Business Developer Manager

• Business Developer Manager

Simera Sense is a leading provider of Earth observation camera solutions for the global small satellite market. Committed to excellence and innovation, we deliver superior products and services to our worldwide customer base.

Are you passionate about identifying new business opportunities, building strong customer relationships, and driving sustainable revenue growth? We are seeking a strategic and results-oriented Business Development Manager to expand our market presence, develop key partnerships, and position Simera Sense's innovative solutions with customers across the global space and aerospace industry.

Position Type: Fulltime

Remote Opportunity: Hybrid

Report To: Chief Commercial Officer

Location: Cape Town, South Africa

Job Purpose:

Identify and develop opportunities, lead multi-million-dollar payload negotiations through to contract execution, establish a trusted regional ecosystem, and collaborate closely with Engineering and Product Management teams in Europe and South Africa to ensure successful delivery.

Responsibilities:

Revenue Growth & Market Expansion

• Size opportunities by segment (commercial, defence, civil) and product line, translating findings into target account lists, revenue targets and regional business plans.
• Identify, target and prospect potential clients, managing opportunities throughout the full sales cycle from qualification to contract signature.
• Drive multi-million-dollar payload contracts to signature, working with Finance, Legal and Export Control on pricing, terms and compliance.
• Lead clarification rounds, best-and-final offers and contract negotiations.
• Maintain account plans for strategic customers and identify repeat-order, upsell and cross-sell opportunities.
• Leverage regional networks to gain early visibility of programs, funding rounds and tenders.
• Report on pipeline, forecast, conversion and win/loss performance to executive leadership

Market & Customer Development

• Analyse and segment the Asian-Middle East aerospace, defence and commercial space markets, identifying and prioritising target countries and emerging ecosystems.
• Map key market stakeholders, including government agencies, ministries, satellite integrators, manufacturers, research institutes and universities.
• Tailor Simera Sense's value proposition to local regulatory requirements, cultural nuances and procurement frameworks.
• Identify and establish local partnerships, reseller relationships, representatives and teaming arrangements where required.

Customer Acquisition & Consultative Selling

• Engage with technical stakeholders to understand mission needs and operational requirements.
• Position Simera Sense's products as the optimal solution to customer mission objectives, performance requirements, schedules and budgets.
• Collaborate in technical demonstrations, deep-dives and requirements-mapping sessions.

Customer Relationships & Brand Building

• Act as the primary point of contact for regional customers, supporting evaluations and onboarding.
• Build and maintain high-level relationships with government, industry, investor and academic stakeholders.
• Represent Simera Sense at conferences, industry forums and customer site visits.
• Collaborate with Marketing to adapt thought leadership, case studies and campaigns for regional audiences.

Sales Excellence & Bid Management

• Apply structured opportunity management, including stakeholder mapping, decision-process analysis and competitive positioning.
• Lead the preparation and submission of commercial proposals and responses to complex RFPs.
• Coordinate technical, commercial, legal and pricing inputs to ensure compliant and competitive submissions.
• Develop win strategies and ensure bids are submitted accurately and on time.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Collaborate with Engineering and Product Management to scope and support customer evaluation programmes and custom payload requests.
• Translate customer requirements into clear technical briefs and communicate capabilities, constraints and lead times back to customers.
• Ensure accurate handover of contract commitments to project and production teams and remain engaged through delivery and onboarding.

Commercial Operations & Reporting

• Maintain structured records of regional deal flow, conversion metrics and sales pipelines within HubSpot.
• Ensure CRM data integrity and reliability of forecasts and dashboards.
• Plan and prioritise regional event participation and ensure timely follow-up of sales leads.

Product & Commercial Enablement

• Advise commercial and product leadership on pricing, positioning and product adjustments required for regional competitiveness

Market Intelligence & Strategic Insight

• Understand national space policies, funding programmes, industrial participation requirements, local-content expectations and procurement processes, and advise leadership accordingly.
• Monitor competitor activity, market trends, new entrants and pricing behaviour across the region.
• Maintain regional competitor battlecards and capture win/loss learnings.

Organisational Learning & Innovation

• Share market, customer and competitor insights with Sales, Marketing and Product Management teams.
• Feed structured customer and market requirements into Product Management to influence the product roadmap.
• Continuously develop knowledge of regional aerospace, defence and commercial space ecosystems to strengthen Simera Sense's market position.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, Physics, Remote sensing, Aerospace, Business or related field.

Required Experience:

• Proven track record of closing complex, high-value contracts with long sales cycles, ideally multi-million-dollar deals.
• Demonstrated experience working with Asian markets, government agencies and institutional customers, and knowledge of their procurement frameworks.
• Working knowledge of EO payloads, optical systems, satellite integration and image-quality concepts, sufficient to engage satellite engineers and scientists credibly.
• Experience leading RFP and commercial proposal responses.
• Experience using CRM systems (HubSpot) for pipeline management and reporting.
• Excellent written and verbal English.

Recommendations:

• Master's degree or MBA in Engineering, Physics, Remote Sensing, Aerospace, Business or a related field is an advantage
• A regional language (e.g. Japanese, Korean, Mandarin or Hindi) is a strong advantage

Special requirement(s):

• Flexible, largely self-directed role with regular collaboration across Asian, European and South African time zones.
• Extensive international travel across Asia is expected for customer visits, conferences, satellite forums and partner meetings, as well as periodic travel to Leuven and Cape Town.
• Early-morning or late-evening calls are likely owing to time-zone differences.

What we offer:

• The opportunity to work in the fast-growing space industry.
• Niche global market for optical payloads for microsatellites.
• Cutting-edge technology at your fingertips
• A competitive salary
• A friendly working environment.

Ready to make an impact?

• Apply now by submitting your CV and cover letter.