Business Development Manager (Defence)

Location: Sesto Calende, Italy; extensive travel within Italy and Southern Europe, with occasional international travel required.

Gross annual salary: €55,000–€70,000, depending on experience, skills, qualifications, location, and internal equity.

Company

hirify.global develops simulation, training, and mission-readiness solutions for critical operations worldwide.

What you will do

• Drive business development activities and pipeline growth for the Italian market while supporting Southern Europe initiatives.
• Manage customer engagement and lead B2G and B2B opportunities from qualification through capture, proposal, negotiation, and contract award.
• Build relationships with the Italian Ministry of Defence, Armed Forces, procurement organizations, government stakeholders, OEMs, industrial partners, and academic institutions.
• Shape customer requirements around defence aviation training, mission support, synthetic environments, and related capabilities.
• Develop market intelligence, country and regional strategies, capture plans, pricing approaches, competitive positioning, and win strategies.
• Coordinate with Capture, Bid Management, Programs, Engineering, Product Management, Legal, Finance, Contracts, and executive stakeholders while maintaining CRM data and forecasts.

Requirements

• Fluent Italian and English required.
• Experience in business development, sales, capture management, program management, or related commercial functions in the defence and aerospace sector.
• Experience with Italian defence programs, defence procurement, capability planning, and acquisition processes.
• Knowledge of military aviation operations, training systems, synthetic training environments, simulation technologies, and defence acquisition.
• Experience developing relationships with government, military, industry, or defence stakeholders and working within a matrix organization.
• Ability and willingness to travel extensively within Italy and Southern Europe.

Nice to have

• Previous service as an officer or senior non-commissioned officer in the Italian Armed Forces or Ministry of Defence.
• Experience in aviation, training, simulation, capability development, acquisition, or operational requirements.
• Established relationships within the Italian defence ecosystem and defence industry.
• Experience securing complex defence and aerospace opportunities or developing strategic partnerships.

Culture & Benefits

• Regular employment position with a base pay and benefits package.
• Purpose-driven work focused on safety, simulation, training, and mission readiness.
• Collaborative environment spanning commercial, technical, operational, legal, finance, and executive functions.
• Equal-opportunity workplace with reasonable accommodations available.