Business Development Manager

Role & responsibilities

We are seeking an experienced and technically adaptable Business Development Manager with 5 years of experience in Defence Business Development, Technical Sales, Defence Sales, or UAV/Drone Business Development.

The candidate will be responsible for developing and managing defence business opportunities, understanding customer operational requirements, mapping them to suitable drone and Counter-UAS solutions, and coordinating closely with Engineering, R&D, Production, Commercial and Senior Management teams.

Key Responsibilities

• Identify, develop and manage business opportunities with Indian Army, Air Force, Navy, CAPFs, Defence PSUs, Government organisations and other authorised defence stakeholders.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with defence customers and key decision-makers.
• Understand customer operational requirements and map them to suitable FPV, ISR, OFC and Counter-UAS solutions.
• Conduct customer meetings, requirement-gathering discussions, product presentations and technical capability briefings.
• Identify and track RFI/RFP/EOI, GeM and other defence procurement opportunities.
• Coordinate technical and commercial tender responses with internal teams.
• Manage the complete opportunity lifecycle from requirement identification and enquiry through demonstrations, trials, negotiations and order closure.
• Lead and coordinate product demonstrations, field trials and customer evaluations.
• Work closely with Engineering/R&D teams on technical clarifications, compliance matrices, customisation requirements and product improvements.
• Develop and maintain sales pipelines, opportunity trackers, tender trackers, MIS and customer visit reports.
• Conduct competitor analysis and provide market intelligence to senior management.
• Prepare business development plans and contribute towards revenue and order targets.
• Support negotiations, commercial discussions and successful order conversion.
• Ensure timely follow-ups and maintain strong customer relationships.

Technical Knowledge Drone & Counter-UAS Domain

• FPV: Airframe, motors/ESCs, propellers, flight controller, batteries, power systems, RF control/video links, telemetry, navigation, payload integration, range and endurance parameters.
• ISR: EO/IR payloads, gimbals, real-time video transmission, GCS, telemetry, waypoint/autonomous operations, surveillance and target observation requirements.
• OFC/Fiber-Optic: Fiber-optic command/video link concepts, RF-independent operation, spool/deployment considerations, range, payload and ground equipment.
• Counter-UAS: Detection, identification, tracking, classification, RF/EO-IR sensing, command-and-control, non-kinetic/kinetic effectors and interceptor concepts.
• Ability to understand technical specifications including MTOW, payload, endurance, operational range, flight ceiling, speed, communication/video range, navigation, environmental conditions and system integration.

Preferred candidate profile

5 years of experience in Defence Business Development, Technical Sales, Defence Sales or UAV/Drone Business Development.

• Proven experience in business development, client acquisition, account management and order conversion.
• Strong understanding of Indian Defence procurement, tendering and customer engagement processes.
• Experience in handling defence demonstrations, trials, RFI/RFP/EOI and GeM opportunities is preferred.
• Strong technical aptitude with the ability to understand drone, UAV and Counter-UAS technologies.
• Engineering qualification (B.E./B.Tech/Diploma) is preferred.
• Excellent communication, presentation, negotiation and relationship-management skills.
• Proficiency in MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• Ability to lead multiple business opportunities and coordinate effectively with cross-functional teams.
• Strong follow-up, decision-making and problem-solving abilities.
• Willingness to travel extensively across India, including remote, field and high-altitude locations, as required.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Qualified defence opportunities generated
• Revenue and order value achieved
• Customer engagements and relationship growth
• Tender/RFI/RFP opportunities identified
• Demonstrations and trials coordinated
• Technical and commercial proposals supported
• Sales pipeline development
• New customer acquisition
• Order conversion
• Customer retention and repeat business
• Quality and timeliness of reporting