Business Development Director

AdaCore; United States; Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

AdaCore is seeking a Business Development Director to lead the company's global BD function, focusing on identifying new market opportunities and acquiring clients to drive growth in the Americas.

This player-coach role balances individual contribution (50%) with leading a cross-border team of BD Managers across US and EU, with a primary focus on Aerospace and Defense, plus automotive, rail and energy opportunities.

Qualifications

• 7+ years in new business development or B2B sales.
• Proven hunter with track record in acquiring new customers and partnerships.
• 5+ years selling software development tools and related tech.
• At least 2 years in a leadership role mentoring teams.
• Established relationships with major aerospace/defense or high-integrity orgs in the US.
• Strong ability to manage complex B2B sales cycles.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute US BD strategy across strategic accounts.
• Identify new opportunities, build pipeline, and initiate contact.
• Lead, mentor, and coordinate a global BD team (US & EU).
• Drive revenue growth by translating BD activities to qualified opportunities.
• Represent AdaCore at industry events and partner with sales/technical teams.
• Manage sales cycle from contact to contract closing with cross-functional teams.

Skills

Hunter mentality

New business development

B2B software sales

Leadership

Relationship building

English fluency

Job description

Everything we do at AdaCore is centered around helping developers build safe, secure and reliable software.

For 30 years, we've partnered with global leaders in aerospace & defense, air traffic management, space, railway and financial services. We've developed tools and services simplifying high-integrity software development through a subscription-based model. As demand for secure applications grows in industries like automotive, medical, energy, and IoT, we're adapting our proven technologies to assist a new generation of developers.

Our +190 global experts based in the US, France, Germany, the UK, and Estonia, collectively develop cutting-edge technologies to address the challenges of high-grade software development.

Joining AdaCore is about joining a culture of innovation, openness, collaboration and dependability, which defines how we work together, with our clients and partners.

Location: Hybrid position, with the candidate based within the U.S. East Coast time zone.

Onsite in New York, NY, or Novi, MI (preferred) with 30-40% travel

About the Role

As Business Development Director at AdaCore, you will play a key role in leading the company’s global business development function while identifying new market opportunities and acquiring new clients to drive corporate growth within the Americas region.

This is a player-coach leadership role, with approximately 50% of the position focused on individual contribution and 50% focused on leading, developing, and coordinating a global team of Business Development Managers.

Aerospace and Defense will be the primary focus, with automotive, rail, energy, and other high-integrity industries representing additional expansion opportunities.

The Business Development Director will work closely with the CRO, Sales & Account Management, Technical Sales, Marketing, and other functions to ensure BD activities translate to qualified opportunities and long-term revenue growth.

You will report to the Chief Revenue Officer

Key Responsibilities

1. U.S. Business Development — Individual Contributor (~50%)

• Develop and execute AdaCore’s business development strategy across the U.S., with a focus on strategic and high-potential target accounts, markets, and opportunities.
• Research, identify and developnew opportunities and pipeline prospects. Initiate contact with prospective customers through networking, email campaigns and social selling.
• Leverage professional networks to build and expand relationships with decision-makers, engineering leaders, software architects, and other key stakeholders.
• Conduct presentations and product demonstrations tailored to customer pain points and business goals.
• Manage the complete sales cycle from initial contact to contract negotiation and closing, in close collaboration with AdaCore’s sales and technical teams.
• Represent AdaCore at relevant industry events, conferences, and customer meetings.
• Develop relationships with industry partners and other relevant organizations.
• Provide actionable market and customer insights to support AdaCore’s go-to-market strategy.
• Maintain accurate records of sales activities, pipeline updates, and revenue forecasts in the CRM system.
• Hiring, training and providing professional development for the BD team across the global organization (US & EU).
• Establish clear objectives, priorities, KPIs and expectations for each team member, while allowing regional BD managers appropriate autonomy in execution.
• Own performance management, coaching and development across the global BD team.
• Identify gaps in market coverage, capabilities, resources, and talent and recommend actions to address them.
• Share best practices across regions and create a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Conduct pipeline reviews and ensure alignment of regional BD activities with the overall Revenue strategy and CRO priorities

Qualification:

• 7+ years of experience in new business development or B2B sales
• Strong “hunter” mentality with a proven track record of pursuing and winning new customer acquisition, new partnerships and/or channels.
• 5+ years of experience selling software development tools, software verification, static analysis, embedded software, or related technologies to medium sized or large organizations.
• At least 2 years in a leadership role mentoring and leading a high-performing customer-facing team, with a strong track record of business growth and results.
• Existing relationships with major aerospace, defense, automotive, or other high integrity industrial organizations in the US.
• Strong understanding of complex B2B sales cycles and the ability to engage with multiple stakeholders.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and relationship-building skills with Fluency in English, both written and spoken, is required.
• Ability to operate effectively as both a hands-on business developer and a strategic leader.
• Ability to work cross-functionally with Sales, Account Management, Technical Sales, Marketing, and executive leadership.
• Willingness to travel domestically and internationally as required.

Beyond the job:

We're a global organization driven by diverse backgrounds, fostering innovation through an open exchange of ideas. We welcome applicants of all backgrounds, celebrating diversity in ethnicity, nationality, gender, age, religion, abilities, sexual orientation, veteran or marital status. Our commitment is to help our teammates, wherever they are based, feel comfortable and satisfied, by encouraging flexibility to ensure them a healthy work-life balance. Additionally, we prioritize individual development by offering continuous training from day one with a personalized onboarding plan.