Commercial Lead

Jackalope Digital LLC; Reading; Hybrid; GBP 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity ownership

Hybrid work day per week

Visa sponsorship & relocation support

Private health insurance

Job summary

NewOrbit Space seeks an experienced Commercial Lead to build and lead a high-performing commercial function driving strategic customer relationships and securing high-value contracts with government customers and large enterprises in the space sector.

You will own the path from shaping opportunities before tenders open, through leading competitive proposals, to securing multi-year contracts and driving account growth.

Qualifications

• Space industry sales experience is required.
• Minimum 5 years in business development or key accounts.
• Experience across government procurement and large-enterprise buying centres.
• Full sales cycle ownership from pre-tender shaping to contract close.
• Experience leading competitive bids and capture planning.
• Strong negotiation of MSAs/SOWs and IP considerations.
• Ability to translate engineering concepts into customer value.

Responsibilities

• Build and execute account strategies for government and enterprise markets.
• Track pipelines and run capture plans; lead bid/no-bid decisions.
• Lead compliant submissions and coordinate clarifications and BAFOs.
• Negotiate complex deals including licensing, IP, and milestones.
• Structure partnerships with primes, SMEs, and research partners.
• Maintain a transparent pipeline with stage gating and metrics.
• Represent NewOrbit at industry events and briefings.
• Lead and mentor a high-performing commercial team.

Skills

Space industry sales

Leadership

Negotiation

Proposal leadership

CRM & forecasting

Job description

At NewOrbit Space, our mission is to engineer the lowest orbiting satellites on Earth to rapidly advance global connectivity and insight.

We are currently building satellites that can operate at an altitude of just 200 km - one-third that of conventional satellites.

Your Role

We are seeking an experienced Commercial Lead to build and lead a high-performing commercial function that drives strategic customer relationships and secures high-value contracts with both government customers and large enterprises (primarily satellite primes and OEMs).

You'll own the path from shaping opportunities before tenders open, through leading competitive proposals, to securing multi-year contracts and driving sustained account growth. Your ability to navigate complex, high-stakes deals, foster a results-driven culture, and partner with our engineering and business teams will directly influence NewOrbit's market leadership.

Key Responsibilities

• Dual-market ownership (Gov & Enterprise): Build and execute account strategies for agencies and large companies; map stakeholders, budgets, and decision paths; shape requirements before tenders open.

• Tender intelligence & capture: Track pipelines across government portals and enterprise sourcing calendars; run capture plans, win themes, and competitor/price-to-win analyses; lead bid/no-bid decisions.

• Proposal leadership: Orchestrate compliant submissions; coordinate clarifications, BAFO, and oral presentations.

• Complex deal negotiation: Close supply, licensing, and co-development agreements; negotiate IP, warranties/liability, service levels, and milestone payments aligned to TRL gates.

• Partnerships & consortia: Structure teaming with primes, SMEs, universities, and test partners to strengthen bids and delivery confidence.

• Forecasting & governance: Maintain a transparent pipeline with stage gating, ACV/TCV, probability, and cycle metrics; report risks/mitigations and drive executive decision forums.

• Voice of customer: Feed market and procurement insights into roadmaps, qualification timelines, pricing, and make/buy decisions.

• Compliance & controls: Work with Legal/Compliance on export control (UK/EU/US regimes), information security, and public-sector procurement rules.

• Market presence & pitching: Represent NewOrbit at industry events, tender briefings, space conferences, and executive reviews; deliver compelling pitches and presentations that clearly communicate our vision and value proposition.

• Team leadership: Build, mentor, and inspire a high-performing commercial team, fostering persistence, creativity, and a results-driven culture.

Fundamental Requirements

• Space industry experience (required): Must have direct experience selling satellites or space hardware - payloads, cameras, antennas, subsystems. Candidates without space industry sales experience will not be considered.

• Experience: Minimum 5 years in business development or key accounts, with wins across government procurement and large-enterprise buying centres.

• Customer knowledge: Up to date on where satellite/space hardware customers are coming from today, across government, primes, and OEMs - not relying on outdated relationships.

• Full sales cycle ownership: Demonstrated experience across all stages - pre-tender shaping, capture planning, proposal/bid leadership, negotiation, and contract close.

• Tender mastery: Demonstrated success leading competitive bids (capture planning, scoring criteria, compliance, pricing) and handling long, multi-stakeholder cycles.

• Deal craft: Strong negotiation track record on MSAs/SOWs, licensing, co-development, and milestone-based contracts; fluent in IP and risk allocation.

• Domain fluency: Able to translate complex engineering (propulsion, LEO satellite platforms, qualification, test/readiness reviews) into customer value and business cases.

• Leadership & mentoring: Proven ability to recruit, develop, and manage high-performing commercial or sales teams.

• Process & tools: Disciplined CRM usage, forecasting, and KPI ownership (win rate, cycle time, stage conversion, ACV/TCV).

• Governance & compliance: Familiarity with public-sector procurement practices and export-control considerations; knows when to engage specialists.

• Marketing savvy: Skilled in shaping and delivering impactful presentations, narratives, and proposals that resonate with diverse audiences.

• Soft skills: Executive presence, exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, stakeholder influence, and resilience in long negotiations.

• Ways of working: High ownership in a fast-moving, cross-functional environment; willing to travel for customer meetings, briefings, and negotiations.

Preferred (Nice to Have)

• Experience at a small satellite company that scaled into a large business - candidates who've operated through that growth curve are especially well suited to this role.

Why NewOrbit Space?

• Pioneering Space Technology – You'll contribute to launching groundbreaking technology into space. Your work on our revolutionary ion propulsion system and ULEO satellite platform will redefine satellite operations and disrupt traditional LEO operations.

• Unmatched Ownership and Impact – You'll experience a level of ownership that's rare in the space industry. You will participate in the full lifecycle of satellite technology.

• Equity and Competitive Salary – You'll receive not just a competitive salary but also company ownership stakes. Your dedication and hard work are rewarded with a share in the technology you help build, ensuring you're a part of our collective success.

• Comprehensive Benefits Package –Including private health insurance with dental and optical coverage, annual healthcare check-ups etc.

• Hybrid Work - A hybrid setup with one dedicated remote day per week.

• Visa Sponsorship & Relocation Support - We provide a relocation package and sponsor your visa if you’re joining us from abroad.

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