Similar Jobs
We are seeking a dynamic and driven Business Development Representative (BDR) to join our team. Highly qualified candidates will have a background in Cyber Operations or Intelligence.
The BDR will play a critical role in identifying, nurturing, and securing new business opportunities within the defense sector. This role requires a strong understanding of the defense tech industry, excellent communication skills, and a passion for building lasting relationships with our customers; Mission Heroes.
- Prospecting and Lead Generation: Identify and research potential customers within the defense sector. Develop and maintain a robust pipeline of qualified leads through various channels, including industry events, online research, and networking.
- Customer Outreach: Initiate contact with potential customers via phone calls, emails, and social media. Engage in meaningful conversations to understand their needs, pain points, and how our solutions can address them.
- Relationship Building: Build and maintain strong relationships with key decision-makers and stakeholders within target organizations. Foster trust and credibility through consistent follow-up and value-added interactions.
- Product Knowledge: Gain a deep understanding of our products and services. Effectively communicate the features, benefits, and value propositions to potential clients.
- Collaboration: Work closely with the business development, marketing, product, and finance teams to develop and execute targeted strategies for entering government markets. Provide feedback and insights to improve sales and marketing efforts.
- Sales Process Management: Manage the sales process from initial contact to qualified opportunity. Track and report on sales activities, pipeline status, and progress toward targets.
- Market Intelligence: Stay informed about industry trends, competitive landscape, and market conditions. Use this information to refine and adapt sales strategies.
Travel Expectations/Requirements: 20%-35%
The listed responsibilities are not exhaustive and additional responsibilities may be assigned based on the evolving needs of the organization. We are seeking a dynamic individual who is able to adapt and take on new responsibilities as they arise.
Preferred Experience and Qualifications:- 4+ years of experience in business development, sales, or a related role within the defense tech industry.
- 7+ years of experience within the DoD as a Cyber or Intelligence practitioner.
- Exceptional verbal and written communication skills. Ability to articulate complex technical concepts to a variety of audiences.
- Strong understanding of the defense tech industry, including key players, market trends, and procurement processes.
- Proven ability to build and maintain relationships with clients and stakeholders. Strong networking skills.
- Highly motivated, proactive, and results-oriented. Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
- Familiarity with CRM software and sales tools.
Impact: Your work directly helps teams deliver secure software faster by creating opportunities that wouldn’t exist otherwise.
Mission-driven team: Work alongside technologists, veterans, and operators united by a shared mission.
Flexibility: Remote-first culture with the autonomy to work where you’re most effective.
Growth: Opportunities to expand your skills across business development, partnerships, and strategy.
Culture: We lead with kindness, trust, and speed—and we mean it.
Full compensation packages are based on candidate experience. Compensation ranges are established using national benchmarking data and apply across all geographic locations within the United States.
Defense Unicorns delivers mission value by streamlining software delivery so our customers can focus on the most important challenges. We share a vision of freedom and security for the advancement of progress and innovation. Our commitment to this vision, and to our mission-driven customers, means a commitment to speed, user experience and optionality, without compromising security. Our team is composed of innovators, software engineers, and veterans with decades of experience delivering technology programs across the federal market.
What We DoWe create and deliver secure solutions for continuous software integration and delivery. Defense Unicorns consolidates the best practices for security pipelines, testing, and deployment automation in order to meet the high security requirements valued by mission owners. Our solutions are agnostic by design and we believe that growing a robust ecosystem of secure, cloud-native software solutions can help enterprise customers inside and outside the federal market buy and integrate software more easily.
Who We ServeDefense Unicorns’ customers are mission-focused leaders across public and private enterprises. We proudly support defense and civil agencies across the U.S. government and we work closely with the creators of leading-edge software solutions to deliver value to the mission-owner by improving the security and consumability of commercial software products.
What We Work On- Kubernetes
- Cloud Environments (AWS/GCP and Azure)
- Infrastructure-as-code (like Terraform/Pulumi)
- Continuous Delivery and automation tooling
- GitOps
- Containers
- CNCF projects and open source products and packages
- Helm/Kustomize-Value Stream Mapping
- Building and improving security delivery
- Building Kubernetes and cloud native applications
- Medical/Dental/Vision
- Premiums are 100% Company Paid
- Health Savings Account
- Life Insurance
- Disability Insurance
- 401k Retirement Plan
- Company Stock Options
- Home Office Budget
- We offer all full-time Unicorns Flexible Time Off (FTO) plus all Federal Holidays, one week for Thanksgiving, and two weeks for Christmas and New Year’s
- Paid Parental Leave
- Reimbursement for approved trainings/subscriptions
- Conferences (travel, lodging, and fees)
Don’t have all the preferred experience or qualifications? Studies show that underrepresented groups like women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs if they don't meet every requirement listed.
At Defense Unicorns, we're committed to diversity. If you're enthusiastic about the role but don't match every criteria, we encourage you to apply. You could be the perfect fit for this or another role! Defense Unicorns is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, veteran status, genetic information, union status and/or beliefs, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.
CCPA DISCLOSURE
What you need to know about the Chicago Tech Scene
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
