Director of International Business Development - Space Systems

Join SEAKR Engineering, a leading-edge provider of advanced electronics for space applications. Pushing the boundaries of technology on a mission to change the world for the better from space.

The Director of International Business Development (DIBD) is responsible for managing customers and growing sales through and with independent country and region-specific international sales agents. and representatives.  The DIBD is responsible for leadings sales and capture campaigns for strategic pursuits, overseeing customer relationships, documenting customer engagements, and reporting business development activities and forecasts. The ideal candidate will have an established history of success in the space and aerospace community with the desire to join a fast-paced, innovative team.  Knowledge of the total space ecosystem is a plus – including on-orbit mission requirements, communication links, and the ground segment. In this role, knowledge of the international space landscape, target customers and programs, and a desire to create something new will be hallmarks of success. 

SEAKR empowers its employees. As a key member of the BD team, you will be able to pursue ideas you’re passionate about and drive them to completion. You will be collaborating with company stakeholders as team lead on campaigns and responsible for the identification of new business opportunities.  Technical and business-related Knowledge of the industry and customers will be critical for helping shape SEAKR’s product offerings and IRAD investments. You will have an active role to ensure we deliver high quality proposals to meet SEAKR customers’ most critical needs.

The ideal candidate will have experience in technical sales, negotiations, finance and growth, and possess an entrepreneurial mindset.  An engineering background is a plus.  This is a full-time exempt position that will be “the face of the company.” The work will be performed under limited supervision by executive management and is evaluated on results obtained. 

Essential Duties & Responsibilities: 

• Growing SEAKR’s international pipeline and converting that pipeline into bookings.
• Building and managing an international cadre of independent international sales agents and representative organizations to sell SEAKR capabilities to customers in their respective territories.
• Acting as the lead to train and empower SEAKR’s international independent sales representatives.
• Acting as the initial technical point of contact for SEAKR’s international representatives and as the primary point of contact at SEAKR for international technical and business engagements.
• Establish and nurture relationships with international customers to understand their current and future needs and promote alignment of our current and future capabilities to meet these needs.
• Formulate capture strategies and provide leadership in support of SEAKR capture teams.  Lead or provide support to the capture team in defining technical, strategic, and business insights for RFI, ROM, white paper, and proposal responses.
• Coordinate with executives to define and execute business development strategies to grow market share and profitability, through market opportunity evaluation and segmentation, value proposition development, product positioning, pricing strategy, and communications strategy development. 
• Contribute to and inform marketing execution for SEAKR capabilities including product & marketing literature, trade show presence, trade journals articles, white papers, press releases, presentations, and datasheets.
• The ideal candidate should be proficient in capture management including contributing to technical volumes, developing program schedules, contributing to cost volumes, and pricing.
• Must be available to travel for business ~50% of the time.
• This position can be remote.

Additional Duties & Responsibilities

• Mapping and documenting customer organizational structures at the enterprise, business unit, division, and program level.
• Initiating, building, and documenting customer relationships across the enterprise; from individual contributors up to and including the VP/GM level.
• Meeting face-to-face with customers, decision makers, and key influencers.
• Solutioning and shaping new programs to “design-in” SEAKR capabilities at both the business and technical level.
• Crafting and leading campaigns for targeted capabilities and programs.
• Accurately documenting and updating opportunity metrics including value, P-Go, P-Win, PTW, Win Themes, and timing in a detailed forecast.
• Supporting Capture and Bid & Proposal activities to close business.
• Initiating and negotiating engagement documents such as NDA’s, Teaming Agreements, PIA’s, BPO’s, press releases, etc..
• Documenting customer engagements and tracking opportunities in SEAKR back-office tools.
• Preparing and presenting key gate review briefings.
• Capturing and reporting competitive intelligence.

• An understanding of proposal processes and tools: how to convey messages and discriminators, use of a common voice and past performance, and ensuring responses to evaluation criteria are clearly met.
• Strong written and verbal skills.
• Proficiency in MS Office Suite including MS Project, and proposal writing tools.
• Experience writing, evaluating, and/or managing proposals.
• Developing and adhering to a schedule.
• Driven to achieve results, solve problems, and remove obstacles.
• Ability to balance interpersonal skills and project management skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills (good listening, coaching, presenting, motivating, problem solving).
• Undergraduate/graduate technical degree or equivalent experience is preferred.
• At least 12 years of business development and/or related space/aerospace industry experience with a proven track record of success.
• Ability obtain and maintain a U.S. Government security clearance.

Compensation: Base salary range is $190,00 - $240,000 per year, depending on qualifications. SEAKR has very rich medical, dental and vision insurance plans, along with a generous 401(k) retirement plan. In addition to base salary, employees are eligible for a year-end bonus. SEAKR offers a variety of paid leave, such as vacation, sick, bereavement, and FMLA.

SEAKR is an Equal Opportunity Employer - All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines. 

US Citizenship Required