Business Development Lead
Skyroot
About Us
Job Description
Executive Summary:
Skyroot Aerospace is India’s leading spacetech startup developing world-class launch vehicles for the small-satellite segment. We are preparing for the maiden launch of Vikram-1, India’s first private orbital class vehicle. As we commence our commercial operations, we are seeking an accomplished Lead – Business Development to own revenue generation, partnerships and customer success for orbital launch services.
Role Purpose:
Drive topline growth by converting the Vikram launch vehicle family into the preferred ride to Low-Earth Orbit for commercial, civil-government and defence customers worldwide. The role spans the complete sales life-cycle—from market strategy and lead generation through contract execution and long-term account management.
Key Responsibilities:
- Build and execute the multi-year commercial launch sales strategy, including annual revenue, backlog and margin targets.
- Identify, qualify and close new business with satellite operators, manufacturers, space agencies, constellation primes and rideshare aggregators.
- Own end-to-end customer engagements: requirements capture, orbit and mass trade-offs, mission design coordination, pricing, proposal preparation, and negotiation of Launch Service Agreements (LSAs).
- Maintain a robust opportunity pipeline in CRM; prepare accurate forecasts, win–loss analyses and executive briefings.
- Monitor global launch-market dynamics—pricing, regulatory changes, competitor capabilities—and brief leadership on strategic implications.
- Represent Skyroot at international conferences, trade shows, launch campaigns and customer site visits; host VIP delegations at the Hyderabad headquarters.
- Build, mentor and scale a high-performing business-development team as flight rates increase.
Required Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical or related Engineering discipline; Master’s in Engineering or MBA is advantageous.
- Minimum 12 years’ experience in B2B technical sales or business development, with at least 5 years selling high-value, complex hardware or services (space, defence, avionics, satellites or adjacent sectors).
- Prior international experience is must.
- Proven track record of closing multi-stakeholder, cross-border contracts.
- Expertise in contract law, ITAR/EAR, export controls and IN-SPACe/ISRO customer interfaces.
- Proficiency with Hubspot (or similar CRM), MS-Office/Google Workspace.
- Excellent negotiation, relationship-building and communication abilities; fluency in English (additional languages a plus).
- Willingness to travel.
Preferred Attributes:
- Prior experience working at a launch provider, satellite OEM, or space consultancy.
- Established network within commercial and governmental small-satellite markets.
- Familiarity with rideshare aggregation platforms and multi-manifest campaign planning.
- Start-up or scale-up mindset—comfort with rapid iteration, ambiguity and lean resources.
What Skyroot Offers:
- Opportunity to shape India’s private space sector and influence global access to space.
- Fast-growing, mission-driven culture that combines deep engineering heritage with entrepreneurial agility.
- Competitive compensation with performance incentives, employee stock options and comprehensive benefits.