Account Executive - FSI - Air & Drone Defense

Socket.dev; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation

Equity participation

Comprehensive medical/dental/vision

Unlimited PTO

Remote flexibility

Job summary

Virtualitics in Washington, DC seeks a quota-carrying Sales Account Executive for the Air & Drone Defense ecosystem within Federal Systems Integrator and DEFIB market. You will own revenue relationships with primes, integrators, and emerging defense-tech firms, driving opportunities across Sell-To, Sell-Through, Sell-With, Embed/OEM, and FMS.

The role requires 7+ years in federal sales, strong enterprise software and AI/ML experience, and the ability to navigate complex programs, contracts, and

Qualifications

• 7+ years in a quota-carrying Federal sales or related role.
• Experience selling enterprise software, AI/ML, or analytics solutions.
• Demonstrated ability to build executive-level relationships across primes and integrators.

Responsibilities

• Own the ecosystem and manage account and partner strategy across Air & Drone Defense.
• Build and maintain a qualified pipeline with major primes and partners.
• Lead Sell-To, Sell-Through, Sell-With, Embed/OEM, and FMS opportunities.
• Collaborate with capture, contracts, and program teams across proposals and deliveries.
• Map mission use cases and align offerings to customer needs.

Skills

Federal sales

Quota carrying

Enterprise software

AI/ML & analytics

Executive relationships

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Job description

About Virtualitics

Virtualitics is the category leader in AI-native readiness applications for defense, government, and critical infrastructure. Founded on a decade of Caltech research in partnership with NASA/JPL, we are led by scientists, strategists, and servicemembers united by a single mission: to solve the world’s most complex, mission‑critical challenges with AI.

Our Readiness AI solutions deliver operational certainty — giving leaders and operators a clear picture of what’s ready, what’s at risk, and what to do next. By identifying risks early, diagnosing root causes, and recommending prioritized actions with transparent, explainable AI, we help organizations move from data complexity to decision advantage.

Behind that impact is relentless innovation. Inventors at heart, we hold 15+ U.S. patents and are leading the shift toward agent‑driven readiness. But what truly sets us apart is our culture — relentless about results, grounded in transparency, and driven by compassion for the mission and the people it serves.

If you’re motivated by impact, inspired by technical depth, and ready to build AI that performs where it matters most — you’ll find your mission here.

Virtualitics is seeking a quota-carrying Sales Account Executive to own the Air & Drone Defense ecosystem across the Federal Systems Integrator and Defense Industrial Base market. This role will build revenue-generating relationships with major primes, specialized suppliers and integrators, and emerging defense‑technology companies supporting air platforms, unmanned aircraft, counter‑UAS, mission systems, aircraft readiness, production, test, and sustainment.

The successful candidate will execute five coordinated growth motions within strategic accounts: Sell‑To, Sell‑Through, Sell‑With, Embed/OEM, and Foreign Military Sales (FMS). This is a hunter role for a seller who understands how defense companies capture, win, deliver, productize, and expand mission solutions in the United States and with eligible allied customers.

We are looking for candidates with active, credible relationships across a mix of company types. The examples below are illustrative, not an assigned account list.

Ecosystem & Candidate Relationship Profile

Major primes & OEMs

General Atomics ASI, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and L3Harris

Specialists & integrators

Shield AI, AeroVironment, Anduril, Kratos, Textron Systems, Sierra Nevada Corporation, and established UAS providers

Emerging companies

high-growth drone, counter-UAS, autonomy, sensing, and advanced-air-system companies

Relevant market signals include production scale, sortie generation, maintenance, test-to-field timelines, counter-UAS demand, mission integration, and allied platform adoption.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the ecosystem: Develop and execute a focused account and partner strategy across the Air & Drone Defense market, from executive relationship mapping through opportunity qualification, negotiation, and close.

• Build qualified pipeline: Create new opportunities across major primes, specialized companies, and emerging providers; maintain disciplined account plans, deal stages, next actions, and forecast accuracy.

