[Hiring] Strategic Business Development Lead @Second Front Systems

Role Description

Second Front Systems is seeking a hunter-oriented, market-signal-driven, highly disciplined Strategic Business Development Lead to anchor our EMEA commercial organization as our inaugural dedicated hire for continental Europe. This is an individual-contributor role reporting directly to the Head of EMEA.

You’ll be operating in a nascent market with no inherited playbook. You will be responsible for:

• Creating qualified pipeline
• Opening target accounts
• Qualifying buying paths
• Closing net-new deals across commercial software vendors, government customers, and regulated enterprises

You’ll pressure-test our target customer profile and buying paths through:

• Direct prospecting
• Named-account work
• Live opportunities

In short: you’ll be the organization’s primary route to European market entry and scaled commercial revenue.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of business development, enterprise sales, or capture experience, including complex B2B and B2G technology sales across European markets
• A demonstrated track record of personally opening accounts and creating net-new pipeline in commercial software, cloud, infrastructure, or technology deals spanning commercial and government buyers
• A strong hunter profile, with evidence of closing complex deals and distinguishing genuine revenue opportunity from access and activity
• Experience selling technically demanding enterprise products to both commercial and government customers
• Commercial exposure to European defense, govtech, or regulated industries — or to technology vendors selling into those markets
• Proven ability to operate across multiple European procurement cultures and work fluently with commercial executives, technical evaluators, and government decision-makers
• A credible network in at least one relevant European ecosystem, with clear capacity to expand beyond it
• Strong CRM, qualification, account-planning, and forecasting discipline
• Fluent English; willingness to travel regularly across continental Europe
• EU residency with valid work authorization

Requirements

• Own opportunities from initial contact through contract signature
• Build a qualified pipeline across commercial software vendors, government entities, and regulated enterprises
• Run named-account coverage through direct prospecting, referrals, and partner channels
• Map government and defense pursuits — mission needs, buyer roles, budget cycles, procurement vehicles, and decision criteria
• Identify the lighthouse customers in Europe that establish accreditable proof points and unlock adjacent accounts
• Validate ideal customer profiles, pricing, and buying paths through live opportunities
• Assess routes to revenue via hyperscalers, sovereign cloud providers, primes, and systems integrators
• Coordinate with our nascent continental technical and delivery teams as qualified opportunities move through discovery and evaluation
• Translate quarterly business targets into regional deployment roadmaps
• Broker alignment between the sales pipeline and operations capacity
• Keep go-to-market messaging in sync with our compliance posture

Benefits

• The base salary for this position will fall between €150,000 and €180,000
• This is a quota-carrying role with a variable component tied to revenue targets and first-year MBOs
• Total on-target earnings (OTE) will be finalized during the interview process based on the final compensation structure
• Actual base compensation will depend on professional background, technical proficiency, seniority, and regional cost factors
• This role is also eligible for equity awards and discretionary bonuses as part of a broader total rewards package

Equal Opportunity

Second Front Systems is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.