ADF Lead

DroneShield; Canberra; On-site; AUD 170,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

DroneShield is seeking an experienced ADF Commercial Lead to drive go-to-market activities with Defence, CASG and prime contractors. The role involves managing day-to-day sales, tender responses and stakeholder engagement across Canberra, Adelaide or Sydney.

Reporting to the Chief Commercial Officer, you will coordinate with tendering, product, engineering and delivery teams to convert opportunities into funded outcomes and advance Defence programmes in high-stakes environments.

Qualifications

• Significant commercial/sales experience in defence or government procurement.
• Proven track record of commercial sales into the Australian Defence Force.
• Existing Australian Government security clearance or ability to obtain.
• Mandatory experience with ASDEFCON frameworks and Defence procurement.
• Ability to navigate Australian Defence procurement pathways and build account maps.

Responsibilities

• Own the Australian Defence Force commercial account strategy and day-to-day sales activity.
• Lead Defence procurement execution for relevant opportunities, ensuring tender pathways, requirements, timelines and evaluation expectations.
• Apply ASDEFCON knowledge to support compliant, commercially sound tender responses with internal stakeholders.
• Identify, qualify and progress opportunities to sell directly to Defence or primes with disciplined pipeline tracking.
• Develop and maintain a clear stakeholder and opportunity map for priority Defence programs.
• Build and manage relationships with Australian primes to support teaming arrangements.
• Translate customer requirements into credible commercial responses and updates for leadership.
• Provide concise commercial updates, risks, blockers and recommendations to the Chief Commercial Officer.
• Collaborate with product, engineering, delivery, marketing and tendering stakeholders to align on customer needs.
• Represent DroneShield professionally in Defence and industry engagement forums.

Skills

Defence sales

ASDEFCON

Stakeholder management

Tendering

Commercial execution

Account mapping

Strategic partnerships

Communication

Education

Tertiary qualification in business/engineering/defence/public policy or related field

Job description

Work with cutting-edge AI technology that helps make the world a safer and more secure place. DroneShield (ASX:DRO) develops market-leading counter-drone solutions used by military organisations, government agencies, airports, critical infrastructure operators, and law enforcement operating in some of the most challenging and high-stakes environments in the world. Employees work at the forefront of innovation, solving complex technical problems and delivering mission-critical capabilities where performance, reliability, and speed matter.

As an ASX200-listed company and the world's only publicly listed pure-play counter-drone business, DroneShield is experiencing rapid growth. Revenue increased from A$57 million in 2024 to more than A$217 million in 2025, supported by record profitability, a global sales pipeline exceeding A$2.5 billion, and annual R&D investment of over A$50 million.

Since 2017, DroneShield has grown from 11 employees to more than 550 globally, with operations across Australia, the United States, Europe, and the Middle East, supporting customers in over 70 countries.

About the role

The ADF Commercial Lead is a senior, hands-on commercial role responsible for building and executing DroneShield's Australian Defence Force go-to-market activity as a focused capability provider. The role will lead day-to-day sales engagement with Defence, CASG and Australian prime contractors, with a strong emphasis on Defence procurement execution, ASDEFCON processes, stakeholder mapping and disciplined opportunity management. Reporting directly to the Chief Commercial Officer, this position will work closely with the tendering team and internal technical stakeholders to engage the Defence market, build credible pathways into priority programmes, and convert adjacent activities into funded opportunities.

The role can be based in Canberra, Adelaide or Sydney.

Responsibilities, Duties and Expectations

• Own the Australian Defence Force commercial account strategy and day-to-day sales activity, positioning DroneShield as a focused capability provider to Defence and as a sub-tier capability partner to Australian primes
• Lead Defence procurement execution for relevant opportunities, ensuring clear understanding of tender pathways, procurement requirements, response timelines and evaluation expectations
• Apply strong ASDEFCON knowledge to support compliant, commercially sound and competitive tender responses, working with the tendering team and internal subject matter experts
• Identify, qualify and progress opportunities to sell directly into Defence or through Australian prime contractors, with disciplined pipeline tracking and clear next steps for each opportunity
• Develop and maintain a clear stakeholder and opportunity map for priority Defence programs, and adjacent pipeline-building initiatives
• Build and manage relationships with Australian primes to support teaming arrangements
• Convert periphery activities and credibility-building engagements into funded follow-on opportunities wherever there is a clear commercial pathway
• Provide concise commercial updates, risks, blockers and recommendations to the Chief Commercial Officer, including escalation of decisions required to progress opportunities
• Work closely with product, engineering, delivery, marketing and tendering stakeholders to ensure customer requirements are understood and translated into credible commercial responses
• Represent DroneShield professionally in Defence and industry engagement forums

Qualifications, Experience and Skills

• Significant commercial, sales, business development or capture experience within Defence, government procurement, primes, defence technology or a closely related environment
• Proven track record of commercial sales into the Australian Defence Force
• Existing Australian Government security clearance, or the ability to maintain the required clearance level for Defence customer engagement
• Mandatory experience with ASDEFCON frameworks and Defence/CASG procurement processes
• Strong understanding of how to navigate Australian Defence procurement pathways, stakeholder networks, tender requirements and prime contractor ecosystem
• Proven ability to operate at a senior level while remaining hands-on and comfortable running day-to-day sales and stakeholder engagement activity
• Demonstrated ability to build stakeholder relationships, develop account maps and create structured engagement plans in complex customer environments
• Commercially astute, with the ability to qualify opportunities, understand customer drivers, manage pipeline discipline and translate technical capability into customer value
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to contribute to tenders, briefing materials, customer correspondence and internal commercial updates
• High level of resilience, judgement and professionalism when operating in high-stakes, high-scrutiny customer environments
• Ability to work cross-functionally with tendering, technical, product, delivery and executive stakeholders
• Tertiary qualification in business, engineering, defence, law, public policy or a related field is desirable

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