Business Development Manager — Defense & Battery Technology

The role

The Business Development Manager will lead market expansion and drive B2B sales growth in Ukraine. This person will build relationships with drone manufacturers and defense technology companies to sell advanced battery solutions.

What you will do

• Develop and execute a business development strategy for the Ukrainian defense and dual-use markets.
• Identify, prospect, and engage drone manufacturers, battery pack producers, and other unmanned systems companies.
• Build and maintain relationships with key decision-makers, procurement teams, and technical stakeholders.
• Manage the full B2B sales cycle from lead generation to account development.
• Introduce advanced battery solutions to prospective customers and coordinate technical product evaluations.
• Manage existing commercial opportunities while building a new customer pipeline.
• Negotiate commercial terms and secure purchase orders.
• Collaborate directly with the CEO and international teams on commercial strategy and market opportunities.
• Represent the company at customer meetings, industry events, and relevant defense technology networks.
• Develop long-term customer relationships and identify opportunities for repeat business.

Required qualifications

• 3+ years in B2B sales/BD, with hands-on experience in Defense / MilTech.
• Proven track record of developing customer relationships, negotiating commercial agreements, and closing B2B deals.
• Established professional network within Ukraine's defense technology ecosystem.
• Understanding of the Ukrainian defense industry and its procurement ecosystem.
• Experience selling technical products, hardware, electronic components, or industrial solutions.
• Ability to independently manage the entire sales cycle, from prospecting to closing.
• Strong commercial negotiation, relationship-building, and communication skills.
• Fluent Ukrainian and strong English communication skills.
• Willingness and ability to travel across Ukraine for customer meetings.
• Self-driven, entrepreneurial mindset and ability to operate effectively in an early-stage business environment.

Nice to have

• Experience selling batteries, battery cells, battery packs, or energy storage solutions.
• Existing relationships with Ukrainian drone or unmanned systems manufacturers.
• Experience in electronics, UAV components, power systems, or related hardware industries.
• Experience importing dangerous goods (e.g. lithium batteries) and customs clearance in Ukraine.
• Engineering or technical educational background.
• Experience launching new markets or establishing B2B sales operations from scratch.
• Active participation in Ukrainian defense technology associations, clusters, or industry networks.

Benefits

• Opportunity to lead market expansion for a US-based deep-tech startup.
• Direct collaboration with the founder and CEO.
• High level of autonomy and ownership over business development in Ukraine.
• Innovative battery technology with applications in the growing defense and unmanned systems sector.
• Compensation combining a fixed base salary and performance-based sales commission.
• Opportunity to develop strategic partnerships and grow with the business as its Ukrainian operations expand.

Before you apply

• The company does not currently provide military service reservation (бронювання).

About the company

Our client is a US-based battery technology startup developing high-performance energy storage solutions for defense and dual-use applications. The company specializes in advanced silicon-anode battery technology and is expanding into the Ukrainian defense technology market.