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Head of Business Development, Japan (R3905)

Shield AI· Growth Division – International Business Development / International EOR
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TokyoInternational EORPosted 7mo ago

About the role

Senior district leader responsible for driving integrated district strategy, sales growth, and program sales execution across Japan within Shield AI’s international business development efforts.

Responsibilities

  • Serve as Shield AI’s senior District representative across Japan, engaging senior military, government, and industry stakeholders while ensuring operational and regulatory compliance across activities in the district.
  • Develop and execute a unified District strategy aligned with priorities in Japan, integrating country-level efforts into coordinated campaigns and bilateral frameworks.
  • Own district quota and sales performance, including pipeline development, forecast accuracy, order intake, and opportunity execution from shaping through close.
  • Provide strategic direction and coordination for Country Business Development Leads across the District, setting priorities, driving execution discipline, and aligning stakeholder engagement and market strategy.
  • District business growth across Shield AI’s product portfolio, including V-BAT, X-BAT, ViDAR and Hivemind, ensuring alignment with product and regional leadership priorities.
  • Oversee cross-functional coordination across Business Development, Government Relations, Program Management, Legal, Contracts, PX, Marketing and Customer Operations to support successful capture, execution, and customer outcomes.
  • Ensure successful execution of active district opportunities, maintaining accountability for performance, timelines, customer satisfaction, and long-term strategic growth.
  • Build and maintain a disciplined, data-driven district pipeline and stakeholder engagement strategy to support sustained growth and follow-on business opportunities.
  • Develop and manage district partnerships, resellers, and strategic industry relationships to expand market access and accelerate operational execution.
  • Identify and mitigate political, procurement, operational, and strategic risks across the district while providing executive visibility into performance, risks, and growth outlook.

Qualifications

  • Typically requires 10+ years of experience in defence, military operations, business development, capture management, or international government relations.
  • Deep technical and operational understanding of Shield AI systems and technologies, including V-BAT, Hivemind, and X-BAT, with knowledge of operational employment concepts, payload integration, training, sustainment, and deployed operations.
  • Proven experience operating across multiple international markets within defence, aerospace, or national security environments, including navigating complex government procurement and stakeholder ecosystems.
  • Demonstrated ability to lead distributed, cross-functional teams and align senior stakeholders across multiple countries, cultures, and operational environments.
  • Strong executive presence with experience engaging senior military leadership, Ministries of Defence, U.S. Embassies/ODCs, stakeholders, and strategic industry partners in high-visibility environments.
  • Proven track record of driving pipeline development, capture strategy, and successful closure of complex, high-value defence opportunities.
  • English and Japanese language proficiency relevant to the assigned district.
  • Bachelor degree or relevant military education preferred.

Skills

Required:Defence business developmentCross-functional leadershipStakeholder engagementProduct and technology literacyBid and capture managementLanguage proficiency (English, Japanese)

Benefits

  • Our international teammates receive a comprehensive total rewards package aligned to your country office location. For full details on compensation and benefits, please consult your talent acquisition partner.
Last updated Oct 23, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.

About Shield AI

Autonomy for the world.

Our mission is to protect service members and civilians with intelligent systems.

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