Defence Maritime Business Development Lead (Hybrid)

Platform Recruitment; Cambridge; Hybrid; GBP 80,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension 10%

Bonus scheme 20% OTE

Car lease

Private medical insurance

Life assurance 6x salary

Job summary

Platform Recruitment''s Cambridge client, a defence technology consultancy, seeks a Defence Business Development Lead to own the full sales lifecycle for defence campaigns. Hybrid work, top-tier engineering and a strong network across military and primes are essential.

The role requires translating complex engineering into commercial propositions, building strategic account plans and delivering sustained growth in a high-security sector.

Qualifications

• Proven success in defence, security, aerospace or adjacent technology sales.
• Deep understanding of the UK defence ecosystem and procurement routes.
• Ability to manage full sales cycle from prospecting to account expansion.
• Technical credibility with an engineering/electronics background.
• Strong presentation skills and stakeholder engagement across levels.
• Excellent networking across defence primes, SMEs and partners.

Responsibilities

• Lead defence opportunities from qualification through to close and account expansion.
• Develop a structured defence sales plan aligned to growth priorities.
• Execute account plans across defence primes, MOD facing organisations, and partner ecosystems.
• Translate engineering capability into compelling customer propositions across RF, sensing, radar and comms.
• Monitor market trends, funding priorities and procurement frameworks for differentiation.
• Generate and qualify new opportunities through networking and industry events.
• Own capture planning including win themes, pricing assumptions and bid decisions.
• Coordinate high-quality bid responses with engineering, delivery and finance.
• Negotiate scope, pricing, terms and milestones while protecting margins.
• Ensure robust handover from sales to delivery and maintain customer confidence.

Skills

Defence sales

UK defence ecosystem

Full sales cycle

Technical credibility

Briefing to propositions

Stakeholder engagement

Sales structure & CRM

Collaboration

Networking

Initiative & resilience

Job description

Platform Recruitment''s Cambridge client, a defence technology consultancy, seeks a Defence Business Development Lead to own the full sales lifecycle for defence campaigns. Hybrid work, top-tier engineering and a strong network across military and primes are essential.

The role requires translating complex engineering into commercial propositions, building strategic account plans and delivering sustained growth in a high-security sector.