Senior Business Development Lead - Italy (R5233)

Shield; Roma; On-site; EUR 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Total rewards package

Job summary

Shield AI is seeking a high-performing Business Development Lead to drive defence market growth and customer engagement across Italy. You will represent Shield AI’s autonomy and aircraft portfolio, including V-BAT, X-BAT, and Hivemind software, in engagements, demonstrations, partnerships, and growth initiatives.

The role owns territory strategy, pipeline development, account growth, and opportunity execution from shaping to award, with a regional sales quota.

Qualifications

• 6+ years in business development, capture, sales, or related roles within defence, aerospace, or national security environments.
• Experience identifying, shaping, and advancing complex opportunities with long sales cycles.
• Strong executive presence with credibility among military, government, industry stakeholders.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, stakeholder management, and collaboration skills.
• Fluency in English and regional languages relevant to the market.

Responsibilities

• Own and execute go-to-market strategy across assigned markets and align activities with growth priorities.
• Build and grow a disciplined pipeline across autonomy, aircraft, ISR, and mission systems.
• Lead end-to-end deal closure including account planning, shaping, negotiation, and contract close to meet quota.
• Engage with senior military leaders, ministries of defence, and strategic partners in the territory.
• Differentiate Shield AI’s portfolio by articulating mission outcomes and integration pathways.
• Develop regional partnerships, consultants, and offset strategies to expand market access.
• Coordinate cross-functional teams to support capture and delivery.
• Maintain forecasting, pipeline management, and campaign reporting.

Skills

Business development

Sales

Strategic engagement

Account management

Executive presence

Negotiation

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation and synthetic reality technologies. With offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, Shield AI’s technology actively supports operations worldwide. For more information, visit www.shield.ai . Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn , X , Instagram , and YouTube .

Job Description:

Shield AI is seeking a high-performing Business Development Lead to drive defence market growth, customer engagement, and business expansion across assigned markets in Italy. As Shield AI’s territory leader, this individual will represent Shield AI’s autonomy and aircraft portfolio, including V-BAT, X-BAT, ViDAR-enabled ISR capabilities, and Hivemind autonomy software across customer engagements, operational demonstrations, strategic partnerships, opportunity development, and business growth initiatives.

The Business Development Lead owns territory strategy, pipeline development, account growth, and opportunity execution across Italy, driving opportunities from early shaping through award and expansion. This role combines strategic business development, account leadership, and revenue generation in a fast-paced international defence environment. Additionally, this person will carry a sales quota for their assigned territory.

The ideal candidate is a customer-focused and technically credible leader with strong commercial instincts, experience navigating defence acquisition environments, and a proven track record of growing strategic accounts and delivering mission-critical outcomes.

What you'll do:

• Own and execute Shield AI’s go-to-market strategy across assigned markets, aligning territory activities with strategic growth priorities and customer mission requirements.
• Build and grow a disciplined pipeline across autonomy, aircraft, ISR, and mission-system opportunities aligned with regional defence priorities.
• Lead end-to-end deal closure, including account planning, customer shaping, competitive positioning, proposal leadership, negotiation, and contract close to meet or exceed carried sales quota.
• Engage directly with senior military leaders, Ministries of Defence, procurement authorities, sovereign stakeholders, and strategic industry partners across the territory.
• Represent and differentiate Shield AI’s autonomy and aircraft portfolio by clearly articulating mission outcomes, operational advantages, and integration pathways.
• Develop and manage regional partnerships, consultants, industrial participation structures, and offset-aligned strategies that expand market access and accelerate execution.
• Coordinate cross-functional teams across Business Development, Product, Engineering, Government Relations, Legal, Contracts, Export Compliance, Operations, and Customer teams to support successful capture and delivery.
• Maintain disciplined forecasting, pipeline management, opportunity tracking, and campaign reporting across the territory.
• Provide regional market intelligence on competitor dynamics, customer demand, and political or operational risks.
• Support executive customer engagement after award to support customer success, follow-on growth, and long-term account expansion.

Required qualifications:

• Typically requires 6+ years of experience in business development, capture, sales, strategic engagement, account management, or related customer-facing roles within defence, aerospace, national security, or advanced technology environments.
• Demonstrated success identifying, shaping, and advancing complex opportunities involving long sales cycles, senior stakeholders, and technically differentiated solutions.
• Strong executive presence and ability to build credibility with military, government, industry, and strategic partner stakeholders.
• Strong communication, negotiation, stakeholder management, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Fluency in English and regional languages relevant to the assigned market.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional, military, or operational experience preferred.

Preferred qualifications:

• Previous experience working in a consultancy environment is highly desirable, with the ability to manage multiple stakeholders, navigate complex client requirements, and deliver solutions in a fast-paced, project-driven setting.
• Experience with UAS, autonomy, ISR, mission systems, aerospace, or AI-enabled operational capabilities.
• Existing relationships across defence ministries, military organizations, procurement authorities, or strategic industry partners within the assigned territory.
• Experience supporting direct commercial sales, Foreign Military Sales (FMS), or international government procurement programs.
• Prior military, operational defence, government, or national security experience.

Why join Shield AI:

• Help build the defining defence technology company of this century.
• Work at the forefront of AI, autonomy, and next-generation defence systems.
• Operate in a highly entrepreneurial and mission-driven environment.
• Make a direct impact on international growth and strategic defence partnerships.
• Collaborate with exceptional teams solving some of the world’s most complex operational challenges.

Our international teammates receive a comprehensive total rewards package aligned to your country office location. For full details on compensation and benefits, please consult your talent acquisition partner.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.