Director of US Defense BD — DoD UAS & Edge AI

Arkeus Career; Stafford (VA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

ESOP

Career progression

Intern program mentorship

Real-world deployment

Job summary

Arkeus is seeking a Business Development Director for the U.S. market to lead the sales pipeline for autonomous sensing systems and edge-AI payloads directed at DoD UAS programs.

You will win prime opportunities with DoD branches and drive sub-contracts with Tier-1 and Tier-2 OEMs, turning technical demos into multi-million-dollar production contracts and expanding Arkeus’ footprint in defense sectors.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in defense business development or sales.
• Deep knowledge of US DoD procurement pathways and contract vehicles.
• Experience with UAS payloads, sensors, and MOSA architectures.
• Ability to discuss sensor specifications and edge computing with operators.
• Extensive network across US DoD UAS program offices and primes.
• Willingness to travel up to 50%.

Responsibilities

• Trusted Advisor: Build relationships with DoD stakeholders and OEMs.
• Pipeline Execution: Source, qualify, and close multi-million-dollar opportunities.
• OEM Account Management: Scale strategic relationships with US UAS manufacturers.
• Capture & Proposal Leadership: Lead capture for US govt RFPs, OTAs, SBIR/STTR.
• Mission-Aligned Selling: Translate requirements into Arkeus configurations.
• Flight Tests & Demos: Plan and execute demonstrations and flight trials.
• Market Intelligence: Report requirements and competitor insights to product teams.
• Leadership: Demonstrate ownership and audacity in customer engagements.

Skills

Defense BD

UAS domain knowledge

Procurement knowledge

Technical credibility

DoD network

Clearance readiness

Job description

Arkeus is seeking a Business Development Director for the U.S. market to lead the sales pipeline for autonomous sensing systems and edge-AI payloads directed at DoD UAS programs.

You will win prime opportunities with DoD branches and drive sub-contracts with Tier-1 and Tier-2 OEMs, turning technical demos into multi-million-dollar production contracts and expanding Arkeus’ footprint in defense sectors.