possesses the strategic "startup hustle" to navigate emerging tech landscapes and the professional "defense-sector polish" to seal high-stakes federal contracts.
The ideal candidate has a proven track record of driving sales and securing wins with the Department of Defense (DoD) and thrives in high-growth, venture-backed environments.
The Mission
As the Director of Business Development, you will be the primary engine for our market expansion. You won’t just be "opening doors" or managing partnerships; you will own the entire lifecycle of the deal—from initial capture and strategic positioning to final contract closing.
Must-Have Requirements
- Experience: 8+ years of professional experience, with a heavy focus on the defense and government sectors.
- Deal Ownership: A documented history of Direct Sales and closing complex deals with federal and defense customers.
- The Startup Edge: Direct experience working within a startup environment. You understand how to build processes where they don't exist and move at the speed of innovation.
- Location: Must be based in the United States.
Nice-to-Have
- Maritime/Naval Expertise: Specific experience in shipbuilding, naval systems, autonomous maritime contexts, or maritime defense is a significant plus.
- Growth Pedigree: Previous roles at venture-backed, high-growth defense tech companies.
- Strategic Scope: Demonstrated experience as a Director or Senior IC owning capture efforts, strategic partnerships, and new business wins.
- Career Stability: A history of sustained tenure and professional growth within organizations (we value "builders" over "hoppers").
Key Responsibilities
- Lead Capture & Closing: Own the end-to-end sales cycle for major government and defense contracts.
- Strategic Growth: Identify and penetrate new market segments within the DoD and federal government.
- Partnership Architecture: Build and manage strategic relationships that lead directly to revenue and mission success.
- Market Intelligence: Translate complex government requirements into actionable product feedback for our engineering and product teams.
Similar Jobs
.png)
Artificial Intelligence • Cloud • Payments • Software • Business Intelligence • Generative AI • Automation
Lead the architecture, development, and scaling of data pipelines and infrastructure for a customer-facing Data Lake platform. Build ETL and ingestion systems using GCP, Debezium, Pub/Sub, Dataflow, BigQuery, Python, Golang, and SQL. Establish engineering standards, deliver strategic projects, mentor engineers, influence cross-functional technical decisions, optimize data services, and shape the platform roadmap.
Top Skills:
BigQueryCi/CdConfluenceDataflowDebeziumGoGoogle Cloud Platform (Gcp)JIRAPub/SubPythonRest ApisScrumSQL
Automotive • Big Data • Information Technology • Robotics • Software • Transportation • Manufacturing
Develop Python software and data systems that capture, validate, process, monitor, and deliver autonomous-vehicle telemetry from fleets to cloud and AI development pipelines. Own reliability initiatives, define architectures and operational metrics, debug distributed cloud and backend issues, improve observability and data quality, and apply AI/LLMs to incident triage and root-cause analysis. Collaborate across engineering and operations teams, lead design reviews, deliver tested production solutions, and mentor engineers.
Top Skills:
APIsAutomated TestingBackend ServicesBigQueryC++CiCloud StorageContainer OrchestrationData PipelinesDistributed SystemsGCPKubernetesLlmsMetricsMonitoringPythonSQLTelemetry Pipelines
Automotive • Big Data • Information Technology • Robotics • Software • Transportation • Manufacturing
Provides on-site automotive technical support to GM dealerships and wholesale teams. Diagnoses vehicle and Techline issues, resolves escalated cases, supports repair and repurchase prevention, reviews dealership service readiness, trains personnel, troubleshoots IT and diagnostic tools, and reports product concerns to GM engineering and quality teams. The role manages territory relationships, supports arbitration and legal cases, and requires frequent travel, extensive automotive diagnostic experience, and strong customer and technical communication skills.
Top Skills:
Buffalo ToolController Area Networks (Can)Gm Essential Service ToolsGm Global Connect Service ApplicationsGm LanGm Service Training CollegeInca ToolLan/WanMS OfficeNeoviPicoscopeTis/GdsV-Spy Intrepid Tools
What you need to know about the Chicago Tech Scene
With vibrant neighborhoods, great food and more affordable housing than either coast, Chicago might be the most liveable major tech hub. It is the birthplace of modern commodities and futures trading, a national hub for logistics and commerce, and home to the American Medical Association and the American Bar Association. This diverse blend of industry influences has helped Chicago emerge as a major player in verticals like fintech, biotechnology, legal tech, e-commerce and logistics technology. It’s also a major hiring center for tech companies on both coasts.
Key Facts About Chicago Tech
- Number of Tech Workers: 245,800; 5.2% of overall workforce (2024 CompTIA survey)
- Major Tech Employers: McDonald’s, John Deere, Boeing, Morningstar
- Key Industries: Artificial intelligence, biotechnology, fintech, software, logistics technology
- Funding Landscape: $2.5 billion in venture capital funding in 2024 (Pitchbook)
- Notable Investors: Pritzker Group Venture Capital, Arch Venture Partners, MATH Venture Partners, Jump Capital, Hyde Park Venture Partners
- Research Centers and Universities: Northwestern University, University of Chicago, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Illinois Institute of Technology, Argonne National Laboratory, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
