Vice President, Marketing

The role

The Vice President of Marketing will realign the marketing apparatus to Washington, DC and establish strategic architecture to transition the company to defense market maturity. This leader will oversee marketing strategy, agency partnerships, and budget allocation to support business development and federal acquisitions.

What you will do

• Develop and own the overarching marketing strategy to transition Saildrone to a mature player in the defense ecosystem.
• Execute campaign plans that align with Business Development objectives and federal acquisitions.
• Direct relationships with external public relations, public affairs, and crisis communication firms.
• Realign marketing operations to the Washington, DC ecosystem.
• Oversee the allocation of marketing budgets and ensure measurable ROI.
• Work with Government Relations, Sales, and executive leadership to align messaging.
• Establish a culture of ownership and strategic rigor across marketing functions.
• Recruit, retain, and mentor a high-performing marketing organization.
• Perform all responsibilities in accordance with defense industry ethical, security, and quality guidelines.

Required qualifications

• 12+ years of progressive marketing experience.
• Track record of serving as a VP or senior leader who has scaled a company from late-early growth to mature enterprise status.
• Deep, verifiable domain expertise working within the Washington, DC defense, national security, and federal contracting ecosystem.
• Demonstrated proficiency in building macro-level marketing campaign plans and business development strategies for B2G/G2G sales environments.
• Proven ability to manage, direct, and collaborate with top-tier external communication and crisis management firms.
• Proven ability to analyze complex geopolitical and market issues and make rapid strategic pivots.
• Exceptional ability to communicate visionary storytelling, strategic defense positioning, and marketing ROI to board members and federal partners.
• Working knowledge of managing large-scale budgets and metrics-driven marketing requirements within a high-growth, venture-backed or public defense tech organization.
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally 20–30% of the time.

Benefits

• Competitive Paid Time Off (PTO) accrual.
• Annual holiday schedule and paid sick leave.
• Premium, multi-tier Medical, Dental, and Vision plans.
• Equity grants.
• 401(k) retirement plan with pre-tax and Roth options.
• Annual professional development reimbursement program.
• Relocation assistance for eligible roles.

About the company

Saildrone is a maritime defense company and the global leader in autonomous unmanned surface vehicles (USVs). The company maintains active, combat-deployed systems supporting national security and force projection around the world.