X-BAT Business Development Director, Middle East
Leads strategic capture, sales, and customer engagement for Shield AI’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft initiatives across the Middle East. The role requires extensive air-force and defense acquisition experience, strong air combat and autonomy expertise, and the ability to close complex programs with government and industry stakeholders.
About the job
Responsibilities
- Identify, shape, and capture high-value opportunities across Middle Eastern next-generation airpower programs relevant to Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCAs) and autonomy.
- Lead the full business development lifecycle for CCA-focused efforts, from customer engagement through proposal, negotiation, and contract award.
- Build and maintain trusted relationships with Ministries of Defence, defense primes, integrators, and key partners.
- Influence customer requirements and future CCA CONOPS to align with product offerings.
- Lead positioning and participation in regional flight demonstrations, technical trials, and program pilots.
- Collaborate with engineering, product, legal, and program teams to align technical solutions with customer needs and delivery requirements.
- Provide field intelligence to guide feature development, integration strategy, and roadmap priorities for Hivemind-enabled CCA solutions.
Requirements
- 15+ years in a relevant air force occupation, with significant understanding of relevant CONOPS and platform applications; real-world operational experience flying tactical fighter aircraft and a strong technical background are preferred.
- 3–5+ years of experience in defense acquisition, business development, sales, or strategy, ideally focused on air platforms or autonomy.
- 5+ years of experience in the region, operationally or from a defense business perspective.
- Strong track record capturing and closing defense programs or technology insertions with relevant Ministries of Defence or multinational frameworks.
- Understanding of next-generation air combat trends, including CCAs, MUM-T, and AI-enabled CONOPS.
- Ability to represent technically complex products credibly to strategic and operational-level audiences.
- Familiarity with key regional acquisition pathways.
- Willingness to live in the region, preferably Abu Dhabi, and travel extensively across the Middle East (30–50%).
Skills
Business Development, Defense Acquisition, Defense Sales, Strategic Capture, Collaborative Combat Aircraft, Air Combat Conops, Mum-T, Artificial Intelligence, Hivemind, Technical Trials, Proposal Negotiation, Contract Capture, Customer Engagement, Program Pilots, Regional Acquisition
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