Defense Sales FR - H/F

Alta Ares; Paris; On-site; EUR 90,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Alta Ares in Paris is seeking a Defense Sales & Business Development lead to own the pipeline across French MOD, procurement agencies, and armed forces. You will drive qualification, shaping opportunities, proposals, and contract negotiations to win multi-million programs.

You'll build trusted relationships with military users and primes, map European defense markets, and help shape requirements for tenders while coordinating with engineering and product teams.

Qualifications

• 5-10 years of experience in defense sales, business development, capture management, or program engagement.
• Strong track record selling to MODs, procurement agencies, or armed forces.
• Experience in defense tech companies, primes, or neoprimes (e.g., Anduril, Helsing, Palantir, Shield AI, or equivalent).
• Deep understanding of defense procurement cycles and bidding processes.
• Demonstrated ability to close complex deals in multi-stakeholder environments.
• Experience working with drones, C-UAS, ISR, AI autonomy, or adjacent systems is a major plus.

Responsibilities

• Own the sales pipeline across French MOD, procurement agencies, and armed forces.
• Lead qualification, opportunity shaping, proposal management, and contract negotiations.
• Identify and drive multi-million programs across ISR, C-UAS, autonomy, and AI.
• Establish a repeatable sales motion with clear forecasting and metrics.
• Convert tactical demos and pilot deployments into scalable contracts.
• Build trusted relationships with military users, procurement officers, and program managers.
• Engage with primes, neoprimes, integrators, and defense engineering firms.
• Develop and manage channel partnerships where relevant.
• Conduct regular on-site visits, field demos, and customer workshops across Europe.
• Map European defense markets: budgets, procurement cycles, capability gaps.
• Shape requirements for upcoming tenders and influence capability roadmaps.
• Provide competitive intelligence and product feedback to engineering & founders.
• Support localization strategies for key European countries.
• Work closely with Engineering, Product, and Operations teams to align demos, deployments, and delivery.
• Help refine pricing strategy, sales collateral, and customer-facing documentation.
• Contribute to showcasing Alta Ares at major defense exhibitions (Eurosatory, DSEI, MSPO, IDEX, etc.)

Skills

Hunter profile

Deal making

Relationship building

Security culture

Entrepreneurial spirit

Bilingual English + French

Job description

About Alta Ares

Alta Ares is an air defense Neoprime. We build AI-guided interceptors to counter drones and cruise missiles, along with the software platform that powers them.

Our customers are NATO-aligned militaries and defense institutions, and our systems are regularly deployed during live exercises and operational demonstrations across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

Founded in 2024, we have grown to 90 people, raised over $60M, and increased revenue 40x this year. We are now entering a new phase of international expansion, industrial scaling, fundraising, and product development.

Role & Mission

Defense Sales & Business Development

• Own the sales pipeline across French MOD, procurement agencies, and armed forces

• Lead qualification, opportunity shaping, proposal management, and contract negotiations

• Identify and drive multi-million programs across ISR, C-UAS, autonomy, and AI

• Establish a repeatable sales motion with clear forecasting and metrics

• Convert tactical demos and pilot deployments into scalable contracts

Customer & Partner Relationships

• Build trusted relationships with military users, procurement officers, and program managers

• Engage with primes, neoprimes, integrators, and defense engineering firms

• Develop and manage channel partnerships where relevant

• Conduct regular on-site visits, field demos, and customer workshops across Europe

Market Expansion & Strategic Development

• Map European defense markets: budgets, procurement cycles, capability gaps

• Shape requirements for upcoming tenders and influence capability roadmaps

• Provide competitive intelligence and product feedback to engineering & founders

• Support localization strategies for key European countries

Cross-functional Collaboration

• Work closely with Engineering, Product, and Operations teams to align demos, deployments, and delivery

• Help refine pricing strategy, sales collateral, and customer-facing documentation

• Contribute to showcasing Alta Ares at major defense exhibitions (Eurosatory, DSEI, MSPO, IDEX, etc.)

Requirements

Candidate profile

• 5-10 years of experience in defense sales, business development, capture management, or program engagement

• Strong track record selling to MODs, procurement agencies, or armed forces

• Experience in defense tech companies, primes, or ideally neoprimes (e.g., Anduril, Helsing, Palantir, Shield AI, or equivalent)

• Deep understanding of defense procurement cycles and bidding processes

• Demonstrated ability to close complex deals in multi-stakeholder environments

• Experience working with drones, C-UAS, ISR, AI autonomy, or adjacent systems is a major plus

Skills & Qualities

• Strong hunter profile with resilience and deal-making mindset

• Ability to translate technical capabilities into operational value

• Excellent relationship-building with military and technical stakeholders

• High integrity, discretion, and understanding of security culture

• Entrepreneurial spirit: able to operate in fast-moving, resource-efficient environments

• Bilingual English + another European language (French strongly preferred)

Nice to Have

• Experience in a neoprime or high-growth defense startup

• Experience in NATO procurement or European Defence Fund (EDF) programs

• Former military service (officer or NCO)

• Knowledge of operational C-UAS, ISR, or AI workflows

• Existing network inside European MODs and procurement bodies

• Ability to support deployments and demos in live environments