Business Development & Partnerships Manager – Eastern Europe (Defence)

TechTree; Województwo mazowieckie; On-site; PLN 308,000 - 528,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus & equity

Health coverage

Autonomy

Regional travel

Job summary

TechTree seeks its first commercial hire in Eastern Europe to lead business development and partnerships in Poland, followed by the Baltics and Ukraine. You will work closely with the founders, engineering and public affairs teams to build the company’s regional presence.

You will develop tailored value propositions, lead bids and govern regional plans, traveling within the region and to headquarters to drive growth and impact in shaping a new defence category.

Qualifications

• 7+ years in business development, sales or strategic partnerships in defence, aerospace or dual-use technology.
• Strong understanding of Polish and European defence procurement and its customers.
• Track record of closing complex, multi-party deals with long sales cycles.

Responsibilities

• Lead business development and revenue growth in Poland, the Baltics and Ukraine.
• Define and run the go-to-market plan for Poland and allied defence markets in the region.
• Find, qualify and pursue opportunities with MoD, Armament Agency, NATO bodies and defence primes.
• Lead the full cycle from first contact to signed contract.
• Track procurement plans, tenders and competitors to decide where to focus.
• Build and manage partnerships with industrial primes, system integrators and local production partners.
• Structure teaming agreements, MoUs and joint-venture frameworks.
• Represent the company at industry events and bilateral meetings.
• Build tailored value propositions and technical-commercial presentations for key accounts.
• Lead bids, RFI/RFP responses and unsolicited proposals.
• Build long-term relationships with senior decision-makers and feed back into roadmap.

Skills

Business Development

Defence Procurement

Strategic Partnerships

Tenders & RFPs

Key Account Management

Education

Master’s degree in business, engineering, international relations or related field

Job description

About The Role

First commercial hire in Eastern Europe for a fast-growing European air-defence start-up: own BD and partnerships in Poland, then the Baltics and Ukraine.

About The Company

A fast-growing European defence-tech start-up building scalable, intelligent air-defence systems. The team develops low-cost interceptors and mission systems that combine missile-grade performance with modern embedded computing and advanced autonomy, to counter today's drone threats. The company is backed by leading European investors and already flies working systems.

About The Role

You will be the company's first commercial hire in Eastern Europe. You will lead its business development and partnerships in Poland first, then the Baltics and Ukraine. The role sits at the meeting point of industrial strategy, defence procurement and international business development. You will work closely with the founders, engineering and public affairs teams, and the founders visit Poland regularly.

What you'll do

• Business development and revenue growth
• Define and run the go-to-market plan for Poland and allied defence markets in the region
• Find, qualify and pursue opportunities with the Ministry of National Defence, the Armament Agency, NATO bodies and defence primes
• Lead the full cycle, from first contact to signed contract
• Track procurement plans, tenders and competitors to decide where to focus
• Strategic partnerships
• Build and manage partnerships with industrial primes, system integrators, local production partners and technology partners
• Structure teaming agreements, MoUs and joint-venture frameworks
• Represent the company at industry events, defence exhibitions and bilateral meetings
• Customers and proposals
• Build tailored value propositions and technical-commercial presentations for key accounts
• Lead bids, RFI/RFP responses and unsolicited proposals
• Build long-term relationships with senior decision-makers, and feed customer needs back into the product roadmap
• Market intelligence and planning
• Follow defence budgets, procurement priorities and policy across target markets
• Contribute to annual business planning and revenue forecasts
• Report regularly on pipeline, partnerships and market dynamics to the executive team

What success looks like

• In the first 3 to 6 months: strong relationships with the relevant military, MoD and local production partners
• Within the first year: a first contract worth several million euros

You are a fit if you have

• 7+ years in business development, sales or strategic partnerships in defence, aerospace or dual-use technology
• A strong understanding of Polish and European defence procurement and its customers
• A track record of closing complex, multi-party deals with long sales cycles
• The drive to own a market on your own and build from zero
• Fluent Polish and English, and the right to work in Poland
• A Master’s degree in business, engineering, international relations or a related field

Nice to have

• An existing network at the Ministry of National Defence, the Armament Agency, PGZ, WB Group, NATO agencies or major primes
• Knowledge of EU defence funding (EDF, EDA, EDIRPA, SAFE) and offset rules

Experience In a Start-up Or High-growth Industrial Company

• Knowledge of export control (ITAR, EAR, national rules)
• A technical background in systems engineering, missiles, drones or embedded systems

What's on offer

• Competitive base salary plus a meaningful bonus and equity
• Full health coverage
• High autonomy and real impact: you build the company's presence in the region from the ground up
• Work on real systems that fly, at a company shaping a new category in European defence
• Warsaw-based, starting from a co-working space, with regular travel in the region and to headquarters

Hiring process

• Screening call with TechTree
• Deep dive with the founders
• Case study
• Reference calls
• Final on-site meeting with the team

Required Skills

• Business Development
• Defence Procurement
• Strategic Partnerships
• Tenders & RFPs
• Key Account Management