Partnerships Lead

Modernintelligence; Austin (TX); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Modern Intelligence seeks a seasoned Partnerships Manager to build the go-to-market with unmanned vehicle manufacturers and primes, owning the partner pipeline from first call to signed deal. You will coordinate with deployments for field testing and drive licensing opportunities.

This on-site role in Austin (with remote work from the DC area until an office opens) demands 4+ years in defense/tech sales, ability to explain technical products to engineers, and a track record of CRM-driven

Qualifications

• 4+ years in sales, partnerships, or business development at a B2B, hardware, defense, dual-use, or deep- tech company.
• Built your own pipeline through outbound prospecting, not just inbound leads.
• Experience closing licensing agreements with hardware manufacturers, primes, or systems integrators.
• Experience selling into defense and understanding how DoD programs buy.
• Experience pitching a technical product to engineers in defense.
• Experience keeping a CRM up to date and reporting pipeline to executives.
• Fluency with AI tools for prospecting, note taking, researching, and drafting.
• Must be a U.S. person due to export-controlled technology.
• Existing relationships at U.S. unmanned vehicle manufacturers and related primes/integrators.
• Experience selling to international vendors.

Responsibilities

• Identify and qualify unmanned vehicle manufacturers and primes for Sovereign integrations.
• Negotiate and close licensing, teaming, or reseller agreements.
• Build and own the partner GTM strategy and pipeline from first call to signed deal.
• Coordinate with deployments for integration and field testing.
• Travel 25–33% for partner meetings, field tests, and industry events.

Skills

Sales experience

Outbound pipeline

Licensing deals

Defense market

Technical sales

CRM management

AI prospecting

US person requirement

Unmanned systems knowledge

Vendor relationships

Tools

CRM software

Job description

Artificial intelligence is changing war - making decisions in combat quicker and more accurate, while enabling information to be shared more rapidly across both America’s and her adversaries’ militaries.Modern Intelligence builds Sovereign, the first defense-purpose foundation AI for unmanned systems, to be the standard battlefield AI on every Western unmanned system. Today, Sovereign allows drones as varied as unmanned vessels on water to backpack attack quadcopters to see, decide, and act even when jammed. We believe the responsibility of reliably and ethically building lethally autonomous AI is immense to our service members, the American people, and civilians everywhere.

Modern Intelligence has worked with partners across the Department of War including the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, Special Operations Command (SOCOM), the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering, and countless unmanned systems hardware companies.

We have raised more than $22M million in venture capital from Exponential, Oxford Funds, Bedrock, Vine Ventures, Contrary, Air Street, Caffeinated, Champion Hill, Swell, Myelin, and others.

We have been founder-led on sales since 2021 and have closed contracts with both primes and vendors. You will be our first dedicated partnerships hire, building relationships with unmanned vehicle manufacturers and owning the partner pipeline from first call to signed deal.

Our primary buyers are companies that build UAVs, UGVs, USVs, UUVs, and other UxVs and want Sovereign running on their vehicles. You will find and qualify those manufacturers, then negotiate the agreements that put Sovereign on their platforms, such as licensing, teaming, joint development, or reseller deals. Once a manufacturer signs, you will work with our Deployments team to schedule integration and field testing.

This role is on-site in Austin, or remote from the DC area until we open an office there.

Expect to travel 25–33% of the time for partner meetings, field tests, conferences, and industry events.

• 4+ years in sales, partnerships, or business development at a B2B, hardware, defense, dual-use, or deep‑tech company
• You have built your own pipeline through outbound, not only worked inbound leads or accounts you were handed
• Experience closing licensing agreements with hardware manufacturers, primes, or systems integrators
• Experience selling into defense, and an understanding of how DoW programs buy
• Experience pitching a technical product to engineers in defense
• Experience keeping a CRM up to date and reporting pipeline to the exec team
• Fluency with AI tools for prospecting, note taking, researching, and drafting
• Must be a U.S. person (U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or other protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)). This role works with export‑controlled technology.

• Existing relationships at U.S. unmanned vehicle manufacturers (air, ground, or maritime) and the primes and integrators around them
• Experience getting software integrated onto an OEM’s vehicle and into production
• Experience building the GTM, partnerships or sales function at a startup
• Experience selling to international vendors

Modern Intelligence builds Sovereign: edge targeting software for unmanned systems, already in use on live missions. You’ll be our first dedicated partnerships hire, signing the manufacturers that put Sovereign on their vehicles and working directly with the founders.