Sales & Bid Manager

The Exploration Company; Bordeaux; Sur place; EUR 60 000 - 80 000; Plein temps

Résumé du poste

A leading aerospace firm in Bordeaux is seeking an experienced Sales Manager to oversee capture and proposal activities for Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and Moon destinations. The ideal candidate will excel in writing proposals, managing customer negotiations, and coordinating with diverse partners. Proficiency in English and one additional language (French, German, Italian, or Spanish) is required. This role offers ownership of high-impact campaigns within an agile and collaborative environment.

Prestations

Relocation assistance

Visa sponsorship

Qualifications

• Demonstrated success delivering winning proposals to space or defense institutions in Europe.
• Sound understanding of space segment sectors such as launchers, spacecraft, propulsion, and payloads.
• Skilled at coordinating diverse partners and managing complex compliance.
• Required languages: Fluent English and one of French, German, Italian, or Spanish.
• Eligible to work in the European Union.

Responsabilités

• Lead capture and proposal activities for LEO and Moon destinations.
• Build practical capture plans and align solutions with institutional priorities.
• Oversee writing of bids and drive customer negotiations.
• Develop and maintain customer map and opportunity pipeline.
• Contribute to the Sales to Government Process Handbook.

Connaissances

Proposal writing

Stakeholder engagement

Partner coordination

Negotiation

Business intelligence

Description du poste

Here at The Exploration Company, we are developing, producing, and operating Nyx, a modular and reusable space orbital vehicle that can eventually be refuelled in orbit and that can carry cargo - and potentially humans in the longer run.

The Exploration Company is seeking a Sales Manager to lead capture and proposal activities mainly for LEO and Moon destinations. You will coordinate multi-partner proposals with the European Space Agency, national space agencies, and defense institutions. Your mission is to qualify opportunities early, shape requirements, submit compliant and persuasive proposals, and support negotiations through contract signature.

Key Responsibilities

Capture leadership

• Build a practical capture plan with a clear win strategy and review gates.

• Align our solution with the priorities of space and defense institutions, including commercial cargo, lunar logistics, and strategic autonomy.

Bid management & writing

• Lead the end-to-end writing of bids: define proposal architecture, draft and iterate core sections, integrate partner inputs, and ensure consistency of tone, messaging, and evidence-based claims.

• Drive customer interactions through negotiations (technical/commercial), prepare negotiation packages, and support closure activities through contract signature.

Commercial and Customers

• Build and maintain a high-quality customer map and opportunity pipeline through business intelligence, continuous stakeholder engagement, and regular 1:1 meetings.

• Represent the company in customer-facing forums (industry days, conferences, institutional events), develop strategic networks, and drive structured engagement plans.

• Define consortium, pricing structures and project payment milestones with Finance & Engineering.

• Support negotiations and ensure clean handover to Project Management.

Governance and improvement

• Contribute to the Sales to Government Process Handbook; capture lessons learned and improve templates.

Profile

• Demonstrated success delivering winning proposals to space or defense institutions in Europe.

• Sound understanding of space segment sectors (launchers, spacecraft, propulsion, payloads, operations).

• Skilled at coordinating diverse partners and managing complex compliance.

• Languages: English is required. In addition, one of French, German, Italian, or Spanish is required.

• Flexible, eager to learn, competitive, and comfortable multi-tasking across several campaigns.

• Eligible to work in the European Union or the European Free Trade Association and able to meet relevant clearances.

• Experienced in teamworking + customer interface- create confidence with customer

What We Offer

• Ownership of flagship campaigns with visible impact.

Why you should join us!

What makes us special here at The Exploration Company and why we think you will enjoy working here is:

• We’re Agile - we make decisions fast whilst keeping our goals and systems in mind

• We’re Open and Collaborative - we are transparent about risks and obstacles, so that we can cooperate to overcome them

• We have a lot of Fun - we refuel our energy knowing we are democratising space. It’s a wonderful and rare opportunity, are YOU up for the challenge?

We'd love to hear from you if you wish to be a part of our journey. Please submit your CV now for immediate consideration and we will be in touch shortly.

The Exploration Company is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability status. Relocation assistance is provided for those willing to relocate including visa sponsorship where applicable.