Sr. Account Executive-Defense

Key Responsibilities

• Defense Market Ownership: Lead all sales activities across the defense and national security segment, balancing new business development with expansion of existing defense accounts and platform integrations.
• Prime & OEM Engagement: Build and grow relationships with defense primes and uncrewed ground/air/maritime systems OEMs, positioning FORT as the safety and secure-control layer designed into their platforms.
• Capture & Program Strategy: Develop and execute capture plans for defense opportunities — shaping requirements early, aligning with program timelines, and navigating pathways including OTAs, SBIR/STTR transitions, and programs of record.
• Government Stakeholder Navigation: Engage program offices, contracting officers, requirements owners, and operational end users, building multi-stakeholder support across long procurement cycles.
• Channel & Teaming: Identify and manage teaming arrangements, integrator partnerships, and distribution relationships that accelerate FORT's reach into defense programs.
• Pipeline Development: Identify, qualify, and close new business across primes, integrators, and government customers; maintain a multi-year pipeline that reflects defense budget and acquisition cycles.
• Market Collaboration: Partner with marketing and product to tailor defense-specific messaging, use cases, and demonstrations for human-machine teaming and uncrewed systems safety.
• Reporting & Forecasting: Provide monthly updates on pipeline, capture progress, performance metrics, and strategic developments across the defense portfolio.
• Industry Representation: Represent FORT Robotics at key defense and uncrewed systems events (e.g., AUSA, Modern Day Marine, XPONENTIAL, SOF Week) and relevant industry working groups.
• Travel Requirements: Approximately 30–40% travel to customer sites, program offices, demonstrations, and industry events, with periodic trips to FORT's Philadelphia HQ for team alignment and training.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in business development, capture, or enterprise sales within defense technology, uncrewed/autonomous systems, C2/communications, or safety-critical technology sectors.
• Proven success selling integrated hardware/software solutions into defense primes, OEMs, and/or DoD customers, including design-in or platform-integration wins.
• Working knowledge of defense acquisition pathways and contracting vehicles (FAR/DFARS environments, OTAs, SBIR/STTR transition, IDIQs) and how to align commercial technology with program needs.
• Demonstrated ability to manage long, multi-stakeholder capture cycles — building champion networks across program offices, engineering teams, and end users, with disciplined use of mutual close plans and power maps.
• Established relationships within the defense and uncrewed systems ecosystem strongly preferred.
• Consistent record of exceeding quota or capture targets in complex, technical sales environments.
• Strong ability to communicate complex technical value propositions — functional safety, secure communications, command and control — to both senior leaders and technical evaluators.
• Proficiency with CRM systems, Excel, and sales analytics tools.
• Entrepreneurial, self-directed, and comfortable operating independently while collaborating with cross-functional leadership.