Business Development Lead - Ukraine

The role

This role leads defence business development and capture work in Ukraine. The person builds customer relationships with government, military and industry stakeholders, and represents Shield AI's autonomy and aircraft products.

What you will do

• Lead district capture and business development across assigned defence and government markets.
• Develop and execute capture strategies to win contract awards.
• Build and maintain relationships with military, government, industry and strategic partners.
• Represent Shield AI at trade shows, defence exhibitions and operational demonstrations.
• Present Shield AI's product portfolio and mission value to customers and partners.
• Coordinate customer demonstrations, evaluations and operational engagements.
• Identify and grow new business opportunities aligned with regional growth goals.
• Provide market intelligence, customer feedback and competitive insights internally.
• Support long-term strategic planning and regional growth initiatives.
• Maintain opportunity tracking, forecasting and CRM reporting.

Required qualifications

• Typically 8+ years of experience in defence, military operations, business development, capture management or international government relations.
• Understanding of defence acquisition processes and military procurement.
• Experience building trusted relationships across government, military and industry.
• Strong written, verbal and presentation skills.
• Ability to operate independently while managing multiple priorities and deadlines.
• Technical aptitude to understand and communicate UAV, autonomy, AI, ISR or defence technology concepts.
• Willingness and ability to travel internationally frequently.
• Ability to work effectively in a collaborative, high-performance team.
• Fluency in regional languages relevant to the assigned market.

Nice to have

• Prior business development, capture or defence market experience in the assigned district or allied defence markets.
• Experience supporting defence captures, multinational procurement, Foreign Military Sales or government acquisition.
• Prior experience with UAV, autonomy, ISR, AI-enabled systems or defence technology platforms.
• Existing relationships across defence ministries, military organizations or procurement authorities.
• Understanding of military operational scenarios and defence systems.
• Experience developing industrial participation, offset or strategic partnership initiatives.
• Strong analytical, strategic planning and competitive positioning skills.
• Experience in high-growth, fast-paced, internationally distributed environments.
• Master's degree in a relevant field.

Before you apply

• A bachelor degree or relevant military education is listed as preferred, not required.

About the company

Shield AI is a venture-backed defence-tech company that builds intelligent systems to protect service members and civilians. Its products include Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation technologies.