Director of Business Development - Australia

Australia is one of the world’s most water-stressed developed economies, and home to the world’s most mature water market, where every megalitre carries a transparent price. A market that prices water this precisely rewards anyone who can add more of it for less. We are hiring our first Country Manager to own Rainmaker’s Australia expansion strategy end-to-end and drive commercial and government deals to signature.

This is a founder-style role. You will own the market entry and account strategy, build the relationships that anchor our programs at state and federal levels, design and close our first contracts, and build the team that scales after you. You will be the link between Rainmaker's HQ in El Segundo and Australia: representing the company to customers and feeding signals back to teams in the U.S. so that product, science, and policy decisions reflect conditions on the ground. The role is expected to grow as the market matures.

• Build Rainmaker's go-to-market and account strategy for Australia, owning every deal from qualification to signature.

• Build trusted relationships at federal, state, and local levels, including the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW), the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM), the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA), and the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder (CEWH). 

• Coordinate with Rainmaker’s international teams to direct Australia’s operational, regulatory, and legal workstreams, including CASA airspace access, entity formation, customs, and imports.

• Hire and lead the first in-country team, and build the playbooks that let Rainmaker expand faster over time.

• Represent Rainmaker in Australia in ministerial meetings, industry forums, and media.

• 10+ years across business development, government affairs, commercial sales, or strategy, with material experience in both public-sector and fast-growing commercial settings.

• Strong existing industry and peak body relationships across one or more of Rainmaker's adjacent sectors: water, environment, agriculture, resources, or infrastructure.

• Track record of building something from zero: first deals, first regulatory clearances, first contracts in a new market or category.

• Comfortable operating at both strategic and operational altitude. You can write the market entry thesis on Monday and run the negotiation on Friday.

• Proven public communicator: panels, ministerial roundtables, and on-record national media.

• High tolerance for ambiguity and willingness to travel frequently.

• Australian citizenship or permanent residency, with full working rights in Australia.

• Fluency in Australian water markets and policy.

• Experience crafting and closing novel contracts.

• Sufficient scientific literacy to hold credible conversations with water officials, meteorologists, hydrologists, etc., or strong enough curiosity to get there quickly.

Fluency with modern AI tools is an expectation for this role, and we encourage you to use them as you prepare your application. We are evaluating your own judgment, experience, and perspective, so human inputs should be the foundation of what you submit.