Business Development Director, Sr.

InvestedintheMission; Pottstown (Montgomery County); On-site; USD 152,000 - 243,000; Full time

Job summary

AeroVironment is seeking a Senior Director, International Business Development to drive international bookings growth by identifying, qualifying, capturing, and closing high‑value opportunities. You will work with senior leadership across functions to develop engagement and capture plans that translate opportunities into contracts and revenue.

You will build trusted relationships with senior government, military, and industry leaders, shaping requirements and executing plans that deliver

Qualifications

• 15+ years in international business development, capture management, or defense industry.
• Proven ability to identify, qualify, capture, negotiate, and close complex international defense opportunities.
• Strong understanding of international defense procurement processes and government decision-making.
• Experience engaging senior military and government leaders at high levels.
• Experience with export compliance including ITAR/EAR.
• Ability to manage multiple pursuits with accurate forecasts.
• Willingness to travel up to 50% domestically and internationally.

Responsibilities

• Own the identification, qualification, capture, and successful closure of international opportunities to meet bookings and revenue targets.
• Develop and execute aggressive capture strategies focused on converting opportunities into awards.
• Drive high-probability opportunities through the BD lifecycle with disciplined forecasting.
• Partner with PLGMs, Engineering, Contracts, Finance, Operations, and leadership to align resources and craft winning solutions.
• Lead customer engagement across the sales cycle from ID to award.
• Develop win strategies based on requirements, acquisition strategies, and customer priorities.

Skills

International Business Development

Capture management

Defense industry

Stakeholder engagement

Forecasting

Strategic planning

Export compliance

Education

Master’s degree in international relations

Tools

Salesforce

MS Office

Job description

Worker Type

Regular

Job Description

The Senior Director, International Business Development is responsible for driving international bookings growth by identifying, qualifying, capturing, and closing high-value business opportunities that achieve AeroVironment's annual bookings objectives. This role focuses on accelerating near-term business opportunities while simultaneously developing targeted capture strategies for strategically important pursuits.

Working in partnership with senior Business Development leadership, Product Line General Managers (PLGMs), Program Management, Engineering, Contracts, and other cross-functional teams, the Senior Director develops and executes customer engagement and capture strategies that position AeroVironment for contract awards. Success in this role requires building trusted relationships with senior government, military, and industry leaders, understanding customer requirements and procurement priorities, and translating opportunities into executable capture plans that deliver measurable business results.

Position Responsibilities

• Own the identification, qualification, capture, and successful closure of international business opportunities that achieve annual bookings and revenue objectives.
• Develop and execute aggressive capture strategies focused on converting qualified opportunities into contract awards within established planning horizons.
• Identify, prioritize, and drive high-probability opportunities through the business development lifecycle, ensuring disciplined pipeline management and forecast accuracy.
• Partner with Product Line General Managers, Engineering, Contracts, Finance, Operations, and executive leadership to align resources and develop winning customer solutions.
• Lead customer engagement activities throughout the sales cycle, from opportunity identification through contract award.
• Develop customer-specific win strategies based on operational requirements, competitive positioning, acquisition strategies, and customer priorities.
• Identify and develop strategic partnerships, distributors, resellers, and industry relationships that improve market access and increase the probability of near-term business success.
• Provide market intelligence and strategic insight by:
• Identifying emerging customer requirements and procurement opportunities.
• Monitoring competitor activities and market dynamics.
• Assessing acquisition strategies, funding sources, and procurement timelines.
• Evaluating the impact of U.S. Government policies, export regulations, and geopolitical developments on current opportunities.
• Identifying key influencers and decision-makers to shape customer requirements toward AeroVironment solutions.
• Build and maintain trusted relationships with senior military, government, industry, and acquisition leaders to accelerate opportunity development and contract awards.
• Maintain a disciplined opportunity pipeline with accurate forecasting, regular status reporting, and clear capture priorities aligned with annual operating objectives.
• Represent AeroVironment at customer engagements, industry conferences, trade shows, demonstrations, and executive meetings.
• Utilize Salesforce CRM to maintain opportunity data, forecasts, customer engagement activities, and capture plans.

