X-BAT Business Development Director, Middle East (R4949)
At a glance
Leadership Business Development role at Shield AI. Abu Dhabi · internship.
Pay not stated
Growth Roles summary, based on the employer's posting.
What you'll do
- Build and close CCA opportunities across Middle Eastern next-generation airpower programs
- Move regional pursuits from customer discussions through proposals, negotiations, and contract awards
- Develop trusted relationships with defense ministries, primes, integrators, and regional partners
- Shape customer requirements, CCA CONOPS, demonstrations, technical trials, and pilot programs
- Feed customer insight into Hivemind CCA features, integrations, and roadmap priorities
What you bring
- At least fifteen years in a relevant air force role, with deep CONOPS and platform-application knowledge
- Three to five or more years in defense acquisition, business development, sales, or strategy involving air platforms or autonomy
- At least five years working in the region operationally or in defense business
- A record of winning defense programs or technology insertions with defense ministries or multinational frameworks
- Credibility discussing complex technical products with strategic and operational audiences
Who this fits
You’ll suit a senior defense business-development leader who understands next-generation air combat, including CCAs, MUM-T, and AI-enabled CONOPS. The role is onsite in Abu Dhabi, asks you to live in the region, and requires extensive Middle East travel of roughly thirty to fifty percent.
From the employer
Job Description:
At Shield AI, we’re redefining the battlespace with autonomy-enabled airpower. As part of our global expansion, we’re looking for a bold and visionary Director – CCAs, Middle East to lead strategic sales, customer engagement, and capture efforts for our Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) initiatives across the region. This is a high-impact role at the cutting edge of aerospace and defense innovation. You’ll be on the front lines, driving adoption and revenue for Shield AI’s CCA technologies by engaging directly with top-tier defense stakeholders—military customers, industry primes, and government decision-makers. Your mission: position Shield AI as the go-to partner for next-generation air combat solutions in the Middle East.
You’ll bring a rare mix of defense sales expertise, technical credibility, and a deep understanding of air domain CONOPS and acquisition frameworks. From identifying new opportunities to closing complex deals and launching early-stage programs, you’ll own the entire business development lifecycle.
What you'll do:
- Drive Strategic Capture: Identify, shape, and capture high-value opportunities across Middle Eastern next-gen airpower programs relevant to CCAs and autonomy.
- Drive Regional Sales Pipeline: Lead the full business development lifecycle for CCA-focused efforts, from customer engagement through proposal, negotiation, and contract award.
- Engage Key Stakeholders: Build and maintain trusted relationships with Ministries of Defence, defense primes, integrators, and key partners.
- Shape Requirements & CONOPS: Influence customer requirements and future CCA CONOPS to align with Shield AI’s product offerings.
- Support Demonstrations & Campaigns: Lead Shield AI’s positioning and participation in regional flight demos, technical trials, and program pilots.
- Coordinate Cross-Functionally: Collaborate closely with engineering, product, legal, and program teams to align technical solutions with customer needs and delivery requirements.
- Inform Product Direction: Provide field intelligence to guide feature development, integration strategy, and roadmap priorities for Hivemind-enabled CCA solutions.
Required qualifications:
- 15+ years in a relevant air force occupation, bringing significant depth of understanding of relevant CONOPs and platform applications (preference for real-world operational experience flying tactical fighter aircraft with a strong technical background).
- 3–5+ years of experience in defense acquisition, business development, sales, or strategy, ideally with a focus on air platforms or autonomy.
- 5+ years of experience in region either operationally or from a defense business perspective
- Strong track record of capturing and closing defense programs or tech insertions with relevant ministries of Defense or multinational frameworks.
- Understanding of next-gen air combat trends, including CCAs, MUM-T, and AI-enabled CONOPS.
- Ability to credibly represent technically complex products to both strategic and operational-level audiences.
- Familiarity with key regional acquisition pathways.
- Willingness to live in regional (preferably Abu Dhabi) and to travel extensively across the Middle East (30–50%).
Our international teammates receive a comprehensive total rewards package aligned to your country office location. For full details on compensation and benefits, please consult your talent acquisition partner.
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