[Hiring] Director of Pre-Sales, Global Defence & Intelligence @Planet

Role Description

The Director of Pre-Sales, Global Defence & Intelligence (D&I) will be responsible for leading Pre-Sales Solution Architects worldwide. This leader will deliver excellence in technical sales, account strategy, relationship building, and solution architecting tailored specifically to national security, Defence & Intelligence institutions.

The mission of Pre-Sales is to provide trusted technical advice, enabling global defence customers to leverage Earth Observation data and geospatial intelligence to support critical military operations, decision-making, and strategic outcomes.

The ideal candidate is an accomplished people manager, a geospatial expert with strong commercial acumen, and possesses over 10 years of experience in Defence & Intelligence. You possess a deep understanding of government defense customers, complex procurement frameworks, and military command structures.

This is a visible, strategic, and highly influential global role, partnering closely with internal D&I Sales teams, Space Systems, Product Engineering, and trusted defense partner ecosystems to secure complex, large-scale government contracts.

This is a full-time, remote position based in the UK or Germany. If located near an office, you are expected to work from that office 3 days per week.

Impact You’ll Own:

• Create the conditions for high performance; recruit, coach, and develop a global team of specialized D&I Pre-Sales Solution Architects.
• Support global D&I sales teams and partner ecosystems by providing world-class technical sales capability to win new defense programs and expand existing accounts.
• Apply deep expertise in remote sensing, imagery analytics, and complex data architecture to design solutions supporting Military Operations, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) workflows.
• Lead high-impact customer engagements, workshops, pilots, and technical demonstrations tailored to defense commanders, intelligence analysts, and procurement officers.
• Collaborate closely with Global Professional Services, Program Management and Customer Success to conduct rigorous technical assessments, ensuring flawless execution from validation to operational delivery.
• Feed insights, security requirements, and intelligence use cases directly back to Product and Marketing to shape the product roadmap.
• Serve as a core member of the Global Pre-Sales & Services leadership team, shaping overarching department strategy and driving execution.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of relevant work experience and 6+ years of supervisory or leadership experience managing and scaling technical sales (Pre-Sales / Solution Architecture) teams.
• 8+ years of professional experience in a Defence & Intelligence environment.
• Active Security Clearance (or eligibility to hold suitable clearance for engaging all levels of Military Command).
• Solid grasp of military planning, intelligence workflows, and how commercial Earth Observation (EO) data integrates into defense decision-making.
• Experience navigating complex government sales cycles, RFP/RFI processes, and defense contracting frameworks.
• Fluency in geospatial system architectures, cloud environments/secure deployments, API integrations, and complex data pipelines.
• Ability to engage senior defense executives, military leaders, and procurement authorities, translating technical complexity into strategic value.
• Excellent communication, organizational, and leadership skills with a track record of building resilient, high-trust teams.

What Makes You Stand Out:

• Military / Veteran Experience: Former active Armed Forces Reserve or veteran intelligence professional.
• Experience working with Sales Qualification frameworks and methodologies e.g., Challenger Sales, MEDDPICC.
• Understanding of AI-Driven Geospatial Innovation: Conversant in modern AI/ML capabilities (e.g., automated feature extraction, change detection, foundation models) and skilled at leveraging AI to demonstrate high-value intelligence outcomes to defense customers—moving beyond raw imagery to automated, actionable insights.
• Experience co-selling and architecting solutions alongside major defense prime contractors, system integrators, and international allies.

Benefits

• Paid time off including vacation, holidays and company-wide days off
• Employee Wellness Program
• Home Office Reimbursement
• Monthly Phone and Internet Reimbursement
• Tuition Reimbursement and access to LinkedIn Learning
• Equity
• Volunteering Paid Time Off

Application Deadline

November 30, 2026 at 11:59p PT