Strategic Partnerships & Sales Manager (Defense/UAV)

Blackshark; Amsterdam; Hybrid; EUR 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Full-time position

Competitive salary

Hybrid work in Kyiv

Mobilization exemption provided

Travel reimbursement

25 vacation days per year

Collaboration across Amsterdam andKyiv

Scale-up momentum

Meaningful impact

Job summary

Intelic, a Dutch company enabling Nexus for drone operations, seeks a senior commercial leader to own relationships with drone manufacturers and defense firms in Ukraine. This high-visibility role shapes the go-to-market strategy and partnership framework for Nexus in the region.

The Ukrainian office is growing toward self-sustainability; the role requires travel across Europe and regular presence at industry events, with hybrid work in Kyiv and strong collaboration with Amsterdam.

Qualifications

• Track record in business development, strategic partnerships, or enterprise sales in a B2B or technology environment.
• Experience managing long sales cycles with multiple stakeholders and decision layers.
• Structured, independent working style—own your pipeline, region, and relationships.
• Comfort representing a company externally at industry events and partner meetings.
• Fluent Ukrainian and strong English; additional European languages are an advantage.
• Willingness to travel regularly within Ukraine and internationally across Europe.
• Leadership experience or clear potential—to grow into a team lead as the Ukrainian office scales.

Responsibilities

• Build and develop relationships with drone manufacturers and defense companies in Ukraine — scout, reconnaissance, strike, kamikaze (FPV), fixed-wing, bomber, transporter, and unmanned ground systems (UGC).
• Own existing partnerships from day one, including ongoing relationships with current partners.
• Work toward signing commercial agreements and MOUs with key defense industry players by end of year.
• Develop a go-to-market strategy for the Ukrainian defense market, identifying entry points and partnership models.
• Represent Intelic at defense industry events and conferences in Ukraine and Europe.
• Feed structured market intelligence back to product and leadership from operator communities.
• Coordinate with Head of Revenue and the broader commercial team on strategy and key accounts.
• Contribute to proposals, partner documentation, and partnership frameworks.

Skills

Business development

Enterprise sales

Strategic partnerships

Public speaking / representation

Willingness to travel

Leadership potential

Tools

CRM software

Job description

Intelic is a Dutch company building software that is already running on Ukrainian drones. Headquartered in Amsterdam, with a small office in Kyiv, we are a fast-growing team of engineers and domain experts developing Nexus — an intelligence platform that makes complex things simple: so an operator can control a drone not from 300 buttons, but through an intuitive interface, from a safe distance.

About the Role

This is a commercial role with a strategic dimension. You will own relationships with drone manufacturers and defense companies in Ukraine — from first conversation to signed agreement — and you will help define what our go-to-market looks like in practice. How Intelic scales in this market is largely up to you.

The intelligence you bring back from the field — from operators, manufacturers, and procurement leads — directly shapes how Nexus is developed and positioned. This is an early, high-visibility position. The Ukrainian office is building toward becoming a self-sustaining commercial operation, and this person will be central to that.

What You Will Be Doing

• Build and develop relationships with drone manufacturers and defense companies in Ukraine — scout, reconnaissance, strike, kamikaze (FPV), fixed-wing, bomber, transporter, and unmanned ground systems (UGC)

• Own existing partnerships from day one, including ongoing relationships with current partners

• Work toward signing commercial agreements and MOUs with key defense industry players by end of year

• Develop a go-to-market strategy for the Ukrainian defense market, identifying the right entry points and partnership models

• Represent Intelic at defense industry events and conferences in Ukraine and Europe

• Feed structured market intelligence back to product and leadership — particularly from top-tier brigades and advanced operator communities who can shape Nexus development

• Coordinate with the Head of Revenue and the broader commercial team on strategy and key accounts

• Contribute to proposals, partner documentation, and partnership frameworks

What We Are Looking For

We are looking for someone with strong commercial instincts, genuine relationship-building ability, and the maturity to operate independently in a complex environment. Defense sector experience is a bonus, not a prerequisite — if you come from IT or another B2B background, we will bring you up to speed on the defense context.

You will bring:

• A track record in business development, strategic partnerships, or enterprise sales in a B2B or technology environment

• Experience managing long sales cycles with multiple stakeholders and decision layers

• A structured, independent working style — you can own your pipeline, your region, and the quality of your relationships without being managed closely

• Comfort representing a company externally at industry events and partner meetings

• Fluent Ukrainian and strong English — additional European languages are an advantage

• Willingness to travel regularly within Ukraine and internationally across Europe

• Leadership experience or clear potential — this role is expected to grow into a team lead position as the Ukrainian office scales

A bonus if you also bring:

• An existing network within the Ukrainian defense industry, drone manufacturing sector, or government procurement structures

• Familiarity with Ukrainian or European military procurement processes

• Experience working in or alongside defense organizations, UAV communities, or A-tier military units

What Success Looks Like

In your first year, you will be expected to:

• Take ownership of existing partnerships and build credible new relationships with drone manufacturers and defense companies

• Develop a qualified pipeline and work toward closing your first commercial agreements

• Establish at least one or two signed MOUs or partnership frameworks with defense industry players

• Deliver a go-to-market strategy for the Ukrainian market, grounded in direct input from top-tier operators

• Become a trusted face for Intelic in the Ukrainian defense ecosystem

Why Intelic?

• You will be working on something that matters — technology with real operational impact

• Small team, high visibility — your work will directly shape how the function and the Ukrainian office grow

• Direct access to leadership and a short feedback loop between what you learn in the field and what we build

• A genuinely international team that includes engineers and defense experts from across Europe

• Real ownership: as the office grows, so does your scope

What We Offer

• Full-time position & official employment

• Competitive salary (based on interview results)

• Hybrid work in Kyiv

• Mobilization exemption provided

• Work on innovative and impactful products

• 25 vacation days per year

• Travel reimbursement

• Talented team: collaborate with engineers and defense experts across Amsterdam and Kyiv

• Scale-up momentum: join during a high-impact growth phase

• Meaningful impact: support mission-critical defense operations