Director of Product Sales and Commercialization

Aether Aerospace•California, MD

2d•$220,000 - $270,000

About The Position

Aether Aerospace is seeking a Director of Product Sales & Commercialization to lead sales, market development, and commercialization across its portfolio of established products, differentiated technologies, and intellectual property. The role is responsible for driving product revenue growth and expanding market adoption. The Director will work with Growth, Product, Technology, Engineering, Manufacturing, and business unit leadership to increase sales of existing products, identify customers and applications, establish repeatable sales channels, and transition emerging technologies into revenue-generating offerings. This highly customer-facing role requires aerospace and defense product sales experience and an understanding of technology commercialization, government acquisition, and solution selling. The Director will build customer relationships, communicate product value, establish acquisition pathways, and convert customer demand into funded orders, contracts, and follow-on business. The position is full-time and permanent, and may be remote or hybrid; candidates must live within commuting distance of the Patuxent River, Maryland area. The stated start date is January 2027.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering, Aerospace, or a related technical discipline; equivalent highly relevant experience may be considered.
At least 10 years of relevant experience in aerospace or defense product sales, business development, technology commercialization, or related commercial leadership roles.
Ability to obtain a Secret clearance; an active Secret clearance is preferred.
Demonstrated experience selling technical products, hardware, software, or integrated solutions to Government customers, defense contractors, OEMs, or other aerospace and defense markets.
Strong understanding of DoD acquisition processes, procurement pathways, funding environments, and defense contracting practices.
Experience translating complex technical capabilities into customer value propositions, sales strategies, and executable business opportunities.
Demonstrated ability to develop customer relationships, identify requirements, qualify opportunities, and advance pursuits toward funded awards.
Experience collaborating with engineering, product management, capture, finance, contracts, and program delivery organizations.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including executive-level briefings, customer presentations, and strategic partner engagements.
Ability to manage multiple product sales opportunities and priorities in a dynamic growth environment.
Ability to travel regularly for customer engagements, industry events, technical demonstrations, and strategic partner meetings.

Nice To Haves

Experience developing and expanding sales of manufactured aerospace and defense products, software-enabled solutions, and emerging technologies across multiple customers or market segments.
Experience developing repeatable product sales models within organizations historically focused on engineering services or non-recurring engineering (NRE).
Familiarity with military aviation, avionics, mission systems, Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA), autonomy, or related defense technology markets.
Experience supporting SBIR Phase III commercialization, sole-source acquisition strategies, OTA pathways, or other nontraditional defense acquisition approaches.
Experience developing product pricing, licensing, sustainment, and follow-on revenue strategies.
Experience working with Government program offices, major defense primes, OEMs, and technology integration partners.
Demonstrated experience building and managing product-focused sales pipelines and forecasts.
Existing customer and industry relationships across Army Aviation, Air Force, Navy/NAVAIR, or other relevant DoD communities.
Experience launching new defense products or expanding adoption of established technology across multiple customers or platforms.
Active Secret clearance.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute sales and commercialization strategies across established products, differentiated technologies, and IP offerings.
Grow sales of existing products by identifying new customers, markets, applications, repeat orders, and follow-on opportunities.
Develop commercialization strategies for emerging technologies, including positioning, market readiness, customer validation, and transition to repeatable sales.
Create product-specific go-to-market plans covering target customers, demand, competitive positioning, pricing approaches, sales channels, and revenue opportunities.
Work with Product, Engineering, and Manufacturing leadership to assess product capabilities, production readiness, delivery constraints, and opportunities to scale sales.
Provide market and customer input to product roadmaps, investment priorities, and product development and commercialization decisions.
Identify, develop, and qualify opportunities across the Department of Defense, defense industry primes, OEMs, and other relevant markets.
Build relationships with Government program offices, acquisition organizations, technical decision-makers, and industry partners to understand mission requirements, funding priorities, and procurement approaches.
Lead customer-facing engagements, including capability discussions, demonstrations, technical interchange meetings, and commercialization discussions.
Develop product value propositions communicating mission benefits, integration advantages, cost and schedule considerations, and differentiation.
Build and manage a qualified sales pipeline for established products, differentiated technologies, and emerging IP offerings.
Advance product sales opportunities, including direct sales, repeat orders, follow-on contracts, product integration, and technology commercialization.
Lead commercial customer engagements, including product discussions, quotations, pricing coordination, and order development, with Finance, Contracts, and relevant business units.
Partner with Capture Leads and business unit leadership on complex Government pursuits requiring formal capture strategies, proposals, teaming, or acquisition planning.
Coordinate with Product, Engineering, and Manufacturing to validate product availability, technical applicability, production capacity, cost, and delivery commitments.
Track product sales opportunities, bookings, forecasts, and customer demand through established CRM and Growth processes.
Develop executable acquisition strategies that enable Government and industry customers to procure Aether products and differentiated solutions.
Work with Growth, Contracts, and business unit leadership to assess acquisition pathways, including SBIR Phase III authority, IDIQ task orders, GSA MAS, OTA, and other appropriate mechanisms.
Develop product sales and pricing strategies, including direct sales, repeat orders, licensing where applicable, and other procurement models, in coordination with Product, Finance, and Contracts.
Identify appropriate opportunities for sole-source follow-on business, repeat product orders, funded applications, and expanded adoption.
Coordinate with strategic partners, OEMs, and prime contractors on teaming, integration, and distribution approaches that expand market access.
Partner with Communications/Marketing and Product leadership to develop and maintain an enterprise product catalog and supporting sales collateral, capability briefs, demonstration materials, and customer-facing product information.
Establish consistent product positioning, messaging, and value propositions aligned with target customer requirements and mission applications.
Identify industry events, customer demonstrations, technical forums, and targeted marketing activities that support commercialization and qualified opportunity development.
Provide market intelligence, competitive insights, and customer feedback to inform product marketing priorities and sales campaigns.
Coordinate with Product, Engineering, Manufacturing, and Operations leadership to ensure proposed sales and applications are technically feasible, commercially supportable, and aligned with approved capabilities, capacity, and delivery requirements.
Work with Product Leadership, Solutions Engineering, and technical subject-matter experts on customer discovery, demonstrations, solution development, and technical qualification.
Collaborate with Capture Leads to integrate product sales activities with customer relationships, capture strategies, and proposal processes.
Provide Growth leadership with visibility into market opportunities, commercialization progress, customer demand, and barriers to adoption.
Travel regularly for customer engagements, industry events, technical demonstrations, and strategic partner meetings.