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Salary: EUR 150,000 - 180,000 / annual
Second Front Systems is a venture-backed defense technology company helping commercial software vendors navigate government acquisition and get mission-critical technology into the hands of U.S. and allied government users faster. The company holds FedRAMP High, DoD IL2–IL6/JWICS, GovRAMP, UK MOD, and NATO authorizations.
You will serve as the inaugural Strategic Business Development Lead for continental Europe, reporting directly to the Head of EMEA. This is a zero-to-one market-entry role with no inherited playbook. You will own the full sales cycle from initial prospecting through contract signature, building qualified pipeline across commercial software vendors, government entities, and regulated enterprises across European markets.
Key responsibilities include: opening target accounts and qualifying buying paths; conducting named-account coverage through direct prospecting, referrals, and partner channels; mapping government and defense procurement routes, mission needs, budget cycles, and decision criteria; identifying lighthouse customers that establish proof points and unlock adjacent accounts; validating ideal customer profiles and buying paths through live opportunities; assessing routes to revenue via hyperscalers, sovereign cloud providers, primes, and systems integrators; coordinating with technical and delivery teams as opportunities move through discovery; translating quarterly targets into regional deployment roadmaps accounting for export-control and security-clearance gates; and brokering alignment between sales pipeline and operations capacity.
You will operate across multiple European procurement cultures, work with commercial executives, technical evaluators, and government decision-makers, and maintain strong CRM, qualification, account-planning, and forecasting discipline. Regular travel across continental Europe is expected.
REQUIREMENTS:
- 7+ years of business development, enterprise sales, or capture experience, including complex B2B and B2G technology sales across European markets
- Demonstrated track record of personally opening accounts and creating net-new pipeline in commercial software, cloud, infrastructure, or technology deals spanning commercial and government buyers
- Strong hunter profile with evidence of closing complex deals and distinguishing genuine revenue opportunity from access and activity
- Experience selling technically demanding enterprise products to both commercial and government customers
- Commercial exposure to European defense, govtech, or regulated industries, or to technology vendors selling into those markets
- Proven ability to operate across multiple European procurement cultures and work fluently with commercial executives, technical evaluators, and government decision-makers
- Credible network in at least one relevant European ecosystem with capacity to expand
- Strong CRM, qualification, account-planning, and forecasting discipline
- Fluent English; willingness to travel regularly across continental Europe
- EU residency with valid work authorization (Second Front cannot sponsor)
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Existing relationships within European defense, NATO, or allied-government ecosystem
- Fluency in additional European language relevant to priority markets (French, German, Dutch, Nordic languages)
- Prior experience as early or first commercial hire opening new market/region for startup or scale-up
- Existing government security clearance or eligibility
