Principal Business Development Lead (Unmanned Systems)

L3Harris is dedicated to recruiting and developing high-performing talent who are passionate about what they do. Our employees are unified in a shared dedication to our customers’ mission and quest for professional growth. L3Harris provides an inclusive, engaging environment designed to empower employees and promote work-life success. Fundamental to our culture is an unwavering focus on values, dedication to our communities, and commitment to excellence in everything we do.

L3Harris is the Trusted Disruptor in defense tech. With customers’ mission-critical needs always in mind, our employees deliver end-to-end technology solutions connecting the space, air, land, sea and cyber domains in the interest of national security.

Job Title: Principal Business Development Lead (Unmanned Systems)

Job Location: Europe

Job Description:

The Unmanned Systems Business Development Leader will be responsible for identifying, developing, and growing strategic opportunities within the unmanned (UAV/UAS, UGV, USV, and other UxS) and Counter-Unmanned Systems (C-UAS) market for the Mission Critical Communications (MCC) sector.

This role combines technical knowledge, customer engagement, and strategic relationship-building to drive adoption of company products and technologies across key unmanned platforms and manufacturers. The successful candidate will shape customer requirements, expand integrations across leading UxS partners, and support innovation aligned with emerging market needs.

Key Responsibilities

• Build, strengthen, and manage relationships with key international customers, platform providers, and other strategic accounts.
• Gather and translate customer requirements into actionable insights to guide product integration and differentiation strategies.
• Drive customer demand and product adoption through consistent engagement, solution development, and value-based communication.
• Develop and expand relationships with major UxS platform manufacturers and technical leadership teams.
• Understand the Counter-UAS market, technologies, industry partners, and competitors.
• Drive product integrations into strategically important unmanned platforms and front-runner technologies.
• Collaborate with internal engineering and product teams to support platform certifications, integration cycles, and joint development efforts.
• Enable benefits for international customers through expanded ecosystem partnerships.
• Provide input to internal product roadmaps based on vendor requirements, market trends, and integration opportunities.
• Support continuous innovation by identifying emerging unmanned capabilities, payload needs, and accessory opportunities.
• Maintain a strong understanding of unmanned industry developments to guide fast-paced, competitive product and technology decisions.
• Ensure business goals and Annual Operation Plan objectives are met.
• Direct and cross-functional leadership position and skills required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 12 years of relevant work experience, or
• Graduate degree or equivalent with a minimum of 10 years of relevant work experience.
• In lieu of a degree, a minimum of 16 years of relevant work experience in a similar field.
• Experience within the unmanned systems industry, including familiarity with UxS platforms, payloads, sensors, and integration workflows.
• Proven experience developing new international business (outside the USA), including B2B collaborations with prime contractors, startups, and other key customers.
• Strong customer-facing skills, including relationship development, requirements capture, and solution positioning.
• Demonstrated Business-to-Business (B2B) experience and the ability to drive partnerships and strategic engagements.
• Excellent communication, presentation, negotiation, and cross-functional leadership skills.
• Ability to travel up to 50% internationally, including to the United States.

Preferred Additional Skills

• Experience working with international militaries, government agencies, or international defense markets.
• Established network within the unmanned systems manufacturing ecosystem.
• Experience integrating hardware, sensors, or communications technologies onto UxS platforms.
• Experience in C-UAS technologies, markets, and companies.
• NATO Secret clearance preferred.

Important to know

Due to the nature of our work, many of our roles require that candidates are eligible for a security clearance.

Applicants who accept a conditional offer of employment must meet the requirement of the right to work in the Netherlands and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information. Additionally, they will be subject to government security checks.

The gross annual salary for this position ranges from EUR 68,000 to EUR 115,000 (based on a 40-hour work week), excluding the 8% holiday allowance, depending on the candidate's relevant experience and qualifications.

This listing was sourced from 4dayweek.io.