---
title: 'Director of Business Development at Furientis'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/director-of-business-development-furientis-los-angeles-9yshc5h2c62r'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-11-05'
---

# Director of Business Development at Furientis

- **Company:** Furientis
- **Location:** Los Angeles, CA
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** hybrid
- **Posted:** 2026-10-29
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-11-05
- **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/furientis/6001506b-9a6e-4ea9-a613-7db52fbe62c4

## Job description

America is critically deficient in production of defensive munitions- we currently produce shipborne interceptors in the few hundreds per year while our adversaries are producing offensive threats in the tens of thousands per year. Furientis was started to help solve this problem- introducing a new class of cost-effective, high production rate, interceptor missiles. We're seeking motivated individuals who internalize this problem and are eager to apply their past experience in similar industries (aerospace, defense, automotive/racing, robotics) and out of the box thinking to solve this problem for the US and its allies.

## About the Role

The Director of Business Development owns Furientis' capture pipeline: finding funded opportunities, winning them, and carrying existing prototype efforts through to transition and production. You are the company's face to the customer and the customer's voice inside the company.

You will report to the CEO and work hand in hand with our proposal writer and chief engineer. The role carries high ownership and wide latitude: you will set priorities, decide which pursuits to chase, and be accountable for the results. An engineering background is not required; a strong drive to understand our interceptors deeply enough to brief them credibly to operators, program offices, and labs is.

## What You'll Do

- Find funded prototype work. Work with customers across the DoW, government labs, and allied partners to identify funded opportunities and the vehicles to reach them (e.g. OTAs, CSOs, CRADAs, BAAs).
- Own the pipeline. Build and run the opportunity pipeline end to end, from market research and opportunity identification through pursuit, proposal, and award.
- Win proposals. Partner with the proposal writer and chief engineer to shape win strategy, write and review white papers, quad charts, and proposals.
- Grow existing programs. Brief current customers on status, keep them ahead of surprises, and mature today's prototype efforts toward transition and production.
- Interface between Customer and Engineering. Translate customer needs into clear design requirements for the chief engineer and leadership team. Contextualize what is needed and why it matters.
- Build the top of the funnel. Leverage existing relationships and build new ones across the operator, acquisition, and requirements communities. Represent Furientis at trade shows, industry days, and small-group briefings to grow brand awareness.

## Skills We're Hiring For

- 5 to 15 years of service in the U.S. military, followed by an MBA or time in industry.
- Working familiarity with how the DoW funds and buys new capability, from prototype awards to programs of record, or the drive to learn it fast.
- Genuine curiosity about the technology. You will learn our product deeply enough to represent its capabilities accurately and know when to bring in an engineer.
- Excellent communication: comfortable briefing small groups of senior leaders, working a trade show floor, and writing crisply.
- Excellent interpersonal skills and high EQ. You read a room, build trust quickly, and keep relationships warm over years.
- High integrity, flexibility, and extreme ownership. You do what you say, adapt when plans change, and treat outcomes as yours.

Bonus Points For

- A technical background, such as an engineering or science degree.
- Prior military program management or acquisition experience.
- Experience in air and missile defense, fires, or munitions.
- An active security clearance.

Eligibility & Logistics Location: On-site at our Los Angeles, CA HQ; remote work is not available. Monthly weekend travel for test events and supplier engagements. Clearance: A clearance is not required for this position. Must be a U.S. Person. Equal Opportunity & Export Compliance Furientis is an equal-opportunity employer. To comply with U.S. export control laws, employment is contingent on eligibility to access export-controlled information.

## About Furientis

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Furientis is a defense technology startup building low-cost, production-scalable interceptor missile systems for the U.S. military.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Pre-seed)
- **Headquarters**: El Segundo, California, USA (operates out of a facility in Playa Vista, Los Angeles)
- **Founded**: 2025
- **Founders**: Brody Franzen (CEO) and Aris Simsarian

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Aerospace & Defense / Defense Technology
- **Target customers**: U.S. military and defense organizations, particularly naval and ship-based interceptor procurement buyers
- **Mission or purpose statement**: "We believe the future of warfare is dictated by production capacity, and our current system of manufacturing critical defensive munitions cannot meet demand." The company aims to build cost-effective defensive munitions at scale.

