Defence Business Development Lead - Land/Joint Forces
About the position
Plextek’s breadth of experience in antenna design, high-frequency electronics, digital signal processing, and embedded systems means they are now a world leader in low size, weight, power and cost communications, radar, and sensing systems.
Plextek provides broad and innovative design and engineering services across a range of sectors (consumer, defence, industrial, utilities, healthcare, automotive, security, and space). Consequently, the work is varied, interesting and often technically challenging.
We are seeking an experienced Sales/Business Development Manager to own and drive the full sales lifecycle for campaigns within Plextek’s defence business: from market insight, account strategy and opportunity creation through to capture planning, proposal development, negotiation, contract award, handover and long-term account growth. This role is suited to a commercially astute, technically credible sales professional, who can build trusted relationships across military commands, prime contractors, defence SMEs, government stakeholders and specialist technology partners.
Purpose
- Build end-to-end sales activity for defence opportunities, taking ownership from early market engagement and qualification through to close, mobilisation and account expansion
- Develop and execute targeted account plans across defence primes, MOD-facing organisations, innovation frameworks, specialist SMEs and relevant partner ecosystems
- Translate Plextek’s advanced engineering capabilities into compelling customer propositions, particularly across RF, sensing, communications, radar, electronic warfare, AI/ML, resilient navigation and low-SWaP technology solutions
- Build trusted, consultative relationships with technical, commercial, procurement and operational stakeholders, acting as a credible interface between customer need and Plextek’s engineering expertise
- Identify, qualify and shape opportunities early by understanding customer missions, capability gaps, procurement routes, funding timelines and competitive positioning
- Own capture planning for priority opportunities, including stakeholder mapping, win themes, partner strategy, bid/no-bid input, pricing assumptions, proposal coordination and negotiation approach
- Work closely with technical teams to scope solutions, develop value propositions, create proposals and ensure a high-quality transition from sales into delivery
- Support client management during project delivery, ensuring customer confidence, commercial awareness, delivery alignment and identification of follow-on opportunities
- Represent Plextek at defence events, industry forums, trade shows and customer meetings, using existing networks while also creating new routes to market
- Maintain a clear pipeline, accurate forecasting and disciplined sales governance, ensuring opportunities are tracked from lead generation through to revenue recognition and account growth
- Build a structured defence sales plan aligned to Plextek’s growth priorities, technical strengths and target market segments as directed by the Growth Director
- Monitor defence market trends, funding priorities, procurement frameworks and emerging capability requirements to identify where Plextek can create differentiated value
- Develop clear customer and partner segmentation, focusing effort on opportunities where Plextek’s engineering depth, agility and technology heritage provide a strong route to win
- Position Plextek as a trusted technology partner able to support applied research, demonstrators, prototypes, system development and deployable solutions
- Generate new qualified opportunities through networking, referrals, industry events, direct outreach, partner engagement and structured account development
- Apply disciplined qualification to assess customer need, budget, authority, timing, competitive landscape, delivery fit and strategic value
- Shape opportunities before formal procurement wherever possible, ensuring Plextek is positioned around customer outcomes rather than generic…
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