Account Executive — Aerospace & Mission Systems

About this role

Account Executive — Aerospace & Mission Systems

Role Overview

Defense Unicorns is seeking an Account Executive to lead business development and revenue growth across the aerospace market, including rotary-wing aircraft, fixed-wing aircraft, and space launch systems.

This role will work with aircraft manufacturers, aerospace and defense primes, subsystem providers, mission-system integrators, launch providers, Federal Systems Integrators, and government program offices responsible for developing, modernizing, and sustaining complex aerospace platforms.

The Account Executive will identify opportunities where Defense Unicorns can help customers modernize how software is built, integrated, secured, deployed, and sustained across aerospace and mission systems.

A core focus of this role will be understanding environments where traditional platform development requires highly isolated or platform-specific engineering efforts—including SAP/SAR environments, classified systems, specialized integration laboratories, and programs where software delivery is tightly coupled to an individual platform.

The Account Executive will work closely with Solutions Architects and technical teams to help customers identify opportunities to introduce modern cloud-native software practices, DevSecOps, digital engineering, modeling and simulation, and onboard compute architectures that enable mission owners to deploy new capabilities more rapidly.

The ideal candidate understands both the aerospace acquisition ecosystem and the technical evolution occurring across modern mission systems: from vertically integrated platform software toward modular, software-defined architectures that allow mission applications and capabilities to be developed, tested, delivered, and updated independently of the underlying platform.

Key Responsibilities

• Own pipeline creation, account strategy, opportunity development, and revenue across the aerospace market, including rotary-wing, fixed-wing, and space launch programs.

• Develop strategic relationships with aerospace primes, aircraft manufacturers, launch providers, mission-system integrators, subsystem vendors, Federal Systems Integrators, and government program offices.

• Identify aerospace programs where modern software architectures can reduce platform-specific engineering, accelerate mission capability delivery, and improve software sustainment.

• Work with customers to understand how software is currently developed, integrated, tested, accredited, deployed, and maintained across their platforms.

• Identify opportunities to reduce duplicated or isolated engineering efforts across aircraft, spacecraft, test environments, integration laboratories, and mission systems.

• Understand the unique constraints associated with SAP/SAR, classified, air-gapped, disconnected, and highly controlled engineering environments.

• Work closely with Solutions Architects to map Defense Unicorns capabilities into aerospace platform architectures, mission computers, onboard compute environments, ground systems, integration facilities, and software factories.

• Develop account and opportunity strategies that connect technical modernization efforts to program priorities, funding, acquisition pathways, and mission outcomes.

• Engage early in platform modernization and next-generation aircraft or spacecraft programs where software architecture decisions are still being formed.

• Develop opportunities around modular mission-system architectures that allow mission capabilities to evolve independently of the underlying vehicle.

• Build relationships across engineering leadership, program management, digital engineering teams, software organizations, acquisition stakeholders, and executive leadership.

• Partner with Defense Unicorns Product, Engineering, Solutions Architecture, Marketing, Contracts, and leadership teams to advance strategic aerospace opportunities.

• Maintain disciplined opportunity management, including stakeholder mapping, technical fit, decision criteria, funding pathways, competitive positioning, next actions, and forecast.

• Represent Defense Unicorns at aerospace industry events, customer engagements, technical demonstrations, program reviews, and partner discussions.

• Capture recurring market requirements and customer challenges to help influence Defense Unicorns product strategy and aerospace go-to-market approach.

Mission Systems & Onboard Compute

A major focus of this role will be helping customers understand how modern onboard compute architectures can change the way mission capabilities are delivered to aircraft and other aerospace platforms.

The Account Executive should understand concepts such as Open Mission Systems and other modular mission-computing approaches that separate mission applications from tightly coupled platform software.

These architectures can enable mission owners to deploy new applications, algorithms, data-processing capabilities, autonomy, sensor integrations, or mission workflows onto existing platforms without requiring a complete redesign of the underlying aircraft or mission system.

The Account Executive will work with technical teams to identify where Defense Unicorns can support:

• Packaging and deploying mission applications onto onboard compute modules.

• Establishing repeatable and secure software deployment patterns across heterogeneous aerospace platforms.

• Managing software across ground, test, integration, and operational environments.

• Enabling mission owners to rapidly introduce new capabilities while maintaining appropriate platform and security boundaries.

• Reducing the engineering burden associated with porting software independently to every aircraft or mission system.

• Creating a consistent software delivery layer across multiple platforms, compute architectures, and security environments.

Digital Engineering, Model & Simulation

The Account Executive should understand the growing role of digital e

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