• Sell-To: Position Virtualitics for the company’s internal AI, analytics, engineering, program, production, supply‑chain, and delivery workflows.

• Sell-Through: Join active U.S. Government pursuits early and work with capture and program teams to specify Virtualitics in proposals, architectures, contract vehicles, and funded programs.

• Sell-With: Co‑develop repeatable mission offerings that combine Virtualitics software with the partner’s domain expertise, integration, platform, and delivery capabilities.

• Embed/OEM: Structure embedded and OEM licensing relationships in which Virtualitics capabilities become part of a partner platform or branded solution at scale.

• Foreign Military Sales: Identify exportable solution opportunities with U.S. primes and eligible allied customers; navigate the FMS case lifecycle from pre‑LOR shaping through Letter of Request (LOR), Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA), contracting, delivery, and expansion in coordination with internal export and legal resources.

• Map mission use cases: Translate partner and government needs into credible AI opportunities across aircraft and mission readiness, front‑line maintenance, test analytics, program intelligence, supply‑chain visibility, personnel readiness, and tactical‑edge decision support.

• Multi‑thread relationships: Build trusted access across executive leadership, business development, capture, program delivery, technical, security, contracts, international, and FMS organizations.

• Lead the internal team: Orchestrate solutions engineering, customer success, marketing, product, contracts, capture, executive advisors, and FMS/export specialists around the highest‑value opportunities.

Required Qualifications

• 7+ years of success in a quota‑carrying Federal sales, strategic accounts, channel, alliances, or business‑development role.

• Demonstrated relationships and revenue experience within the Air & Drone Defense market.

• Experience selling enterprise software, AI/ML, data analytics, decision intelligence, or other complex mission technology solutions.

• Evidence of net‑new hunting, executive access, opportunity creation, multi‑stakeholder qualification, negotiation, and closing.

• Working knowledge of U.S. federal acquisition and FSI capture, including teaming, NDAs, IRAD, RFIs/RFPs, IDIQs, OTAs, task orders, and partner commercial structures.

• Ability to communicate a complex technical and mission value proposition to executives, capture leaders, program teams, operators, and technical audiences.

• Willingness to travel 40–50% and operate independently in a fast‑moving, collaborative environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Track record executing two or more of the five growth motions, with strong preference for candidates who have built sell‑through, OEM/embedded, or FMS revenue.

• Experience with the FMS ecosystem and stakeholders, including U.S. primes, DSCA, Department of State, implementing agencies, Security Cooperation Organizations, and partner‑nation customers.

• Understanding of exportability, technology releasability, ITAR/export controls, data sovereignty, cybersecurity, cloud authorization, and classified or controlled mission environments.

• Experience with MEDDPICC, Challenger, or another disciplined enterprise‑sales methodology.

• Active security clearance and bachelor’s degree, or equivalent relevant experience.

Clearance Requirement

This position requires the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government security clearance (interim and/or final). Continued employment is contingent upon successful adjudication; failure to obtain or maintain the required level of access may result in rescission of the job offer or termination of employment.

What Success Looks Like

• First 90 days: Establish ecosystem credibility, build the relationship map, qualify the initial account portfolio, and create a focused pipeline across the five motions.

• First year: Convert new partner relationships into direct, program, joint‑solution, embedded, and qualified international revenue paths while meeting or exceeding annual quota.

Compensation

Competitive base salary based on experience and a lucrative 50/50 commission plan

What we offer you

At Virtualitics, you’ll join a high‑performance team of scientists, strategists, and servicemembers building AI that operates in the world’s most demanding environments. The problems we solve matter — and so does the opportunity to grow while solving them.

You’ll have meaningful ownership from day one, with the ability to accelerate your career alongside a company scaling rapidly in national security and critical infrastructure.

• We offer highly competitive compensation, meaningful equity participation, and fully paid medical, dental, and vision coverage for you and your dependents.
• Our benefits also include unlimited PTO and flexible work arrangements, with remote flexibility and hybrid options for team members based in the Los Angeles or Washington, DC areas.