Director of Business Development – US

Arkeus•Stafford, VA

About The Position

As the Business Development Director for US, your primary mission is to get Arkeus’ autonomous sensing systems and edge-AI perception payloads, led by our Warden, integrated and deployed into the US military’s uncrewed aerial fleet. This is an elite hunter role. You will own the sales pipeline, customer relationships, and capture strategies for US Department of Defense (DoD) UAS programs, Group 1 through Group 4. You will focus heavily on two fronts: winning prime opportunities directly with DoD innovation and acquisition branches (e.g., DIU, AFRL, NAVAIR, Army PM UAS), and driving sub-contract integration wins by selling directly to Tier-1 and Tier-2 UAS Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). You will turn technical demonstrations into multi-million-dollar production contracts. As an entrepreneur, you will become a trusted advisor within the US autonomous systems ecosystem – developing opportunities to extend the value we can bring through extensions to our current products, or drive evolutions through close collaboration with our advanced development and product teams.

Requirements

5+ years of proven success in defense business development, capture management, or sales, with a verifiable history of meeting or exceeding revenue targets.
Deep knowledge of the uncrewed aerial systems market, including payloads, sensors (EO/IR, radar), open architectures (MOSA), and autonomous software.
Comprehensive understanding of US DoD procurement pathways, budget cycles, and contract vehicles (e.g., FAR, non-FAR, OTAs).
Ability to confidently discuss sensor specifications, edge-computing limits, and airborne software architectures with military operators and aerospace engineers.
An active, relevant network of contacts across the US DoD UAS program offices and defense aerospace primes.
Must hold, or be readily capable of obtaining, a U.S. Secret (or higher) security clearance. (Prior military or civil service experience is highly valued).
Passion for a fast-paced, dynamic, and creative environment that prioritizes our Customers receiving a Compelling Experience through demonstration of leadership, ownership, disruption and audacity.
Must be willing to travel up to 50%.

Nice To Haves

Prior military or civil service experience is highly valued.

Responsibilities

Develop a trusted advisor relationship with key stakeholders and influencers within the US Department of Defence (DoD) and US OEM’s
Source, qualify, and close multi-million-dollar sales opportunities within the US Air Force, Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Special Operations UAS, or related, programs.
Establish and scale strategic commercial relationships with leading US UAS manufacturers to design Arkeus payloads into their next-generation airframes.
Lead the capture strategy for targeted US government RFPs, OTAs, and SBIR/STTR transitions. Write winning proposals backed by deep technical understanding.
Translate complex user requirements (e.g., GPS-denied navigation, autonomous targeting, multi-domain ISR) into tailored Arkeus system configurations.
Coordinate and execute high-impact product demonstrations and military flight trials alongside our technical Customer Success and Integration teams.
Feed critical US customer requirements, policy updates (such as Replicator initiatives), and competitor insights back to the product and engineering teams, driving information sharing through our CRM.
Demonstrate leadership through example by putting our customers first through a culture of leadership, ownership, disruption and audacity.