Director - Business Development

About the Company Northwind Robotics is the hyperscaler for the edge, delivering modular AI infrastructure from first deployment to AI factory with speed, scale and sovereignty. Named one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies and to the CNBC Disruptor 50, Northwind Robotics’s solutions are deployed in over 60 countries globally for organizations ranging from energy to defense. With nearly $500 million in funding to date, Northwind Robotics is backed by leading investors including Founders Fund, Lux, BlackRock and Microsoft (M12), alongside strategic partnerships with Microsoft, Dell, Palantir, NVIDIA, SpaceX, and Skydio. We are building the infrastructure layer for sovereign and edge AI - rugged, deployable compute for customers that cannot rely on centralized cloud. Working at Northwind Robotics means taking ownership, driving autonomy, and delivering impact. You’ll tackle challenges that haven’t been solved before and help build something transformative from the ground up. What you do here will not only define your career but help further Northwind Robotics’s mission to bridge the digital divide for customers around the world. About the Role As Director of Business Development, you will be a force multiplier for Northwind Robotics’s executive leadership — ensuring that every high-value commercial and partnership opportunity is rigorously qualified, intelligently contextualized, and routed with precision. Northwind Robotics operates in a fast-moving, high-stakes environment where executive leadership attracts significant inbound interest from potential customers, partners, and strategic collaborators. Your job is to make sure that interest translates into the right outcomes for Northwind Robotics. This is a highly strategic, high-judgment role. You will join executive leadership in key meetings, prepare them with crisp company context and target outcomes, and serve as the commercial intelligence layer that separates signal from noise. You know how to open conversations, how to listen for what matters, and — critically — how to professionally close out opportunities that are not the right fit for Northwind Robotics now or into the future. You will work closely with sales and partnerships teams, handing off only what is well-qualified and clearly scoped. You will also bring a researcher’s rigor and a strategist’s instinct to market intelligence, helping Northwind Robotics understand the commercial landscape and identify where we should be proactively investing attention. You will report to the VP of Business Operations and work in close partnership with Northwind Robotics’s senior executive team. Location. This role is preferably based in the San Francisco Bay Area or Seattle, WA. What You’ll Do (Key Responsibilities) Executive Leadership Deal Support and Meeting Excellence Join executive leadership for inbound commercial, partnership, and strategic meetings as a standing presence — providing context, capturing key outputs, and helping shape how Northwind Robotics is positioned in the room. Prepare executive leadership ahead of meetings with tight, actionable briefings: who we’re meeting, why it matters, what we know about them, and what outcomes we’re trying to achieve. Serve as a trusted thought partner to executive leadership in real time — shaping the narrative, flagging risks, and ensuring Northwind Robotics leaves every meeting with clear next steps. Own follow-through from executive leadership meetings: document commitments, route action items, and ensure nothing falls through the cracks. Opportunity Qualification and Pipeline Discipline Act as Northwind Robotics’s primary qualification layer for inbound commercial and partner opportunities. Apply rigorous, structured judgment to determine whether an opportunity merits Northwind Robotics’s time and attention. Develop and maintain a qualification framework that reflects Northwind Robotics’s current priorities, growth strategy, and deal thresholds — and evolve it as the business changes. Know when to say no. Close out opportunities that are not the right fit with professionalism and care — protecting Northwind Robotics’s reputation and the time of senior leadership. Route qualified opportunities to the appropriate team (sales, partnerships, or executive) with clear context, qualification notes, and a recommended path forward. Work closely with sales reps and the partnerships team to ensure warm handoffs and continuity. Market Intelligence and Commercial Research Proactively scan the commercial landscape to identify emerging opportunities, competitive signals, and market trends relevant to Northwind Robotics’s growth priorities. Synthesize market intelligence into clear, concise briefs for executive leadership that drive better decisions about where to invest attention. Build deep understanding of Northwind Robotics’s target verticals (defense, energy, public safety, manufacturing, sovereign AI) and the partner and customer ecosystems within them. Develop profiles of key prospect organizations, track relationship status, and maintain institutional knowledge that