Senior Business Development Lead – Italy

About the role

Shield AI is seeking a high‑performing Business Development Lead to drive defence market growth, customer engagement, and business expansion across Italy. As the territory leader, you will represent Shield AI’s autonomy and aircraft portfolio, including V‑BAT, X‑BAT, ViDAR‑enabled ISR capabilities, and Hivemind autonomy software.

Key responsibilities

• Own and execute Shield AI’s go‑to‑market strategy across assigned markets, aligning territory activities with strategic growth priorities and customer mission requirements.
• Build and grow a disciplined pipeline across autonomy, aircraft, ISR, and mission‑system opportunities aligned with regional defence priorities.
• Lead end‑to‑end deal closure, including account planning, customer shaping, competitive positioning, proposal leadership, negotiation, and contract close to meet or exceed carried sales quota.
• Engage directly with senior military leaders, Ministries of Defence, procurement authorities, sovereign stakeholders, and strategic industry partners across the territory.
• Represent and differentiate Shield AI’s autonomy and aircraft portfolio by clearly articulating mission outcomes, operational advantages, and integration pathways.
• Develop and manage regional partnerships, consultants, industrial participation structures, and offset‑aligned strategies that expand market access and accelerate execution.
• Coordinate cross‑functional teams across Business Development, Product, Engineering, Government Relations, Legal, Contracts, Export Compliance, Operations, and Customer teams to support successful capture and delivery.
• Maintain disciplined forecasting, pipeline management, opportunity tracking, and campaign reporting across the territory.
• Provide regional market intelligence on competitor dynamics, customer demand, and political or operational risks.
• Support executive customer engagement after award to support customer success, follow‑on growth, and long‑term account expansion.

Required profile

• Typically requires 6+ years of experience in business development, capture, sales, strategic engagement, account management, or related customer‑facing roles within defence, aerospace, national security, or advanced technology environments.
• Demonstrated success identifying, shaping, and advancing complex opportunities involving long sales cycles, senior stakeholders, and technically differentiated solutions.
• Strong executive presence and ability to build credibility with military, government, industry, and strategic partner stakeholders.
• Strong communication, negotiation, stakeholder management, and cross‑functional collaboration skills.
• Fluency in English and regional languages relevant to the assigned market.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional, military, or operational experience preferred.

Required skills

• UAS
• Autonomy
• ISR
• Mission systems
• AI‑enabled operational capabilities

What we offer

• Help build the defining defence technology company of this century.
• Work at the forefront of AI, autonomy, and next‑generation defence systems.
• Operate in a highly entrepreneurial and mission‑driven environment.
• Make a direct impact on international growth and strategic defence partnerships.
• Collaborate with exceptional teams solving some of the world’s most complex operational challenges.