About the Role
Harmattan Industries is seeking an experienced, highly connected U.S. Special Operations Business Developer to lead growth across the USSOCOM enterprise and expand our presence within the Special Operations community. This role is responsible for translating operator engagement into funded programs by identifying opportunities early, shaping requirements, and positioning Harmattan's autonomous systems to solve real-world operational challenges.
Responsibilities
- Identify, qualify, and capture opportunities across USSOCOM, Theater Special Operations Commands (TSOCs), Component Commands, Program Executive Offices (PEOs), Program Managers (PMs), laboratories, and rapid acquisition organizations.
- Develop and execute account and capture strategies that convert operational interest into funded programs.
- Build and maintain a healthy opportunity pipeline through proactive customer engagement, budget analysis, operational awareness, and competitive intelligence.
- Identify emerging operational requirements before formal solicitations are released.
- Shape acquisition strategies supporting OTAs, SBIRs, BAAs, CRADAs, prototype efforts, and rapid fielding initiatives.
- Own opportunities from initial customer engagement through contract award.
- Plan and execute product demonstrations, operational assessments, and customer evaluations.
- Translate operator feedback into actionable recommendations for engineering and product development.
- Maintain disciplined CRM pipeline management, ensuring customer engagements, opportunity status, capture strategies, probability of win, risks, forecasts, and next actions remain current and actionable.
- Provide accurate sales forecasts and executive-level pipeline reporting.
- Build and sustain trusted relationships across USSOCOM headquarters, Component Commands, TSOCs, operational units, acquisition organizations, laboratories, and strategic partners.
- Represent Harmattan Industries at SOF Week, technical exchanges, industry days, experimentation events, and government meetings.
- Coordinate closely with Product Management, Engineering, Program Management, and Executive Leadership to align customer priorities with product development.
- Serve as the voice of the customer within the organization.
Requirements
- 10+ years of progressively responsible experience supporting U.S. Special Operations Forces through operational leadership, acquisition, business development, or program management.
- Demonstrated success identifying, shaping, and capturing defense opportunities within USSOCOM.
- Extensive, active network across the Special Operations community.
- Existing relationships with operators, acquisition professionals, laboratories, and industry partners.
- Ability to generate customer access without relying solely on traditional marketing or cold outreach.
- Working knowledge of autonomous systems, UAS, C-UAS, robotics, AI, sensing technologies, electronic warfare, or related defense capabilities.
- Ability to communicate technical concepts to both operators and senior decision-makers.
- Proven experience navigating DoD acquisition pathways, including OTAs, SBIRs, BAAs, CRADAs, IDIQs, and rapid acquisition authorities.
- Experience developing capture strategies and managing complex, multi-stakeholder opportunities from identification through award.
- Outstanding written and verbal communication skills with the ability to brief senior military leaders, government executives, and industry partners.
- Entrepreneurial, highly proactive, mission-focused, and comfortable operating with minimal oversight.
- Thrives in a fast-paced, high-growth environment where initiative, adaptability, and ownership are expected.
Skills
- Autonomous systems
- UAS
- C-UAS
- Robotics
- AI
- Sensing technologies
- Electronic warfare
- DoD acquisition pathways
- OTAs
- SBIRs
- BAAs
- CRADAs
- IDIQs
- Rapid acquisition authorities
- Capture strategies
- CRM pipeline management
- Sales forecasting
- Executive-level reporting
Location
- USSOCOM enterprise
Work Type
- Full-time
Experience Level
- 10+ years of experience
About the Company
- Harmattan AI is a next-generation defense prime building autonomous and scalable defense systems.
- Following the close of a $200M Series B, valuing the company at $1.4 billion, we are expanding our teams and capabilities to deliver mission-critical systems to allied forces.
- Our work is guided by clear values: building technologies with real-world impact, pursuing excellence in everything we do, setting ambitious goals, and taking on the hardest technical challenges.
- We operate in a demanding environment where rigor, ownership, and execution are expected.
