Director of Defense Sales

Sitreps•Washington, DC

67d•$150,000 - $165,000•Onsite

About The Position

We're looking for a relentless, customer-facing seller to own our direct sales motion. This role is for someone who moves fast, gets in front of operators and staffs, and converts conversations into signed work. You'll spend your time in front of units, commands, and program offices, running demos, shaping requirements, and closing. If you want a defined territory and an inherited playbook, this isn't it. If you want to build a pipeline from zero and win, it is. Exercise planning and operational planning are the initial focus areas for this seat, so knowledge or experience in either is a real advantage.

Requirements

Prior military service inside a DoW organization.
A track record of originating and closing government business, with specific deals you can point to and describe.
A live network across DoW operational units, staffs, or program offices that you can activate in your first 30 days.
Working fluency in defense contracting pathways (OTAs, CSOs, IDIQs, consortium structures) and the ability to pick the right one under time pressure.
Comfort demoing software yourself, without an engineer in the room.
High tolerance for ambiguity and a bias toward action in an early-stage environment.
Willingness to travel up to 40% to be in front of customers.
Must be eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance.

Nice To Haves

Experience selling software or AI/ML products into defense, not services or hardware.
Familiarity with exercise planning cycles, wargaming, and operational assessments.
Experience at an early-stage defense tech or govtech company.
Active U.S. security clearance.

Responsibilities

Direct Sales. Own new business from first contact through award. Prospect, qualify, demo, and close across services, combatant commands, and operational units.
Field Engagement. Get in the room. Work exercises, industry days, wargames, and conferences to generate qualified demand and build durable operator relationships.
Deal Execution. Drive opportunities through the fastest available contracting pathway, including O&M sales, CSOs, OTAs, consortium vehicles, and simplified acquisitions.
Pipeline Discipline. Maintain an accurate, current pipeline. Forecast honestly, kill dead deals early, and communicate what engineering needs to know and when.
Voice of the Customer. Translate operator problems into clear product feedback, and translate capabilities into language a staff officer or contracting officer can act on.