Bachelor's or equivalent, Engineering degree preferred. Advanced degree preferred (ENG or MBA).
Minimum 7-10 years of experience in technical solution development, business development, or a combination thereof.
Prior experience with relevant customer base in Unmanned Maritime industry required.
Extensive prior experience with defense-oriented solutions and customers (US or International) in a customer-facing role.
US Citizenship required.
Ability to obtain and hold a US Security Clearance is required. An active Security Clearance is very strongly preferred.
Program or Project Management experience is preferred.
Ability to travel domestically and internationally, approximately 30%.
Prior experience with unmanned or remote systems, maritime systems, and/or at-sea operations is required.
Full description
** Business Development Manager, DoW Campaigns
The Role**
Liquid Robotics is seeking a proactive and experienced Business Development Lead to bolster its existing team. The Business Development Manager will report to the Head of Business Development while being based in the greater Washington D.C. Metro area. The role is cross-functional in nature, requiring expertise in the Unmanned Maritime industry, force structure, requirements, and budgeting processes. The role is intended to drive and own Liquid Robotics’ Business Development efforts focused on defense opportunities with US DoW customers.
The Successful Candidate
The successful Business Development Manager candidate will proactively drive growth of LR’s Long Range Business Plan, leveraging a deep understanding of customer priorities and needs in the Unmanned Maritime industry, as well as best practices and solutions across the industry. The candidate will use this knowledge to lead new and existing client engagements with a focus on early-stage lead qualification and CONOPS development. The successful candidate will leverage existing contacts, as well as supporting Boeing offices and partners, to achieve LR’s business goals.
The successful candidate must quickly establish mastery of LR’s business strategy and technical capabilities, as well as client priorities and requirements, sales cycles, and funding streams to drive new business opportunities to close. The candidate will interface closely with LR’s Engineering, Operations, and Delivery teams to plan for the transition of products and solutions to the field. The candidate will also leverage resources from The Boeing Company (e.g., Government Operations, international offices, Field Marketing) to build broader advocacy for LR’s business goals.
Essential Responsibilities
The successful candidate will manage existing and new client accounts, advancing key campaigns and individual opportunities through the phased gate process and closure. The successful candidate will shape opportunities to match the strategy and capabilities of Liquid Robotics, while also acting as the customer’s voice internally at Liquid Robotics to influence that strategy to match the priorities of our clients.
Business Development Manager, DoW Campaigns
Proactively define account level strategy in close coordination with the Head of Business Development and relevant LR and Boeing resources.
Define and manage customer requirements during the pre-sales process. Leverage LR Engineering and Operations organizations to inject technical expertise early in the sales cycle.
Act as Capture Team Lead on critical capture efforts, driving the creation of compliant proposals to the end client or via a prime partner.
Must have an existing knowledge of Unmanned Maritime industry trends, common customer expectations, and competitive analysis.
Proactively engage with Boeing teams as a force multiplier for LR to set meetings, engage clients and senior levels, market locally, contract locally, identify partners, and secure classified meetings/facilities.
Maintain a clear understanding of varying sales cycles across LR’s customer base, including target customers, pipeline development, and solution creation/construction to secure the clients business.
Provide a customer-centric communications focus, tailoring messaging to widely varying stakeholders, both externally and internally, with a high degree of proficiency.
Create and deliver customized solution presentations and product demonstrations to prospective and current customers. Presentations include CONOPS development, product overviews, demonstrations, and proof of concept discussions.
Engage with LR’s strategic partners where necessary to enable delivery of complete customer solutions.
Leverage LR Engineering and Operations teams to support our products technically and represent all aspects of the solution for Liquid Robotics.
Communicate regularly to Business Development, Portfolio Management, and LR leadership on customer technical requirements and capture strategies.
Interface with the Engineering, Operations, Program Management, and Delivery organizations to ensure seamless transition from the pre-sales process to customer mission success.
Obtain and maintain a deep knowledge of all LR solutions.
Key Attributes
Proactive Nature: Actively seeks to gain complete understanding of problems that arise and to address any gaps in current knowledge base.
Leadership Skills: Strong leadership acumen with the ability to build multi-functional teams to support strategic and technical goals.
Problem Solving Skills: Comfort with creative problem solving in the face of unexpected challenges.
Technical Skills: Ability to learn new information quickly leveraging technical savvy.
Complex Sales Strategies: Proven ability to support complex defense sales strategies to US and/or international customers, with the ability to develop and progress long sales cycle deals to close.
Customer-Facing Skills: Proven experience in customer-facing situations with a focused demeanor throughout the sales lifecycle.
Communication Skills: Strong communication and interpersonal skills to thrive in a variety of external and internal environments.
Solution-Oriented: Proven ability to implement a solution-oriented sales approach to maximize customer value.
Capture Skills: Experience with proposal generation and gate review processes, as well as experience managing cross-functional capture teams.
Qualifications
Bachelor's or equivalent, Engineering degree preferred. Advanced degree preferred (ENG or MBA).
Minimum 7-10 years of experience in technical solution development, business development, or a combination thereof.
Prior experience with relevant customer base in Unmanned Maritime industry required.
Extensive prior experience with defense-oriented solutions and customers (US or International) in a customer-facing role.
US Citizenship required.
Ability to obtain and hold a US Security Clearance is required. An active Security Clearance is very strongly preferred.
Program or Project Management experience is preferred.
Ability to travel domestically and internationally, approximately 30%.
Prior experience with unmanned or remote systems, maritime systems, and/or at-sea operations is required.
Pay is based upon candidate experience and qualifications, as well as market and business considerations.
Summary pay range for exempt (IC 5): ): $154,400 - $194,930
Liquid Robotics designs and manufactures Wave Gliders®, the first wave and solar powered autonomous ocean robots. With our partners we address many of the planet’s greatest challenges, by transforming how to assess, monitor, and protect the ocean. We solve critical problems for defense, commercial, and science customers.
Visit us at to learn more.
Liquid Robotics is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE). Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, physical or mental disability, genetic factors, military/veteran status or other characteristics protected by law.