Business Development Manager – International Markets

Thunderstrike Aviation is seeking a Business Development Manager to drive international growth through strategic, partnership-led B2B business development for drones and counter-drone solutions. The role is central to the company’s future growth and focuses on market mapping, partner identification, and the development of scalable commercial opportunities across international markets for defense and security-related applications.

This role sits at the intersection of business development, partnerships, international trade council collaboration and hands-on pipeline building, with a strong focus on speed, experimentation, and execution in new markets.

Key Responsibilities

• Identify, prioritize, and develop new B2B opportunities across international markets, accounts, and use cases
• Design and execute short-term pilots/POCs with clear success criteria to validate market demand
• Build and manage relationships with overseas trade councils, chambers of commerce, and industry bodies to unlock market access and partnerships
• Develop and nurture strategic partnerships (VARs, distributors, system integrators, technology partners)
• Act as the commercial owner of lead generation activities, coordinating outbound outreach, inbound initiatives, events, and referrals in close collaboration with Marketing
• Conduct market research including market sizing, competitive analysis, buyer personas, and entry barriers
• Plan and execute outreach campaigns (email, social, events, webinars) with measurable goals and structured experimentation
• Own pipeline development and management in CRM, ensuring disciplined qualification, forecasting, and handover to Account Executives
• Act as the commercial counterpart to Technical Sales, coordinating with Product, Marketing, and Delivery to align technical capabilities with market needs and deliverable offers

Requirements & Experience

• 4–7+ years of experience in B2B business development, partnerships, or sales development with international exposure
• Proven track record of building pipeline and progressing opportunities from discovery to pilot/POC to commercial close
• Experience working with trade promotion agencies, trade councils, or partner ecosystems
• Comfortable operating in ambiguity and short sales cycles; able to rapidly package capabilities into commercial offers
• Strong CRM discipline (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot) and data-driven sales practices
• Excellent written and spoken English; additional languages are a plus
• Willingness and ability to travel internationally

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, International Business, Marketing, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience
• Experience in defense, military, or government sectors is strongly preferred

Key Skills

• Market discovery and prioritization
• Partner recruitment and enablement
• Commercial packaging and offer development
• High-quality outreach and stakeholder engagement
• Analytical rigor in pipeline and conversion management
• Cross-functional collaboration
• Strong compliance and data-privacy awareness

Why should I join Thunderstrike Aviation?

•  You get to build new international markets from the ground up
• Own pilots and POCs from first contact to traction
• High autonomy with direct commercial impact
• Work hands-on with advanced aviation capabilities
• Global role based in Odense, Denmark

Apply here: Business Development Manager – International Markets | Job ad | Jobindex