Senior Business Development Manager

Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed deep-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include the V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, Hivemind Enterprise, and the Hivemind Vision product lines. With nine offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific, Shield AI’s technology actively supports operations worldwide. For more information, visit (Use the "Apply for this Job" box below).

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With increasing demand across Australia and New Zealand, we’re expanding our business development team to accelerate growth and support the adoption of our autonomy ecosystem: X-BAT, V-BAT, ViDAR, and Hivemind.

This Senior BDM role sits at the front line of that growth and is ideally suited to current or former ADF, National security and Defence industry professionals looking to apply their operational insight, networks, and leadership skills in a mission-driven technology environment.

You’ll work directly with the Business Development Director to drive commercial outcomes and build long‑term opportunities that shape the future of sovereign defence technology.

• Execute go‑to‑market strategies for X‑BAT, V‑BAT, ViDAR, and Hivemind, focused on enterprise‑level autonomy and scalable SaaS adoption.
• Lead and support major sales pursuits, differentiating Shield AI in competitive and regulated procurement environments.
• Engage with government and industry stakeholders to build long‑term partnerships with defence and national security leaders.
• Provide actionable market intelligence to influence product development and strategic direction.
• Work cross‑functionally with product, engineering, and operations to deliver solutions that solve real operational problems.
• Support proposal development, product demonstrations, and immersive customer engagements.
• Strengthen collaboration across the international Shield AI ecosystem.
• Contribute directly to annual sales targets and strategic growth objectives.

• Significant experience in business development, sales, or commercial strategy.
• Experience in defence, aerospace, autonomy, AI, or uncrewed systems.
• Demonstrated success closing deals within defence or complex government procurement cycles.
• Strong negotiation, relationship‑building, and stakeholder management skills – at all levels of government and industry.
• Proven ability to collaborate across engineering, operations, BD, and product teams.
• Excellent written, verbal, and presentation skills; confident with executive audiences.
• Comfortable managing multiple pursuits in a fast‑paced environment.
• Willingness to travel ~25% (Australia + New Zealand).
• Based in, or willing to relocate to, Melbourne or Canberra.
• Knowledge of ADF/RNZDF operations and procurement approaches.

• Existing Australian Security Clearance (NV1 or above).
• Prior ADF operational or leadership experience (RAAF or RAN strongly valued).
• Exposure to UAVs, mission autonomy, or advanced sensing capabilities.
• Familiarity with Shipley, MEDDIC, Challenger, Solution Selling, or similar.
• Experience with CRM platforms (Salesforce, Hub Spot, etc.).

• Play a key role in shaping sovereign autonomy and advanced defence capabilities.
• Work with cutting‑edge systems deployed in real‑world mission environments.
• Contribute to a values‑led, mission‑driven team with global reach and ANZ focus.
• Competitive compensation, long‑term incentive pathways, and career growth.
• Hybrid working with travel across key defence hubs.

Salary compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, licences and certifications, and specific work location. All offers are contingent on a cleared background and possible reference check.

Shield AI is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, colour, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.