Senior Business Developer, National Security & Defence, Asia Pacific, Global Government

Amazon Inc.; Melbourne; On-site; AUD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Amazon Web Services (AWS) seeks a seasoned NSD-focused Business Developer to drive regional NSD opportunities in Asia Pacific, leveraging defence experience and cloud fluency to accelerate sovereign cloud adoption.

You will engage senior government and defence leaders, shape partner GTM strategies, and transfer NSD knowledge to local teams, aligning regional plans with in-country delivery and ensuring measurable outcomes across the region.

Qualifications

• Experience in national security or defence sectors with public sector/government customers.
• Ability to articulate strategic value to senior non-technical audiences.
• Experience defining go-to-market strategies with partners.
• Understanding of sovereign cloud concepts and secure architectures.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a regional NSD business development strategy across Asia Pacific.
• Engage senior leaders across government, defence, and intelligence communities to earn trust.
• Represent AWS as a credible domain authority in regional forums and executive engagements.
• Articulate value propositions for cloud and AI adoption in national security and defence contexts.
• Define and execute joint GTM strategies with defence primes, SI, and ISVs.
• Collaborate with AWS country teams to transfer NSD expertise into local market execution.
• Identify proven NSD patterns and support other nations to adopt them quickly.
• Pursue opportunities where cloud/AI accelerates defence modernisation and sovereignty.
• Apply understanding of Asia Pacific geopolitical dynamics to inform strategy.
• Work with cross-functional teams to remove barriers and accelerate outcomes.
• Represent AWS in industry events and high-level customer engagements.

Skills

NSD domain expertise

C-level engagement

GTM with partners

Cloud computing

AI/ML in defence

Job description

Description

Are you a seasoned intelligence or defence professional who has successfully transitioned into the commercial cloud and technology sector? Do you combine deep operational experience in national security with the commercial acumen to drive cloud and AI adoption at national scale?

As an AWS Business Developer focused on National Security & Defence (NSD) in Asia Pacific, you will drive regional NSD business development by leveraging your firsthand understanding of intelligence and defence operations to earn trust with the most senior leaders in the region. You will take proven patterns and approaches from mature markets and support other nations across Asia Pacific to learn from and adopt them at pace. Asia Pacific nations face a rapidly evolving and increasingly complex security landscape and are investing urgently in cloud and AI capabilities to strengthen sovereignty, improve intelligence and operational readiness, and modernise defence forces. You will accelerate their cloud and AI journey by combining your deep domain credibility with commercial cloud expertise to transfer what works rather than starting from scratch in each country.

The ideal candidate will have served in or worked extensively with intelligence or defence organisations, giving them an innate understanding of how these communities operate — from intelligence cycles and collection-to-assessment workflows to defence capability development, operational planning, and force employment. Critically, they will have complemented this domain depth with significant commercial experience in cloud computing, understanding how hyperscale cloud platforms are architected, secured, operated, and adopted by the world's most security-conscious organisations. This combination of operational credibility and commercial cloud fluency is essential.

You must possess a deep understanding of the security considerations and geopolitical environment across the Asia Pacific region — including alliance structures, threat landscapes, regional security architectures, and the political dynamics that shape defence and intelligence investment decisions. You will bring the kind of background and gravitas that causes senior leadership across defence and intelligence agencies to listen, engage, and act. You are recognised as a leading voice and thought leader within the NSD community across Asia Pacific and Japan, with the relationships and reputation to open doors at the highest levels.

You will work cross-functionally with AWS country teams, solutions architects, and partners across the region to build pipeline, close opportunities, and deliver measurable outcomes for customers. You will articulate compelling value propositions for cloud and AI adoption, shape joint go-to-market strategies with partners, and package repeatable playbooks that help country teams accelerate NSD adoption locally.

With AWS, our customers benefit from the fastest pace of innovation, the broadest and deepest functionality, the most secure computing environment, and the most proven operational expertise. In this role, you will bring these capabilities to bear for national security and defence customers across Asia Pacific, helping them solve problems that matter at national scale.

You will be part of a small, focused team of NSD domain and technical experts driven by customer mission. Your week will move between engaging senior defence and national security leaders, working with AWS country teams to align domain expertise with local execution, shaping partner propositions, packaging repeatable playbooks and engagement models that help country teams accelerate NSD adoption locally, and identifying where cloud and AI can make a material difference to how nations defend sovereignty and protect citizens. This is a role for someone who has lived the mission, understands what these organisations need, thrives in ambiguity, builds trust quickly at the most senior levels, and turns opportunity into outcomes.

