Director, Sales – EMEA

About the role

908 Devices is revolutionizing chemical analysis with its simple handheld devices, addressing life-altering applications in vital health, safety, and defense tech. The Company’s devices interrogate unknown and invisible materials to provide quick, actionable answers in applications such as the fentanyl and illicit drug crisis, toxic carcinogen exposure, and global security threats. 908 Devices designs and manufactures innovative products that combine complementary analytical technologies, software automation, and machine learning. The Company has a corporate office in Burlington, MA, a manufacturing center in Danbury, CT, and a growing remote workforce worldwide.

The Director, Sales – EMEA will play a critical role in accelerating growth across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa while executing the company’s broader international strategy under the leadership of the Vice President, International Sales. This role serves as the commercial leader for the EMEA region, responsible for delivering bookings, revenue growth, forecasting accuracy, partner development, and market expansion.

Responsibilities

• Regional Sales Leadership: Execute the EMEA commercial strategy in alignment with the international business plan; deliver quarterly and annual bookings and revenue objectives; build and maintain a healthy opportunity pipeline; lead regional business planning, territory management, and account prioritization.
• Sales Execution: Personally engage in strategic customer meetings, evaluations, demonstrations, negotiations, and contract discussions; support distributors and regional sales personnel during large development opportunities and enterprise sales pursuits; ensure disciplined opportunity management throughout the sales cycle.
• Forecasting & CRM Excellence: Maintain accurate forecasting and pipeline visibility through disciplined Salesforce utilization; drive CRM compliance and leverage AI-enabled tools and analytics to improve forecasting accuracy and sales productivity; provide timely reporting and business updates to executive leadership.
• Channel Partner Development: Develop, recruit, manage, and strengthen distributor relationships throughout EMEA; conduct regular business reviews with strategic partners; establish measurable performance expectations and ensure accountability for pipeline development, forecasting, training participation, and revenue growth; collaborate with the Director, Global Channel Strategy & Enablement on partner programs and enablement initiatives.
• Strategic Customer Engagement: Develop executive-level relationships with ministries of defense, law enforcement agencies, customs organizations, emergency response agencies, NATO member nations, and other government stakeholders; represent 908 Devices at industry conferences, trade exhibitions, military demonstrations, and strategic customer events; identify emerging customer requirements and communicate market intelligence to Product Management and executive leadership.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with Applications, Product Management, Marketing, Customer Success, Operations, Finance, and Legal to ensure successful customer deployments and long-term satisfaction; support product launches, pricing initiatives, market development activities, and commercialization efforts; share competitive intelligence and customer insights.
• Financial & Operational Discipline: Manage regional performance with attention to bookings, pricing strategy, gross margin, and profitability; ensure compliance with company policies, forecasting processes, quarterly business reviews, CRM standards, and public-company governance requirements; maintain a disciplined operating cadence focused on execution and accountability.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering, Chemistry, Life Sciences, or a related technical discipline.
• Minimum of 7–10 years of progressive sales experience, including leadership responsibilities within international markets.
• Demonstrated success selling highly technical products through direct and indirect sales channels.
• Experience managing international distributors and channel partners.
• Strong understanding of government procurement processes throughout Europe and the Middle East.
• Experience selling into defense, law enforcement, public safety, customs, CBRNE, or related government markets.
• Excellent communication, presentation, negotiation, and executive relationship-building skills.
• Ability to travel extensively throughout the EMEA region (approximately 50–70%).

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with analytical instrumentation, mass spectrometry, Raman spectroscopy, chemical detection, explosives detection, narcotics identification, or related technologies.
• Experience working with NATO organizations and allied defense or security agencies.
• Knowledge of international distribution models and government funding mechanisms.
• Fluency in one or more European or Middle Eastern languages in addition to English.

Core Competencies

• Sales Leadership
• Strategic Account Management
• Distributor & Channel Development
• Forecasting & Pipeline Management
• Executive Customer Engagement
• Government & Defense Market Expertise
• Commercial Negotiation
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Financial & Business Acumen
• CRM & Data-Driven Decision Making
• Coaching & Team Development
• Cultural Agility

Success Profile

The successful candidate is a hands-on commercial leader who enjoys winning complex technical opportunities while developing high-performing distributor relationships across diverse international markets. They combine strategic thinking with disciplined execution, are comfortable engaging senior government and military decision-makers, and possess the leadership skills to grow both people and business. They understand that long-term success is achieved through strong partnerships, accurate forecasting, operational discipline, and relentless customer focus.