
U.S. Army Business Developer at Harmattan AI (Austin, TX)
Harmattan AI· Austin, TX·
Role details
Harmattan AI at a glance
France's first defense-tech unicorn, building attritable AI-piloted strike, interception, and ISR drones for allied militaries.
Harmattan AI is a vertically integrated defense prime building autonomous drone systems for allied militaries. It designs the full stack, from airframes and payloads to embedded compute and the autonomy algorithms that let drones sense, decide, and act at the edge without GPS or a network link, coordinated across a swarm by its mission-orchestration layer.
$242M raised · latest: Series B · $200M · January 2026 · backed by Dassault Aviation, FirstMark Capital, Atlantic, Motier Ventures
Summary
The SOCOM Business Developer drives growth within the U.S. Special Operations ecosystem by identifying opportunities, managing pipelines, and leading demos of autonomous defense systems. The role involves owning the full sales cycle, building relationships with SOF units and acquisition stakeholders, and converting...
Job description
ABOUT US
Harmattan AI is a next-generation defense prime building autonomous and scalable defense systems. Following the close of a $200M Series B, valuing the company at $1.4 billion, we are expanding our teams and capabilities to deliver mission-critical systems to allied forces.
Our work is guided by clear values: building technologies with real-world impact, pursuing excellence in everything we do, setting ambitious goals, and taking on the hardest technical challenges. We operate in a demanding environment where rigor, ownership, and execution are expected.
ABOUT THE ROLE
Harmattan Industries is seeking an experienced, highly connected U.S. Army Business Developer to lead growth across the Army enterprise and expand our position within the Department of the Army.
The Army is rapidly modernizing its approach to autonomous systems, counter-UAS, and tactical procurement. With increasing funding for unmanned capabilities and new acquisition authorities enabling rapid fielding, this role is responsible for identifying opportunities early, shaping requirements, and converting operational engagement into funded programs.
The successful candidate will possess deep credibility within the Army, maintain an extensive network across operational units, acquisition organizations, laboratories, Portfolio Acquisition Executives (PAEs), Program Managers (PMs), and industry partners, and be comfortable engaging senior military leaders while operating independently.
RESPONSIBILITIES
- Strategic Growth & Business Development
- Identify, qualify, and capture opportunities across Army Commands (ACOMs), Army Service Component Commands (ASCCs), Direct Reporting Units (DRUs), Army Futures Command (AFC), Program Executive Offices (PEOs), Program Managers (PMs), Cross Functional Teams (CFTs), Army laboratories, and rapid acquisition organizations.
- Develop and execute account and capture strategies that convert operational interest into funded programs.
- Build and maintain a healthy opportunity pipeline through proactive customer engagement, budget analysis, operational awareness, and competitive intelligence.
- Identify emerging operational requirements before formal solicitations are released.
- Shape acquisition strategies supporting OTAs, SBIRs, BAAs, CRADAs, IDIQs, and other rapid acquisition pathways.
- Sales & Client Engagement
- Own opportunities from initial customer engagement through contract award.
- Plan and execute product demonstrations, operational assessments, and customer evaluations.
- Translate Soldier feedback into actionable recommendations for Engineering and Product Development.
- Maintain disciplined CRM pipeline management, ensuring customer engagements, opportunity status, capture strategies, probability of win, risks, forecasts, and next actions remain current and actionable.
- Provide accurate sales forecasts and executive-level pipeline reporting.
- Stakeholder & Government Relations
- Build and sustain trusted relationships across Army headquarters, operational units, acquisition organizations, laboratories, Program Executive Offices, Program Managers, and strategic industry partners.
- Represent Harmattan Industries at Army conferences, experimentation events, industry days, technical exchanges, and government meetings.
- Coordinate closely with Product Management, Engineering, Program Management, and Executive Leadership to align customer priorities with product development.
- Serve as the voice of the customer within the organization.
EXPERIENCE
- 3+ years of progressively responsible experience supporting the U.S. Army through operational leadership, acquisition, business development, or program management.
- Demonstrated success identifying, shaping, and capturing opportunities within the Department of the Army.
NETWORK
- Extensive, active network across the Army enterprise.
- Existing relationships with operational units, acquisition professionals, laboratories, Portfolio Acquisition Executives, Program Managers, Army Futures Command, and industry partners.
- Ability to generate customer access without relying solely on traditional marketing or cold outreach.
TECHNICAL UNDERSTANDING
- Working knowledge of autonomous systems, UAS, C-UAS, robotics, AI, sensing technologies, electronic warfare, or related defense capabilities.
- Ability to communicate technical concepts to both operational users and senior decision-makers.
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
- Proven experience navigating DoD acquisition pathways, including OTAs, SBIRs, BAAs, CRADAs, IDIQs, and rapid acquisition authorities.
- Experience developing capture strategies and managing complex, multi-stakeholder opportunities from identification through award.
COMMUNICATION
- Outstanding written and verbal communication skills with the ability to brief senior military leaders, government executives, and industry partners.
MINDSET
- Entrepreneurial, highly proactive, mission-focused, and comfortable operating with minimal oversight.
- Thrives in a fast-paced, high-growth environment where initiative, adaptability, and ownership are expected.
We look forward to hearing how you can help shape the future of autonomous defense systems at Harmattan AI.
Why work at Harmattan AI
- Culture: “Elite builders” who “thrive on complexity, move with urgency, and own their work end to end.” Emphasis on purpose, technical excellence, and real‑world impact. harmattan.ai
- Values: Tackle the hardest problems, build what matters, move at the speed of relevance, and aim to redefine frontiers. harmattan.ai
- Work policy: Hybrid model with a mix of remote and on‑site; many roles are in‑office at locations in Paris, Lausanne, London, Arlington (TX), Wissous, Poland, UAE, and Morocco. builtin.com
- Engineering culture: Hands‑on development of mission‑critical autonomous systems; strong R&D focus across AI, computer vision, RF hardware, propulsion, and mission planning.
- Perks: Not explicitly listed, but the company highlights the opportunity to protect front‑line personnel and shape the future of autonomous defence.