Director of Business Development

About the Role

As the Business Development Director for US, your primary mission is to get Arkeus' autonomous sensing systems and edge-AI perception payloads, led by our Warden, integrated and deployed into the US military's uncrewed aerial fleet. This is an elite hunter role. You will own the sales pipeline, customer relationships, and capture strategies for US Department of Defense (DoD) UAS programs, Group 1 through Group 4.

You will focus heavily on two fronts: winning prime opportunities directly with DoD innovation and acquisition branches (e.g., DIU, AFRL, NAVAIR, Army PM UAS), and driving sub-contract integration wins by selling directly to Tier-1 and Tier-2 UAS Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). You will turn technical demonstrations into multi-million-dollar production contracts.

As an entrepreneur, you will become a trusted advisor within the US autonomous systems ecosystem - developing opportunities to extend the value we can bring through extensions to our current products, or drive evolutions through close collaboration with our advanced development and product teams.

You are a relentless defense business development professional with an established, active network in the US military UAS ecosystem. You know the programs, the key decision-makers, and the major industry primes. You aren't just a relationship manager; you understand payload integration, SWaP-C (Size, Weight, Power, and Cost) constraints, and how computer vision, machine learning and artificial intelligence changes the game for ISR.

You thrive in high-autonomy, venture-backed startup environments. You don't wait for incoming leads—you actively map requirements, identify program gaps, and position our technology as the must-have solution for software-defined warfare.

You thrive in ambiguity, excel at translating cutting-edge AI capability into high-value customer propositions, and know how to build pipelines with a strong MOAT from the ground up.

• Trusted Advisor:
  Develop a trusted advisor relationship with key stakeholders and influencers within the US Department of Defence (DoD) and US OEM's
• Pipeline Execution:
  Source, qualify, and close multi-million-dollar sales opportunities within the US Air Force, Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Special Operations UAS, or related, programs.
• OEM Account Management:
  Establish and scale strategic commercial relationships with leading US UAS manufacturers to design Arkeus payloads into their next-generation airframes.
• Capture & Proposal Leadership:
  Lead the capture strategy for targeted US government RFPs, OTAs, and SBIR/STTR transitions. Write winning proposals backed by deep technical understanding.
• Mission-Aligned Selling:
  Translate complex user requirements (e.g., GPS-denied navigation, autonomous targeting, multi-domain ISR) into tailored Arkeus system configurations.
• Flight Tests & Demos:
  Coordinate and execute high-impact product demonstrations and military flight trials alongside our technical Customer Success and Integration teams.
• Market Intelligence:
  Feed critical US customer requirements, policy updates (such as Replicator initiatives), and competitor insights back to the product and engineering teams, driving information sharing through our CRM.
• Leadership:
  Demonstrate leadership through example by putting our customers first through a culture of leadership, ownership, disruption and audacity.

In your first 90 days:

• You have mapped the top 10 US military UAS program opportunities and Tier-1 OEM targets for Arkeus.
• You have established a seamless working rhythm with the US leadership and international product and engineering teams.
• You have secured your first set of introductory pipeline meetings with target program offices or OEMs.

In your first year:

• You have successfully secured at least two major program wins or hardware integration contracts with US defense UAS customers/primes.
• You have built a robust, qualified multi-year sales pipeline that ensures predictable revenue growth for the US entity.
• Arkeus is actively participating in key US military operational exercises and flight demonstrations.
• You have established Arkeus as the…