Basic Qualification (Required Skills & Experience

• Minimum of 15 years of international business development, capture management, or defense industry experience with a demonstrated record of consistently achieving or exceeding annual bookings and sales objectives.
• Proven success identifying, qualifying, capturing, negotiating, and closing complex international defense opportunities.
• Strong understanding of international defense procurement processes, acquisition organizations, and government decision-making.
• Demonstrated experience engaging senior military, government, and industry leaders at the General/Flag Officer, Senior Executive Service (SES), Ministerial, or equivalent executive level.
• Demonstrated success developing winning proposals and executing capture strategies for both Foreign Military Sales (FMS) and Direct Commercial Sales (DCS).
• Experience with export compliance requirements, including ITAR, EAR, and related U.S. Government approval processes.
• Strong understanding of defense and security market dynamics, customer operational requirements, and procurement priorities across international markets.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple complex pursuits simultaneously while maintaining accurate forecasts and delivering near-term results.
• Ability to operate in strict compliance with FCPA regulations when interfacing with pertinent foreign and US government channels in areas of operation.

Other Qualifications & Desired Competencies

• Master’s degree in international relations or foreign policy i’s a plus
• Experience working with or around defense technology (e.g. UAS, electronic warfare, C‑UAS)
• Strong communications, negotiation, strategic planning, and interpersonal skills
• Demonstrated experience working with cross‑functional teams
• Able to excel in a fast‑paced, deadline‑driven environment
• Displays strong initiative and drive to accomplish goals and meet company objectives
• Takes ownership and responsibility for assigned tasks

Physical Demands

• Ability to work in an office environment as well as in the field with customers (Constant)
• Required to sit and stand for long periods; talk, hear, and use hands and fingers to operate a computer and telephone keyboard (Constant)

Special Requirements

• U.S. Citizenship
• Active US SECRET clearance preferred
• Able and willing to travel both inside the US and outside the US at least 50% of time
• Computer skills with proficiency in MS Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook) and Salesforce
• Must have a valid driver’s license and clean DMV record

Clearance Level

Secret

The salary range for this role is:

$152,000 - $243,250

AeroVironment considers several factors when extending an offer, including but not limited to, the location, the role and associated responsibilities, a candidate’s work experience, education/training, and key skills.

ITAR Requirement

This position requires access to information that is subject to compliance with the International Traffic Arms Regulations (“ITAR”) and/or the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”). In order to comply with the requirements of the ITAR and/or the EAR, applicants must qualify as a U.S. person under the ITAR and the EAR, or a person to be approved for an export license by the governing agency whose technology comes under its jurisdiction. Please understand that any job offer that requires approval of an export license will be conditional on AeroVironment’s determination that it will be able to obtain an export license in a time frame consistent with AeroVironment’s business requirements. A “U.S. person” according to the ITAR definition is a U.S. citizen, U.S. lawful permanent resident (green card holder), or protected individual such as a refugee or asylee. See 22 CFR § 120.15. Some positions will require current U.S. Citizenship due to contract requirements.

Benefits

AV offers an excellent benefits package including medical, dental vision, 401K with company matching, a 9/80 work schedule and a paid holiday shutdown. For more information about our company benefit offerings please visit: http://www.avinc.com/myavbenefits.

We also encourage you to review our company website at http://www.avinc.com to learn more about us.

About AV

AV isn’t for everyone. We hire the curious, the relentless, the mission‑obsessed. The best of the best.

We don’t just build defense technology—we redefine what’s possible. As the premier autonomous systems company in the U.S., AV delivers breakthrough capabilities across air, land, sea, space, and cyber. From AI-powered drones and loitering munitions to integrated autonomy and space resilience, our technologies shape the future of warfare and protect those who serve.

Founded by legendary innovator Dr. Paul MacCready, AV has spent over 50 years pushing the boundaries of what unmanned systems can do. Our heritage includes seven platforms in the Smithsonian—but we’re not building history, we’re building what’s next.

If you're ready to build technology that matters—with speed, scale, and purpose—there’s no better place to do it than AV.

We are proud to be an EEO/AA Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability/veterans. AeroVironment, Inc. is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer and welcomes all qualified applicants. Qualified applicants will receive fair and impartial consideration without regard to race, sex, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, genetic data, sexual orientation, gender identity or other legally protected status.

ITAR

U.S. Citizenship required