## Products & Services
- **F 1.0 Interceptor Missile System**: A low-cost interceptor missile architected for an annual production volume of 1,000 units per factory. Designed to counter low-cost threats (drones, cruise missiles) that are expensive to stop with legacy systems. Uses automotive-style materials and assembly processes, commercial off-the-shelf components, and in-house solid rocket motors to achieve a cost of ~$250,000 per missile versus the $1–$5 million normally spent per interceptor.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed (Private, early-stage)
- **Key Metric**: $5M total funding raised (Pre-Seed round, announced May 2026)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Silent Ventures (lead), Bessemer Venture Partners, Multiball Capital, SV Angel, Humba Ventures, BVVC, Liquid 2 Ventures, MVP Ventures, Channel 39 Ventures, Vanderbilt University, Gaingels. Angel investors include founders of Anduril, Armada, and Erebor.
- **Growth Signals**: Emerging from stealth with $5M pre-seed; completed six flight tests and ten static-fire tests within its first six months; named a finalist in the Office of Naval Research Tactical Missile Innovation Challenge; actively hiring with 4+ open roles; projected "significant demonstrations" later in 2026.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Design for manufacturing from day one**: Unlike legacy primes that spend a year on modeling before building hardware, Furientis runs four-week design cycles with monthly flight tests—a "build fast, test often" approach.
- **In-house solid rocket motor production**: Most primes outsource this critical component, creating supply chain bottlenecks. Furientis makes its own, giving it control over the most constrained piece of the supply chain.
- **Cost advantage**: Target price is ~$250,000 per missile vs. $1M–$5M for incumbent systems from primes like Lockheed Martin, enabled by automotive-style materials, off-the-shelf components, and simplified assembly.
- **Production scalability**: Designed from scratch for a throughput of 1,000 units per year per factory, addressing the core national security bottleneck of ammunition production capacity.

## Strategic Focus
- **Scale production**: Move from prototype flight testing to initial production tooling and build-out of a 9,000-square-foot Los Angeles factory.
- **Team expansion**: Actively hiring elite engineers across opto-mechanical, perception hardware, and finance roles to accelerate development.
- **Demonstrate to the Navy**: Use ongoing flight tests and the ONR challenge to secure a production contract with the U.S. Navy.
- **Prove the thesis**: Continue monthly flight tests to validate the cost and performance of its interceptor system.

## Why Work Here
- **High-impact mission**: Work directly on solving a critical U.S. national security shortage—the ability to produce defensive munitions at the volumes needed to counter modern threats.
- **Fast-paced engineering culture**: Four-week design cycles, monthly flight tests, and a "build and break things" mentality that contrasts with slow, traditional defense primes.
- **Elite team and mentorship**: Leadership includes veterans of Virgin Galactic, Virgin Orbit, and Castelion (a hypersonics startup that raised $350M). Advisors/investors include founders of Anduril and Armada—among the most successful modern defense startups.
- **On-site in Los Angeles**: Roles are on-site in the Playa Vista / El Segundo area. The office is notably located in Lenny Kravitz’s former studio.
- **Early-stage equity**: Joining at pre-seed stage ($5M raised) provides significant ownership potential for early engineers alongside a small, tight-knit team (11-50 employees).
- **Active hiring**: As of mid-2026, open roles include Senior Opto-Mechanical Engineer, Perception Hardware Integration Engineer, and Finance Manager.

## Sources
1. [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/furientis)
2. [Fortune (Exclusive launch article)](https://fortune.com/2026/05/14/furientis-missiles-defense-anduril-military-drone-interceptors/)
3. [PitchBook](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/894465-28)
4. [Fusion42 Profile](https://scout.fusion-42.com/startups/ff72fe16-9489-4f67-ae18-a3c6dd66edd4)
5. [Clera](https://www.getclera.com/companies/furientis)

## Other roles at Furientis

- [Senior Technical Program Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-technical-program-manager-furientis-los-angeles-4grsk7gbzxn1) — Los Angeles, CA
- [Head of Programs](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-programs-furientis-los-angeles-8k5ezfc51ftg) — Los Angeles, CA
- [Head of Brand](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-brand-furientis-los-angeles-t5ccpevj57eg) — Los Angeles, CA
- [Modeling and Simulation Engineer (Encounter & Environment)](https://feeny.ai/job/modeling-and-simulation-engineer-encounter-environment-furientis-los-angeles-rrzfbg1zwgt7) — Los Angeles, CA
- [Optical Engineer (Laser Systems)](https://feeny.ai/job/optical-engineer-laser-systems-furientis-los-angeles-z5gvkqxmvm51) — Los Angeles, CA
- [Perception & Algorithms Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/perception-algorithms-engineer-furientis-los-angeles-hvkng1pmdc6j) — Los Angeles, CA
- [Laser Engineer (Pulsed Solid-State)](https://feeny.ai/job/laser-engineer-pulsed-solid-state-furientis-los-angeles-1j7f1ybkenjt) — Los Angeles, CA
- [Embedded Firmware Engineer, Avionics](https://feeny.ai/job/embedded-firmware-engineer-avionics-furientis-los-angeles-mjb2vzd6wcpx) — Los Angeles, CA
- [Engineering Internship - 2027 (MechE, EE, ME, GNC, Seekers)](https://feeny.ai/job/engineering-internship-2027-meche-ee-me-gnc-seekers-furientis-los-angeles-0qn855hy9sv5) — Los Angeles, CA
- [Sr Technical Recruiter (Hardware)](https://feeny.ai/job/sr-technical-recruiter-hardware-furientis-los-angeles-b4whxq8byk6e) — Los Angeles, CA