Account Director, U.S Defense

If you’re looking for a special place to build or grow your career, you’ve found it. Whether you’re an experienced professional, a recent college graduate or somewhere in between, IDEX is a place where you can apply your existing skills and learn new ones in an environment where you can make an impact. With interesting opportunities in engineering, marketing, sales, supply chain, operations, HR, finance, and more across more than 40 diverse businesses around the globe, chances are, we have something special for you.

This role can be remote/hybrid in the US.

The Growth Account Director – U.S. Defense is a commercial leader responsible for driving rapid, strategic expansion across emerging and transformational segments of the U.S. defense market. This position focuses on high‑growth customer segments—including disruptive “new defense” prime contractors, rapidly scaling integrators, and selected established defense primes with significant 24‑month growth potential.

• Strategic Growth Leadership
  • Chart and lead expansion into emerging defense segments, including new defense entrants and non‑traditional primes.
  • Develop Key Account Plans and Opportunity Qualifiers that provide the business units with credible evidence of imminent significant market opportunities, along with a coherent explanation of why we can win, what will be required to do so, and the expected return on investment.
  • Build program‑level relationships across accounts to provide visibility to future growth as well as rapid identification of customer concerns, potential disruptions, and a broad understanding of our and our customers’ competitive landscapes.
  • Serve as the internal voice of growth customers, driving prioritization of limited resources in such a way as to maximize future growth possibilities.
• Market Intelligence & Opportunity Discovery
  • Track emerging programs using a commercially‑oriented defense procurement filter.
  • Identify and qualify opportunities using MEDDPICC and 80/20 methodologies.
  • Provide competitive insights and capability requirement forecasts.
• Cross‑Functional Influence & Communication
  • Communicate effectively and persuasively with Operations, Engineering, and Leadership.
  • Drive internal alignment and urgency around critical customer needs.
• Account Development & Customer Engagement
  • Act as the primary point of contact for targeted growth accounts, facilitating communications with Engineering, Operations, Planning and Inside Sales functions as appropriate.
  • Provide accurate program‑level forecasting, including realistic, evidence‑backed success likelihood for dial‑moving programs and opportunities.
  • Maintain a high‑cadence customer engagement rhythm through regular and highly effective virtual and in‑person meetings.
• Operational & Commercial Execution
  • Support NPI, prototype builds, and scaling transitions.
  • Engage with Enterprise Engineering team to ensure manufacturable customer requirements are translated accurately to sites.
  • Support team in negotiation of all commercial aspects of fully vetted and qualified opportunities, including short‑ and long‑term product pricing, lead times, non‑recurring engineering fees, and legal frameworks.

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Physics, Business, or related field.
• 2+ years in strategic account management or defense business development.
• Experience with emerging defense companies or rapidly scaling OEMs.
• Strong understanding of U.S. defense acquisition pathways.
• Exceptional research and communication abilities with cross‑functional influence.
• Ability to travel 30%+ across the domestic US and meet ITAR/EAR requirements.

• Growth Mindset:
  Thrives in emerging, ambiguous markets.
• Towering curiosity:
  Urgent desire to push past the initial response and learn more.
• Market Instincts:
  Detects early signals and meaningful opportunities.
• Influence & Persuasion:
  Inspires teams to act earlier and stretch capabilities.
• Customer Obsession:
  Anticipates needs of non‑traditional defense customers and can effectively communicate these business process requirements to the business unit.
• Technical Credibility:
  Comfortable with technical…