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Director of Defense Sales

Sitreps
Location
Washington, DC
Posted
16 days ago
Department
Defense Tech
Salary
$150,000 to $165,000
What they actually want (must-haves)
  • Prior military service inside a DoW organization.
  • A track record of originating and closing government business, with specific deals you can point to and describe.
  • A live network across DoW operational units, staffs, or program offices that you can activate in your first 30 days.
  • Working fluency in defense contracting pathways (OTAs, CSOs, IDIQs, consortium structures) and the ability to pick the right one under time pressure.
  • Comfort demoing software yourself, without an engineer in the room.
  • High tolerance for ambiguity and a bias toward action in an early-stage environment.
Nice to have
  • Experience selling software or AI/ML products into defense, not services or hardware.
  • Familiarity with exercise planning cycles, wargaming, and operational assessments.
  • Experience at an early-stage defense tech or govtech company.
  • Active U.S. security clearance.
What the job really is

The Director of Defense Sales will lead direct sales efforts for an early-stage defense tech company, focusing on building relationships with military units and closing government contracts. This role involves engaging with customers through demos, managing a sales pipeline, and translating customer needs into actionable product feedback. The position requires significant travel and offers the opportunity to shape the sales strategy in a fast-paced environment.

Benefits
  • Competitive salary and equity to share in our success
  • The chance to join a founding team and directly shape the future of the company
  • The opportunity to work with cutting-edge AI technology in a defense context
  • Full health and dental benefits, 401(k), commuting benefits, lunch when in office
  • Office in Washington, DC / Northern Virginia
Things to weigh
  • No salary listed beyond the range of $150,000 to $165,000 base plus commission.
  • Role requires building a sales pipeline from scratch, which may not suit everyone.
  • High travel requirement of up to 40% may impact work-life balance.
Job score4.2/5
Benefits3/5
Freshness4/5
Career value4/5
Role clarity5/5
Pay transparency5/5

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