Director of Business Development

ProActivate; Michigan; On-site; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare with employer contribution

401(k) / profit-sharing

Disability insurance

Dental and vision coverage

11 company-paid holidays

Paid time off

Birthday bonus

Job summary

ProActivate is seeking a Director of Business Development in Michigan (remote) to drive revenue in the military and defense market. The role is hunter-focused, developing a territory, identifying programs, and advancing opportunities from discovery through close.

The ideal candidate will engage technical and commercial decision-makers, qualify opportunities with a consultative approach, and manage complex RFQs and proposals while building a strong pipeline.

Qualifications

• Must be able to independently develop a territory and identify new programs and applications.

Responsibilities

• Territory business development — Develop and execute a strategic plan for the territory and target markets.
• New customer acquisition — Identify and develop military and defense customers, programs, and applications.
• Stakeholder relationship building — Build relationships with engineering, procurement, and program-level stakeholders across primes and defense organizations.
• Outbound prospecting — Conduct outbound outreach via phone, email, LinkedIn, referrals, trade shows, and direct engagement.
• Consultative selling — Use a structured approach to qualify opportunities and advance the sales process.
• RFQ and proposal management — Manage RFQ and proposals, including technical requirements, pricing and negotiation.
• Pipeline ownership — Maintain a qualified pipeline with documented activity and next steps.
• Year 1 On-Target Earnings: Base salary plus uncapped commission; commission ramps with shipping opportunities.
• Year 2 On-Target Earnings: $225k – $250k+ based on performance.
• Healthcare with employer contribution
• 401(k) / profit-sharing program
• Disability coverage (short & long-term)
• Dental and vision coverage
• 11 company-paid holidays
• Paid time off
• Birthday bonus equal to one day’s salary

Skills

Territory development

New customer acquisition

Stakeholder relationships

Outbound prospecting

Consultative selling

RFQ & proposals

Pipeline management

Job description

Our client is a leading provider of mission‑critical human‑machine interface solutions, delivering custom cockpit controls, illuminated panels, switches, and data‑entry systems for aerospace, defense, industrial, and simulation applications.

Location: Michigan - remote role

Job Description

The Director of Business Development is responsible for developing new revenue opportunities within the military and defense market through proactive prospecting, strategic account development and consultative technical selling.

This is an individual-contributor, hunter-focused role requiring someone who can independently develop a territory, identify new programs and applications, engage technical and commercial decision-makers, and advance complex opportunities from initial discovery through proposal, design collaboration, negotiation and close.

Responsibilities

• Territory business development — Develop and execute a strategic business‑development plan for the assigned territory and target markets.


• New customer acquisition — Identify and develop new military and defense customers, programs, and applications through proactive prospecting.


• Stakeholder relationship building — Build relationships with engineering, technical, procurement, and program‑level stakeholders across prime contractors, Tier 1 suppliers, and defense organizations.


• Outbound prospecting — Conduct consistent outbound outreach via phone, email, LinkedIn, referrals, trade shows, and direct customer engagement.


• Consultative selling — Use a structured consultative methodology (e.g., Sandler) to qualify opportunities, uncover technical requirements, and advance the sales process.


• RFQ and proposal management — Manage complex RFQ and proposal processes, including technical requirements, pricing, margin considerations, bid strategy, and customer negotiation.


• Pipeline ownership — Build and actively manage a qualified pipeline with accurate documentation of activity, customer engagement, proposals, quotes, and next steps.


• Year 1 On-Target Earnings: Base salary plus uncapped new-business commission; commission earnings are expected to ramp as opportunities begin shipping later in the first year.


• Year 2 On-Target Earning Potential: $225k – $250k+ based on performance


• Healthcare with employer contribution


• 401(k) / profit-sharing program


• Short- and long-term disability


• Dental and vision coverage


• 11 company-paid holidays


• Paid time off


• Birthday bonus equivalent to one day's salary