HIRING | BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT LEAD – DEFENCE
Hubli, Karnataka | Astr Defence Pvt. Ltd.
Build Opportunities. Build Relationships. Build Indigenous Defence Capability.
Astr Defence is an Indian defence technology company developing indigenous weapon systems, Counter-UAS solutions, smart fire-control systems and advanced ammunition technologies for the Armed Forces and homeland-security users.
As we move from product development to wider user engagement, trials and market deployment, we are looking for a hands-on Business Development Lead – Defence to drive customer engagement and business opportunities across the Indian defence ecosystem.
MANDATORY REQUIREMENT
Prior professional Business Development / Sales / Capture / Customer Engagement experience in the INDIAN DEFENCE SECTOR is mandatory.
Candidates without prior Indian Defence business-development experience will NOT be considered.
This is not a general sales or marketing position.
ROLE
The Business Development Lead will be a key customer-facing representative of Astr Defence, working closely with the Founder/CEO and technical teams.
The role involves direct engagement with:
- Indian Army, Indian Air Force & Indian Navy
- CAPFs & homeland-security organisations
- Government defence organisations
- DPSUs & defence PSUs
- Defence OEMs, primes & technology partners
- Other relevant defence ecosystem stakeholders
The person should be comfortable independently representing Astr Defence in customer meetings, capability presentations, product demonstrations, field trials, exhibitions and defence conferences across India.
Extensive travel across India is an integral part of this role.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Business Development & Opportunity Creation
- Identify and develop new defence business opportunities
- Build relationships with operational users, decision-makers, procurement stakeholders and industry partners
- Secure customer meetings, capability presentations, demonstrations and field evaluations
- Understand operational requirements and capability gaps and convert them into actionable opportunities
- Develop and systematically progress opportunities from initial engagement → demonstration → evaluation/trials → procurement pathway → commercial discussion
Customer Engagement
- Present Astr Defence products and capabilities to military officers, government stakeholders, technical teams and industry partners
- Coordinate product demonstrations and field trials with customers and internal engineering teams
- Capture structured user feedback and convert it into actionable inputs for product development
- Maintain disciplined follow-up on every customer engagement and opportunity
Market Development
Develop the market for emerging defence capabilities including:
- Counter-UAS / Hard-Kill Counter-UAS
- Soldier-portable defence systems
- Weapon systems
- Smart fire-control systems
- Advanced ammunition technologies
- Related defence technologies
A key part of the role will be helping users understand the operational application and capability advantage of emerging technologies, particularly where established procurement categories may not yet exist.
Defence Ecosystem & Partnerships
- Track relevant RFIs, RFPs, EOIs, procurement programmes, trials and other opportunities
- Develop relationships with DPSUs, defence primes, OEMs and strategic technology partners
- Support capability presentations, technical-commercial proposals and customer responses
- Represent Astr Defence at defence exhibitions, seminars, conferences and industry forums
- Maintain structured opportunity pipelines, account plans and engagement records
- Mentor junior BD team members as the function expands
MUST-HAVE EXPERIENCE
Experience: 2 to 5 years preferred with genuine Armed Forces relationships and experience taking products through demonstrations/trials
You should have:
✔ Proven Business Development / Sales / Capture / Customer Engagement experience in the Indian Defence sector
✔ Professional experience engaging with Armed Forces and/or Government defence customers
✔ Strong understanding of the Indian defence ecosystem and procurement environment
✔ Ability to identify opportunities and convert relationships into structured business opportunities
✔ Strong communication, presentation and negotiation skills
✔ Confidence interacting with senior military, government and industry stakeholders
✔ Ability to understand and present technical defence products after appropriate training
✔ Strong ownership and follow-through
✔ Willingness to travel extensively across India
PREFERRED / ADVANTAGEOUS
Experience in one or more of the following will be an advantage:
- Counter-UAS / UAV / Drone technologies
- Weapon systems / ammunition
- Fire-control systems
- Electro-optics
- Air-defence systems
- RCWS / remote weapon systems
- Defence electronics
- Defence startups / deep-tech companies
- User demonstrations and field trials
- Defence tenders, RFI / RFP / EOI / GeM and government procurement
- Strategic partnerships with DPSUs, OEMs and defence primes
- Technical / Engineering educational background
- Experience working directly with founders or senior leadership
- Retired Armed Forces officers at Major/equivalent or above, with relevant operational, technical, weapon-system, air-defence or UAV/C-UAS exposure
THE PERSON WE ARE LOOKING FOR
We are NOT looking for a conventional salesperson who only maintains existing contacts.
We are looking for someone who can CREATE OPPORTUNITIES.
Someone who can:
Identify the user problem
↓
Reach the right stakeholder
↓
Present the capability
↓
Create interest
↓
Arrange demonstration / trial
↓
Capture user feedback
↓
Coordinate internally
↓
Drive the opportunity forward
You should be comfortable travelling to a military formation, understanding an operational requirement, presenting a new technology, coordinating a field demonstration and personally driving the engagement to the next stage.
If you have genuine Indian Defence BD experience and enjoy building new opportunities rather than simply managing an existing sales pipeline — we want to hear from you.
LOCATION
Astr Defence Pvt. Ltd.
Hubli, Karnataka
Extensive travel across India required.
Apply: [email protected]
WhatsApp: 94481 42560
Please mention:
“Business Development Lead – Defence”
in the subject/message.
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Pay: ₹35,000.00 - ₹50,000.00 per month
Benefits:
- Health insurance
- Provident Fund
Work Location: In person
