Director, Business Development - Commercial Space Segment

Key Responsibilities

• Define and execute a tailored business development strategy for assigned segments (defense, commercial, or other verticals), grounded in deep market and technical insight.
• Act as the technical lead for composite structures, capturing new opportunities and guiding application developments with both new and existing customers.
• Lead customer-facing and internal initiatives to accelerate adoption of AEC’s technologies, including funded development projects (TRL 4–7).
• Manage inbound and outbound interactions, qualify leads, and convert prospects into high-value pipeline opportunities.
• Cultivate strong, lasting relationships with key customer stakeholders—engineering, procurement, and senior leadership—to surface needs where AEC’s differentiating technology offers clear solutions.
• Represent AEC at industry events, trade shows, and technical forums to elevate brand presence and thought leadership.
• Develop detailed technical scopes of work and proposals that articulate AEC’s value proposition and technical differentiation.
• Establish directional production pricing targets and competitive pricing models to maximize margin without compromising win potential.
• Provide hands-on technical guidance and mentorship to project engineers during execution, ensuring alignment to scope, schedule, and quality objectives.
• Partner with Marketing to craft segment-specific campaigns, collateral, and thought-leadership content.
• Collaborate with Product Management and R&T to influence roadmap priorities based on customer insights and emerging market trends.
• Cook up with Operations and Delivery teams to ensure solution readiness, scalability, and customer success.
• Embed and mature the following capabilities within your segment to ensure repeatable, scalable growth: Sales (Inbound & Outbound), Sales Enablement, Sales Operations, Pipeline & Lead Management, Pricing Strategy, Business Segment Expertise.
• Define segment KPIs—revenue attainment, pipeline velocity, win/loss rates, capability maturity—and build dashboards for real-time visibility.
• Present regular executive briefings on segment health, project status, risks, and strategic recommendations.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of B2B business development or sales leadership, ideally within composite materials, advanced manufacturing, or aerospace/defense sectors.
• Proven track record of driving technology adoption from concept through low-rate production (TRL 4–7).
• Strong analytical and strategic planning skills, with hands-on experience in pricing strategy, pipeline analytics, and sales operations.
• Exceptional communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management abilities—comfortable interacting with C-suite and technical audiences alike.
• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or Business; advanced degree (MBA or Master’s in materials/composites) preferred.