Director, U.S. Defense Sales

BizFirst; United States; Remote; USD 180,000 - 270,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive base pay

Commission & equity

Medical, dental & vision coverage

Professional development stipend

Home office stipend

Relocation bonus to the Bay Area

Flexible PTO

Parental leave: 12 weeks

USERRA protections

Annual onsite week

Job summary

BizFirst is seeking a Director, U.S. Defense Sales to own the defense revenue across hardware, data, and software for the U.S. market.

You will lead a small sales team, develop new opportunities, and close strategic deals while reporting to the Global Head of Government and Defense. This remote role covers the United States, including Washington, DC and the Bay Area, with travel up to 25%. You should have 10+ years in U.S.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in U.S. defense tech sales with leadership experience.
• Proven success closing complex federal opportunities.
• Experience selling hardware, data, and software in defense.
• Established U.S. defense and government network.
• Ability to align stakeholders toward award.

Responsibilities

• Own the U.S. defense revenue target, building pipeline and closing hardware, data, and software deals.
• Lead and coach the defense sales team to deepen relationships and hit targets.
• Personally develop new opportunities and lead deal execution from engage to close.
• Build relationships with program offices, contracting officers, prime contractors, and partners to link mission needs to funding and award.
• Provide clear pipeline health assessments and capture progress to leadership.

Skills

Sales leadership

Defense sales

Federal opportunities

Strategic account management

Team coaching

Job description

• Level: Sales leadership; 10+ years of U.S. defense technology sales experience
  
• Clearance: Previously held or current Secret or higher U.S. government security clearance
  
• Work Location Type: Remote, United States, including Washington, DC and the Bay Area
  
• Travel: Up to 25%
  
• Start Date: As soon as candidate identified
• Agency name: Multiple U.S. military branches and defense agencies

BizFirst is assisting our client with recruiting a Director, U.S. Defense Sales. This player/coach will own U.S. defense revenue across hardware, data, and software, close new business directly, and lead a small existing sales team to achieve its targets.

Our client is an ocean technology company that develops and deploys marine sensors and combines oceanographic and underwater acoustic sensing with data and software. Its products support marine weather forecasting, maritime domain awareness, and operational decision-making for commercial, government, and defense customers.

What will you do

Reporting to the Global Head of Government and Defense, you will turn customer needs and product capabilities into a defense growth plan. You will develop new organizations and use cases, particularly in maritime domain awareness and undersea warfare, while coaching the team to deepen existing accounts. The role combines direct selling with sales leadership, aligning acquisition strategy, funding, capture, government affairs, and partnerships to win funded programs.

Responsibilities

• Own the U.S. defense revenue target, building pipeline and closing strategic hardware, data, and software deals.
  
• Manage and coach the existing defense sales team, helping each team member deepen customer relationships and achieve or exceed individual sales targets.
  
• Personally develop new customer opportunities and lead hands-on deal execution, including customer engagements, proposals, and closing activity.
  
• Build relationships with operational users, program offices, contracting organizations, prime contractors, and technology partners; connect mission needs with funding and a workable path to award.
  
• Give leadership clear assessments of pipeline health, capture progress, risks, resource needs, and recommended actions.
  
• Represent our client at customer meetings, industry events, partner discussions, exercises, and demonstrations.
  
• Develop teaming strategies and work with sales, product, engineering, legal, finance, marketing, operations, and leadership to make priority pursuits compelling and executable.
  

Requirements

• 10+ years of U.S. defense technology sales experience, with demonstrated success winning complex federal opportunities involving multiple stakeholders and leading a sales team.
  
• Direct responsibility for a team revenue target, with a record of coaching others to sales goals while personally originating and closing deals.
  
• Experience selling products or emerging technology, including hardware-enabled solutions, data-as-a-service, software, and/or integrated technical capabilities.
  
• An established network across the U.S. defense, intelligence, and security community, including military branches, acquisition organizations, program offices, systems integrators, prime contractors, and government and industry partners.
  
• Ability to align operational users, program managers, contracting officials, funders, policymakers, and partners around a clear path to award.
  
• Working knowledge of federal budgets, authorization, and appropriations and their implications for sales pipeline development.
  
• Technical fluency to understand sophisticated hardware, software, and data products and explain their value to defense customers.
  
• Strong written and verbal communication, sound judgment, attention to detail, and consistent follow-through; willingness to work directly on partner strategies, presentations, proposals, and customer follow-up.
  
• Willingness to travel up to 25% to meet customers, policymakers, partners, and other stakeholders.
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Active Secret or TS/SCI security clearance.
  
• Experience with maritime, ocean, weather, environmental, autonomy, sensing, data, or decision-support programs; a fast-paced defense technology company; and/or the U.S. Navy, Air Force, Army, SOCOM, Intelligence Community, or other agencies with maritime or national-security missions.
  
• Experience preparing federal proposals for hardware-enabled solutions, data-as-a-service, software, or integrated technical capabilities.
  

Work Authorization and Clearance

• Previously held or current Secret or higher U.S. government security clearance required.
  

An Equal Opportunity Employer

• Competitive base pay plus commission and equity.
  
• Medical, dental and vision coverage.
  
• Continued learning and development stipend.
  
• One-time home office stipend for remote team members.
  
• Relocation bonus for team members moving to the Bay Area.
  
• Flexible PTO, in addition to 10 company-wide office closure days; the last week of December off for everyone.
  
• 12 weeks of parental leave, plus 4 additional weeks for birthing parents.
  
• Military leave and job protection for reservists and guard members under USERRA.
  
• Annual company onsite week and team events throughout the year.
  

BizFirst LLC is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race or ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, or genetic information, or any other reason prohibited by law in employment.