Business Development Director, Americas

Drive ZeroAvia’s growth in the Americas region by leading business development and sales across Defense and Civil Aviation sectors. This role will create strategic partnerships and secure sales opportunities with OEMs, technology partners and operators, ensuring alignment with ZeroAvia’s mission to accelerate hydrogen-electric propulsion adoption. 

Location: US (Remote) - East Coast/Washington DC preferred

U.S. Persons Only – Due to U.S. Government regulations, applicants must be U.S. persons (U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents).

Main Responsibilities: 

Strategic Market Development 

• Analyze industry and defense market trends, funding priorities, and civil aviation growth drivers to identify opportunities for ZeroAvia’s technologies. 

• Develop and execute comprehensive business development strategies for both defense and civil aviation segments. 

• Utilize data-driven insights to define target customers and partners, including airlines, cargo operators, DoD agencies, and defense primes. 

• Ensure regional strategies align with ZeroAvia’s global objectives, certification milestones, and commercialization timelines. 

Customer & Partner Engagement 

• Build and maintain relationships with U.S. military stakeholders (DoD, Services, PEOs, test centers) and civil aviation operators (regional airlines, cargo carriers, charter operators). 

• Establish partnerships with defense primes, Tier-1 suppliers, and aviation innovators (OEMs, UAS/eVTOL developers, hydrogen infrastructure providers). 

• Leverage customer feedback and market insights to refine strategy and influence product development. 

• Represent ZeroAvia and industry events and forums. 

Sales Cycle & Deal Execution 

• Own the full sales cycle for Defense and Civil Aviation opportunities—from lead identification through contract signing. 

• Work closely with Engineering, Program Management and Strategy functions to develop technical and commercial proposals. 

• Maintain detailed records of negotiations and closures; provide structured reporting to leadership. 

Expertise/ Qualifications Required:

• 5+ years in aerospace/aviation business development or sales, with experience in U.S. Defense and commercial aviation markets. 
• Proven success in complex capture management and closing high-value deals with DoD and commercial operators. 
• Strong network across defense primes, military stakeholders, and civil aviation operators. 
• Excellent negotiation, relationship-building, and strategic planning skills. 
• Deep understanding of DoD acquisition processes and commercial aviation procurement. 
• U.S. Person status; eligibility for DoD security clearance preferred. 
• Excellent interpersonal skills, as well as good written and oral communication skills. 
• Excellent level of spoken and written English (additional languages a plus). 
• Ability to work on own initiative as well as part of a small team 
• Able to frequently travel domestically and internationally on occasion