Director of Business Development, X-BAT

Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed deep‑tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include the V‑BAT and X‑BAT aircraft, Hivemind Enterprise, and the Hivemind Vision product lines. With nine offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia‑Pacific, Shield AI’s technology actively supports operations worldwide. For more information, visit Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and YouTube.

At Shield AI, we’re redefining the battlespace with autonomy-enabled airpower. As part of our global expansion, we’re looking for a bold and visionary Director of Business Development to lead strategic sales, customer engagement, and capture efforts for our Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) initiatives across the region.

This is a high‑impact role at the cutting edge of aerospace and defense innovation. You’ll be on the front lines, driving adoption and revenue for Shield AI’s X‑BAT by engaging directly with top‑tier defense stakeholders—military customers, industry primes, and government decision-makers. Your mission: position Shield AI as the go‑to partner for next‑generation air combat solutions in Europe.

You’ll bring a rare mix of defense sales expertise, technical credibility, and a deep understanding of air domain CONOPS and acquisition frameworks. From identifying new opportunities to closing complex deals and launching early‑stage programs, you’ll own the entire business development lifecycle.

We are not limited to candidates from Germany; we are open to candidates from anywhere in Europe as long as they are willing to travel across the EU 30‑50%.

What you’ll do:

• Drive Strategic Capture: Identify, shape, and capture high‑value opportunities across European next‑gen airpower programs relevant to CCAs and autonomy.
• Own Regional Sales Pipeline: Lead the full business development lifecycle for X‑BAT focused efforts, from customer engagement through proposal, negotiation, and contract award.
• Engage Key Stakeholders: Build and maintain trusted relationships with Ministries of Defence, defense primes, integrators, and NATO‑related bodies.
• Shape Requirements & CONOPS: Influence customer requirements and future CCA CONOPS to align with Shield AI’s product offerings.
• Support Demonstrations & Campaigns: Lead Shield AI’s positioning and participation in regional flight demos, technical trials, and program pilots.
• Coordinate Cross‑Functionally: Collaborate closely with engineering, product, legal, and program teams to align technical solutions with customer needs and delivery requirements.
• Inform Product Direction: Provide field intelligence to guide feature development, integration strategy, and roadmap priorities for Hivemind‑enabled CCA solutions.

Required qualifications:

• 15+ years in a relevant air force occupation: Bringing significant depth of understanding of relevant CONOPs and platform applications.
• 8–10+ years of experience in defense acquisition, business development, sales, or strategy: Ideally with a focus on air platforms or autonomy.
• Strong track record of capturing and closing defense programs or tech insertions: With European ministries of defence or multinational frameworks.
• Understanding of next‑gen air combat trends: Including CCAs, MUM‑T, and AI‑enabled CONOPS.
• Ability to credibly represent technically complex products: To both strategic and operational‑level audiences.
• Familiarity with key European defense programs: (e.g., FCAS/SCAF, Tempest/GCAP, Eurodrone) and regional acquisition pathways.
• Willingness to travel extensively across Europe: (30–50%).

Our international team members are employed through our Employer of Record (EOR) and receive a comprehensive international benefits package on top of base salary. For full details on compensation and benefits, please consult your talent acquisition partner.

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