Principal Business Development Manager

Twenty-Six Defense • Fort Worth, TX

3d

About The Position

The Principal Business Development Manager for the MATR‑X tactical radar system leads initiatives to expand market presence, build strategic partnerships, and develop qualified opportunities across defense, homeland security, and critical-infrastructure sectors. The role uses specialized mission, technical, and market expertise to shape business-development plans, guide joint pursuits with partners, and position MATR‑X for missions including Counter‑UAS, force protection, border security, and tactical surveillance.

The position independently leads key pursuits, customer engagements, demonstrations, and capture workstreams, and provides expert insight to engineering, operations, and executive leadership. Through customer engagement, opportunity qualification, and cross-functional coordination, the role aligns customer mission gaps with MATR‑X capabilities and contributes to strategic growth and long-term program success. Travel of up to 50% is expected.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree or an equivalent combination of education, military service, technical experience, and defense-industry leadership.
• Eight or more years of successful business-development, capture, channel-development, strategic-partnership, or complex technical-sales experience.
• Experience selling to or supporting the Department of War, Department of Homeland Security, prime contractors, OEMs, system integrators, or comparable government customers.
• Demonstrated ability to develop opportunities from initial customer engagement through qualification, demonstration, proposal, negotiation, and award.
• Experience establishing or managing reseller, OEM, prime-contractor, or system-integrator relationships.
• Working knowledge of federal acquisition processes, government contracting vehicles, competitive procurements, demonstrations, and proposal development.
• Ability to understand and explain technically sophisticated products to operational, technical, acquisition, and executive audiences.
• U.S. citizenship and ability to obtain and maintain the security clearance required for the position.
• Strong strategic-partnership and channel-development skills.
• Ability to establish credibility with operational, acquisition, technical, and industry leaders.
• Consultative selling skills and ability to connect customer mission needs with product capabilities.
• Sound business judgment and disciplined opportunity qualification.
• Strong capture, proposal, presentation, and negotiation skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and ability to communicate technical capabilities accurately and clearly.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to collaborate across organizational boundaries.
• Ability to lead cross-functional pursuits without direct organizational authority.
• Self-directed, accountable, and comfortable working in a growth-oriented environment.
• Proficiency with CRM systems, Microsoft Office, pipeline management, and sales forecasting.

Responsibilities

• Lead development and execution of a focused business-development plan for the MATR‑X tactical radar, shaping priorities, identifying opportunities, and driving measurable progress.
• Identify, recruit, qualify, and develop reseller, prime-contractor, OEM, and system-integrator partnerships; assess partner capabilities and guide partnership-fit evaluations.
• Build partner relationships that provide access to contract vehicles, customer communities, integration resources, field support, and revenue opportunities.
• Develop and guide joint account plans, opportunity pipelines, demonstration strategies, and pursuit approaches with priority partners.
• Generate business opportunities across the Department of War, DHS, SLTT agencies, critical-infrastructure operators, and other qualified customers.
• Lead selected direct-sales pursuits, shape pursuit and customer-engagement strategies, and coordinate internal resources.
• Build and maintain relationships with operational users, acquisition organizations, program offices, test entities, prime contractors, and industry partners.
• Identify customer mission gaps and translate them into technically credible MATR‑X solution concepts in collaboration with engineering and product teams.
• Position MATR‑X for Counter‑UAS, force-protection, surveillance, border-security, critical-infrastructure, and other tactical-sensing missions.
• Plan and coordinate customer demonstrations, technical exchanges, operational evaluations, trade shows, and industry events.
• Support opportunity qualification, competitive analysis, capture planning, proposal development, pricing coordination, negotiations, and contract transition.
• Maintain accurate and complete CRM customer, partner, and opportunity information and help improve tracking methodologies.
• Provide management with pipeline forecasts, market intelligence, partner assessments, and recommended actions based on independent analysis.
• Collaborate across engineering, operations, contracts, marketing, executive leadership, and Elbit counterparts, often leading cross-functional efforts.
• Support follow-on business by sustaining customer relationships, identifying additional MATR‑X mission applications, and advising internal teams on emerging operational needs.
• Perform other related duties as assigned by senior management.

Benefits

• Most locations offer a 9/80 schedule, providing every other Friday off.
• Competitive compensation and a 401(k) program.
• Medical, dental, vision, and disability coverage with qualified wellness discounts.
• Basic Life Insurance and additional Life and AD&D insurance are available.
• Flexible Vacation and PTO.
• Paid Parental Leave.
• Employee Referral Program.
• Voluntary benefits including Long-Term Care, Legal, Identity Theft, and Pet Insurance.
• Voluntary Tricare Supplement available for military retirees.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Principal