Strategic Business Development, Public Sector

Spun out of MIT CSAIL, we build general-purpose AI systems that run efficiently across deployment targets, from data center accelerators to on-device hardware, ensuring low latency, minimal memory usage, privacy, and reliability. We partner with enterprises across consumer electronics, automotive, life sciences, and financial services. We are scaling rapidly and need exceptional people to help us get there.

You’ll build Liquid AI’s public sector business, with an initial focus on U.S. defense, turning early customer wins into sustained adoption of Liquid Foundation Models. Our models can bring AI to environments where connectivity, compute, power, and data access are constrained, creating opportunities to solve real mission problems.

Working directly with our founders, business leadership, and engineers, you’ll decide where to focus, develop customer and partner relationships, and own opportunities from first conversation through contract award, deployment, and expansion.

This is a hands-on commercial leadership role with revenue responsibility and the scope to shape both our public sector strategy and the products that support it.ducts and market priorities while staying close to customers and the details of execution.

You must be based in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, or relocate there by your start date, and be available for regular in-person customer and partner engagement and domestic travel.

We need someone who:

• A strong record of personally sourcing and closing U.S. defense business in software, AI/ML, infrastructure, or another technically complex market, with clear revenue ownership and performance against targets.

• Established relationships within defense agencies, military services, program offices, or major defense contractors, and evidence of turning those relationships into qualified opportunities.

• Practical knowledge of defense budgeting and acquisition, including direct awards, competitive pursuits, contract vehicles, and selling through primes. Experience moving a prototype or pilot into sustained, funded use.

• Technical fluency to discuss model evaluation, deployment options, and hardware constraints with AI and engineering leaders, and translate those discussions into a clear commercial scope.

• Experience negotiating complex agreements and coordinating Product, Engineering, Legal, Finance, and delivery teams through award and implementation.

• Experience building a new market, territory, or sales motion at an early-stage or growth-stage company.

• Experience selling foundation models, AI infrastructure, embedded software, or edge computing products, including on-premises and disconnected deployments.

• Experience embedding a product into a defense partner’s broader platform or program, including commercial licensing and subcontracting.

• An active U.S. security clearance, particularly Top Secret or TS/SCI, and experience working with customers in classified environments.

• Closed public sector and defense business, with a qualified pipeline supported by identified buyers, funding sources, acquisition paths, and realistic timelines.

• At least one customer evaluation converted into a funded deployment, with agreed performance requirements and a clear basis for continued use and expansion.

• A repeatable approach to priority accounts and partners, informed by early wins, with consistent qualification, forecasting, and customer feedback into product decisions.