Strategic Business Development, Public Sector (AI)

Location: Remote, but must be based in the Washington, DC metropolitan area or relocate there by the start date; regular in-person customer and partner engagement and domestic travel are required.

Company

hirify.global, spun out of MIT CSAIL, develops general-purpose AI systems optimized for data centers and on-device hardware, with low latency, low memory usage, privacy, and reliability.

What you will do

• Build hirify.global’s public sector business, initially focused on U.S. defense, and own revenue, account strategy, forecasting, and pipeline development.
• Source, qualify, negotiate, and close public sector and defense opportunities, then develop renewals and expansion.
• Build relationships with mission users, technical leaders, program managers, budget owners, contracting teams, defense primes, integrators, and resellers.
• Convert technical evaluations into funded deployments by defining use cases, hardware, performance requirements, resources, timelines, security, data handling, authorization, and integration needs.
• Structure licensing, embedded distribution, partner agreements, and scoped development work with Legal and Finance.
• Establish repeatable account coverage, qualification, forecasting, partnership, and customer-feedback processes that inform product planning and future hiring.

Requirements

• Strong record of personally sourcing and closing U.S. defense business in software, AI/ML, infrastructure, or another technically complex market, with revenue ownership and performance against targets.
• Established relationships within defense agencies, military services, program offices, or major defense contractors, with evidence of turning relationships into qualified opportunities.
• Practical knowledge of defense budgeting and acquisition, including direct awards, competitive pursuits, contract vehicles, selling through primes, and moving prototypes or pilots into sustained funded use.
• Technical fluency to discuss model evaluation, deployment options, and hardware constraints with AI and engineering leaders and translate them into commercial scope.
• Experience negotiating complex agreements and coordinating Product, Engineering, Legal, Finance, and delivery teams through award and implementation.
• Experience building a new market, territory, or sales motion at an early-stage or growth-stage company.

Nice to have

• Experience selling foundation models, AI infrastructure, embedded software, or edge computing products, including on-premises and disconnected deployments.
• Experience embedding a product into a defense partner’s broader platform or program, including commercial licensing and subcontracting.
• Active U.S. security clearance, particularly Top Secret or TS/SCI, and experience with customers in classified environments.

Culture & Benefits

• Work directly with founders, business leadership, and engineers while shaping public sector strategy, products, and market priorities.
• Competitive base salary, variable compensation, and equity; final offers reflect skills, experience, and location.
• Unlimited PTO and company-wide Refill Days, including long weekends when the company rests together.
• Comprehensive health coverage, with details varying by location.
• Paid leave for pregnancy, parenting, medical needs, and caring for family.

Hiring process

• Success in the first year includes closed public sector and defense business, a qualified pipeline with identified buyers and funding paths, and at least one evaluation converted into a funded deployment.