This role is based in Australia or Singapore. Candidates must have existing right to live and work in their chosen location. The role is focused on working across the Asia Pacific region with approximately 30% travel expected.

Security clearance requirement: This position requires that the candidate selected hold, or be able to attain, appropriate security clearance in their country of residence.

Key job responsibilities

• Develop and execute a regional NSD business development strategy across Asia Pacific nations, creating pipeline and driving revenue through sustained engagement with defence, intelligence, and national security customers.
• Leverage deep intelligence or defence domain expertise and commercial cloud knowledge to earn trust and build relationships at the most senior levels across government departments, defence organisations, intelligence agencies, and national security communities in the region.
• Serve as a recognised thought leader and respected voice on cloud and AI adoption for national security and defence across the APJ region, representing AWS at the highest levels of engagement.
• Articulate compelling value propositions for cloud and AI adoption in national security and defence contexts, translating technology capabilities into outcomes that resonate with mission owners by drawing on firsthand understanding of intelligence and defence operations cycles.
• Define and execute joint go-to-market strategies with consulting and technology partners (defence primes, system integrators, and ISVs) to deliver solutions tailored to regional customer requirements.
• Work closely with AWS country teams to transfer NSD domain expertise and proven approaches into local market execution, building local capability and ensuring coherence between regional strategy and in‑country delivery.
• Identify and codify proven business development patterns, GTM approaches, and customer engagement models from mature NSD markets, and support other nations across the region to learn from and adopt them at pace.
• Identify and pursue strategic opportunities where cloud and AI can accelerate defence modernisation, intelligence capability uplift, sovereign capability development, and operational readiness across the region.
• Apply deep understanding of Asia Pacific geopolitical dynamics, alliance structures, and regional security considerations to inform strategy and shape customer engagement.
• Work cross-functionally with AWS specialist, solutions architecture, partner, legal, and leadership teams to remove barriers and accelerate customer outcomes.
• Represent AWS in regional defence and national security forums, industry events, and senior customer engagements as a credible domain authority.

About the team

Diverse Experiences

AWS values diverse experiences. Even if you do not meet all of the qualifications and skills listed in the job description, we encourage candidates to apply. If your career is just starting, hasn’t followed a traditional path, or includes alternative experiences, don’t let it stop you from applying.

Why AWS?

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform. We pioneered cloud computing and never stopped innovating — that’s why customers from the most successful startups to Global 500 companies trust our robust suite of products and services to power their businesses.

Inclusive Team Culture

Here at AWS, it’s in our nature to learn and be curious. Our employee-led affinity groups foster a culture of inclusion that empower us to be proud of our differences. Ongoing events and learning experiences, including our Conversations on Race and Ethnicity (CORE) and AmazeCon conferences, inspire us to never stop embracing our uniqueness.

Mentorship & Career Growth

We’re continuously raising our performance bar as we strive to become Earth’s Best Employer. That’s why you’ll find endless knowledge-sharing, mentorship and other career-advancing resources here to help you develop into a better-rounded professional.

Work/Life Balance

We value work-life harmony. Achieving success at work should never come at the expense of sacrifices at home, which is why we strive for flexibility as part of our working culture. When we feel supported in the workplace and at home, there’s nothing we can’t achieve in the cloud.

Basic Qualifications

• Track record of identifying, developing, negotiating, and closing complex opportunities in the national security or defence sector directly or through partners.
• Demonstrated success engaging and presenting at C-level/executive level across government, defence, and military organisations, with the ability to articulate strategic value to senior non-technical audiences across diverse cultural contexts.
• Track record of defining and executing go-to-market strategies with partners that deliver measurable commercial outcomes.
• Understanding of cloud computing and AI/ML technologies in a defence context, including concepts such as sovereign cloud, data classification, and secure architectures.

Preferred Qualifications

• Deep knowledge of the Asia Pacific national security and defence landscape, including regional security dynamics, procurement processes, and decision-making structures.
• Experience building and executing joint GTM strategies with defence primes, system integrators, or technology partners in the national security domain.
• Existing relationships across Asia Pacific defence and national security communities, with experience working across multiple countries and cultures and navigating complex political and organisational landscapes.
• Current and relevant security clearance in an Asia Pacific nation would be an asset.

Acknowledgement of country:

In the spirit of reconciliation Amazon acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.

IDE statement:

Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.
Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.