Director, U.S. Defense Sales

Summary Job Title: Director, U.S. Defense Sales Level: Sales leadership; 10+ years of U.S. defense technology sales experience Clearance: Previously held or current Secret or higher U.S. government security clearance Work Location Type: Remote, United States, including Washington, DC and the Bay Area Work Type: Full-time, benefits Travel: Up to 25% Start Date: As soon as candidate identified Agency name: Multiple U.S. military branches and defense agencies BizFirst is assisting our client with recruiting a Director, U.S. Defense Sales. This player/coach will own U.S. defense revenue across hardware, data, and software, close new business directly, and lead a small existing sales team to achieve its targets. Our client is an ocean technology company that develops and deploys marine sensors and combines oceanographic and underwater acoustic sensing with data and software. Its products support marine weather forecasting, maritime domain awareness, and operational decision-making for commercial, government, and defense customers. What will you do Reporting to the Global Head of Government and Defense, you will turn customer needs and product capabilities into a defense growth plan. You will develop new organizations and use cases, particularly in maritime domain awareness and undersea warfare, while coaching the team to deepen existing accounts. The role combines direct selling with sales leadership, aligning acquisition strategy, funding, capture, government affairs, and partnerships to win funded programs. Responsibilities Own the U.S. defense revenue target, building pipeline and closing strategic hardware, data, and software deals. Manage and coach the existing defense sales team, helping each team member deepen customer relationships and achieve or exceed individual sales targets. Personally develop new customer opportunities and lead hands-on deal execution, including customer engagements, proposals, and closing activity. Build relationships with operational users, program offices, contracting organizations, prime contractors, and technology partners; connect mission needs with funding and a workable path to award. Give leadership clear assessments of pipeline health, capture progress, risks, resource needs, and recommended actions. Represent our client at customer meetings, industry events, partner discussions, exercises, and demonstrations. Develop teaming strategies and work with sales, product, engineering, legal, finance, marketing, operations, and leadership to make priority pursuits compelling and executable. Requirements 10+ years of U.S. defense technology sales experience, with demonstrated success winning complex federal opportunities involving multiple stakeholders and leading a sales team. Direct responsibility for a team revenue target, with a record of coaching others to sales goals while personally originating and closing deals. Experience selling products or emerging technology, including hardware-enabled solutions, data-as-a-service, software, and/or integrated technical capabilities. An established network across the U.S. defense, intelligence, and security community, including military branches, acquisition organizations, program offices, systems integrators, prime contractors, and government and industry partners. Ability to align operational users, program managers, contracting officials, funders, policymakers, and partners around a clear path to award. Working knowledge of federal budgets, authorization, and appropriations and their implications for sales pipeline development. Technical fluency to understand sophisticated hardware, software, and data products and explain their value to defense customers. Strong written and verbal communication, sound judgment, attention to detail, and consistent follow-through; willingness to work directly on partner strategies, presentations, proposals, and customer follow-up. Willingness to travel up to 25% to meet customers, policymakers, partners, and other stakeholders. Preferred Qualifications Active Secret or TS/SCI security clearance. Experience with maritime, ocean, weather, environmental, autonomy, sensing, data, or decision-support programs; a fast-paced defense technology company; and/or the U.S. Navy, Air Force, Army, SOCOM, Intelligence Community, or other agencies with maritime or national-security missions. Experience preparing federal proposals for hardware-enabled solutions, data-as-a-service, software, or integrated technical capabilities. Work Authorization and Clearance U.S. citizenship required. Previously held or current Secret or higher U.S. government security clearance required. An Equal Opportunity Employer Our Client Benefits Competitive base pay plus commission and equity. Medical, dental and vision coverage. Continued learning and development stipend. One-time home office stipend for remote team members. Relocation bonus for team members moving to the Bay Area. Flexible PTO, in addition to 10 company-wide office closure days; the last week of December off for everyone. 12 weeks of parental leave, plus 4 additional weeks for birthing parents. Military leave and job protection for reservists and guard members under USERRA. Annual company onsite week and team events throughout the year.