Business Development Lead – US Defense UAS
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Job Description
Business Development Lead building Shearwater Aerospace’s defense UAS operator network. Conducting field discovery and Smart Flight evaluations to shape autonomy products and future revenue.
Responsibilities:
- Build a target map from zero covering organizations, programs, and individuals who plan and fly missions
- Reach defense UAS operators through warm introductions, events, ranges, veteran networks, and direct outreach
- Own sourcing, contacting, follow-up, scheduling, and travel
- Run discovery conversations using the company interview guide
- Conduct structured product evaluations by putting SFP in front of operators and observing real mission planning
- Represent Shearwater at defense UAS events, ranges, and exercises
- Write after-action reports for every conversation and evaluation using operators' own words
- Maintain disciplined contact and organization records and track every follow-up
- Secure return engagements with operators
- Flag recurring pain points, workflow surprises, competing tools, and requested capabilities weekly
- Build a market map of 50+ target organizations and 100+ named individuals by day 30
- Complete 30 target-operator conversations, with founders present in at least 15, during the first 90 days
- Validate or reject the top three pain hypotheses and secure 10 second conversations or evaluations
- Develop operator relationships through evaluation, adoption, and early revenue as commercial ownership transitions
Requirements:
- Credibility with UAS operators through planning or flying real missions, or years selling/supporting a comparable product to operators
- Ability to hold a technical conversation about how missions are planned and flown
- Existing network in the US defense UAS community
- Day-one fluency with UAS acronyms, culture, and contacts
- Demonstrated self-directed outreach and experience building a contact list from nothing
- Comfortable with rejection, follow-up discipline, and meticulous contact tracking
- Willing and able to travel across the US and to Canada
- Must be a US Person
- Writes clearly and fast
- BVLOS operational experience or CONOPS/waiver work preferred
- Familiarity with GCS tooling, including Mission Planner, QGC, and UgCS, preferred
- Prior customer discovery, capture analysis, field research, or FSR experience preferred
- Existing relationships at test ranges or defense services primes' flight test organizations preferred
- Prior capture, business development, or defense sales experience is a plus
- Active or recently active US security clearance is an asset, not a requirement; the company cannot currently sponsor or maintain one
- US military service in a UAS, aviation, or mission-planning role, or reserve affiliation, is not required
- Full-time availability; part-time consultants will not fit
- References from operators flown with, supported, or sold to
Benefits:
- Meaningful early-stage equity
- Commission on closed business, target 2–5%
- Full travel expenses covered
- 3–6 month contract-to-hire structure available for candidates who prefer to de-risk mutually
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