Senior Business Development Manager

How would you like your average day to be dealing with some of the biggest aerospace names in the world? Airborne Composites Automation is a cutting-edge technology company that develops advanced automation solutions for composite materials. We serve industries including Aerospace, Automotive, Renewable Energy.

Our mission is to push the boundaries of composite manufacturing through smart, digital automation.

What will you do?

As Senior Business Development Manager – Defence, you will build on Airborne’s initial success in the growing defence market and establish it as a core area for our products. Exciting names like Northrop Grumman, General Atomics, Lockheed Martin, and Airbus will be your day to day business, but also the exciting drone scale up space like Anduril and Quantum Systems.

Your main focus will be on Europe and North America, but you’ll also support new opportunities worldwide.

This role requires a deep understanding of composites, insight into the defence industry, and a strong hunter mentality. You’ll be proactive, self-driven, and motivated to make an impact, and we’ll support you as you grow within the company.

Your Profile:

You are confident throughout the full sales process — from prospecting and opening doors to nurturing and closing long-term deals. You understand value-based selling: our solutions replace manual processes, so building a strong business case is essential.

Due to the governmental nature of defence, some aspect of lobbying and influence will be required.

You can adapt to different audiences, whether convincing executives, supporting internal teams, or collaborating with engineers, and you have the patience and discipline to manage complex sales cycles that can last 12 months or more.

You have a technical background, ideally in composites, and are comfortable engaging with engineers to shape competitive solutions. You enjoy visiting customers, expanding your network, and speaking with production teams to uncover real-world challenges that can be turned into automation opportunities.

Reporting Lines and Interactions

You will report to the Head of Sales – Automation and collaborate closely with management, other Business Development Managers, project stakeholders, clients, suppliers, and external partners.

Job requirements

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Engineering or a related field

• At least 10 years of experience in technical sales or business development, with a proven ability to turn complex solutions into clear business value

• Experience in the Aerospace or Defence sectors is a must

• Knowledge or experience in composite materials is a strong advantage

• Knowledge of Dutch or another European language is an advantage

• Willingness to travel regularly (approx. 20%) for customer visits and trade shows

• Minimum 2 days a week in-office at our facility in The Hague, The Netherlands

• Proactive, energetic, and results-oriented