persists across conversations. Strategic Business Development (Non-Commissioned) Identify net-new strategic opportunities that align with Northwind Robotics’s near- and long-term priorities — not just reactive work, but proactive deal shaping. Build and maintain trusted relationships with senior decision-makers across potential customer, partner, and investor communities. Collaborate with executive leadership, VP of Programs & Partnerships, and sales leadership to align on where Northwind Robotics’s business development effort is focused and how success is measured. About You (Required Qualifications) 8–12+ years of experience in business development, strategic sales, or a commercial function where qualification, prioritization, and executive relationship management were core to the role. Demonstrated qualification expertise: a strong track record of assessing commercial opportunities quickly and accurately, saying yes to the right things and closing out the wrong ones with professionalism. Executive presence: polished and credible in senior-level settings. Comfortable representing Northwind Robotics in executive-level meetings and high-stakes commercial conversations. Exceptional communication: ability to synthesize a complex company or market into a crisp briefing, and to know when to lead versus when to listen. Market research rigor: demonstratedtrack record of “rapid immersion” in new technical domains, companies, or markets — with a bias toward being over-prepared for high-stakes engagements. Technical fluency: comfort engaging on complex topics (AI infrastructure, edge computing, sovereign AI, defense, cybersecurity) and translating them for both technical and non-technical audiences. Judgment under ambiguity: high personal standards around preparation, integrity, and long-term reputation. Able to build the playbook as you go in an early-stage, fast-moving company. Preferred Qualifications Familiarity with complex, long-cycle enterprise deals and the dynamics of selling to government, defense, or large enterprise customers. Experience working directly with a C-suite or executive leadership team in a fast-moving, high-growth company. Established network across defense, energy, public safety, or sovereign AI communities. Prior experience in a non-commissioned business development or commercial strategy role at a technology company. Comfort with CRM tools and pipeline tracking; ability to instrument your own workflow and maintain rigorous documentation. Compensation & Benefits For U.S. based candidates: To ensure fairness and transparency, the starting base salary range for this role for candidates in the U.S. are listed below, varying based on location, experience, skills, and qualifications. In addition to base salary, this role will also be offered equity and subsidized benefits (details available upon request). We use a geographic pay structure based on cost-of-labor markets. Tier 1 (e.g., SF Bay Area, NYC, Seattle): $182000-228000 Tier 2 (most U.S. metro areas): $150,000-$187,000 Final compensation will be determined by experience, scope, and level, and may vary from the posted range. Benefits Competitive base salary and equity Medical, dental, and vision (subsidized cost) Health savings accounts (HSA), flexible spending accounts (FSA), and dependent care FSAs (DCFSA) Retirement plan options, including 401(k) and Roth 401(k) Unlimited paid time off (PTO) 14 paid company holidays per year #LI-SM2 #LI-Remote Compensation $172,500—$215,630 USD You're a Great Fit if You're A go-getter with a growth mindset. You're intellectually curious, have strong business acumen, and actively seek opportunities to build relevant skills and knowledge A detail-oriented problem-solver. You can independently gather information, solve problems efficiently, and deliver results with a "get-it-done" attitude Thrive in a fast-paced environment. You're energized by an entrepreneurial spirit, capable of working quickly, and excited to contribute to a growing company A collaborative team player. You focus on business success and are motivated by team accomplishment vs personal agenda Highly organized and results-driven. Strong prioritization skills and a dedicated work ethic are essential for you Equal Opportunity Statement At Northwind Robotics, we are committed to fostering a work environment where everyone is given equal opportunities to thrive. As an equal opportunity employer, we strictly prohibit discrimination or harassment based on race, color, gender, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other characteristic protected by law. This policy applies to all employment decisions, including hiring, promotions, and compensation. Our hiring is guided by qualifications, merit, and the business needs at the time. Unsolicited Resumes and Candidates Northwind Robotics does not accept unsolicited resumes or candidate submissions from external agencies or recruiters. All candidates must apply directly through our careers page. Any resumes submitted by agencies without a prior signed agreement will be considered unsolicited and Northwind Robotics will not be obligated to pay any fees.