How defence buying works
The people who use the product are rarely the people who buy it. In the main European markets the armed forces say what they need and a separate agency does the buying. "A soldier can confirm that your system works in the field. That is extremely valuable, but it does not move money," says a guide to selling to the UK Ministry of Defence, written by the investor Keen Venture Partners with Robbie Hicks, a former British Army and procurement officer.
Large contracts are the slowest, and the UK government's Strategic Defence Review of 2025 says that "for projects valued above £20m, it takes 6.5 years on average for a contract to be awarded". The review sets targets of 3 months to award contracts for software and drones, against 2 years for major platforms such as ships. Where the sales job descriptions on our board mention the length of a sale they call it long, and none describes sales as fast. Helsing, the German defence AI company, asks its commercial director to "bridge the cultures of defence procurement and a fast-moving technology company".
Selling often starts before a tender, the formal invitation for suppliers to bid for a contract. EU and UK rules allow buyers to talk to suppliers before a tender, as long as no supplier gains an unfair advantage. The UK guidance names developing the buyer's requirements as one purpose of those talks. The British engine maker Greenjets writes in its job description, "This is not a traditional high-volume sales role. You will work with customers early, often before a formal procurement process begins".
From a successful trial to a purchase
Armed forces and NATO run programmes to test new technology from young companies, and places in them are scarce. NATO's accelerator, DIANA, chose 73 companies for 2025 from more than 2600 proposals.
A successful trial does not mean a purchase follows. In an interview published by the Bundeswehr in July 2024, Sven Weizenegger, then head of the German armed forces' Cyber Innovation Hub, said projects too often face a lengthy procurement process after successful tests and recommendations. He called this the "valley of death" and said that procurement and long-term funding lie outside his unit's responsibility.
"Innovation funding and procurement are separate pots with separate owners and sometimes one doesn't automatically lead to the other," Angad Singh of Keen Venture Partners told Resilience Media in July 2026.
Turning a trial into a contract is part of the sales job at some young companies. The French interceptor drone maker Alta Ares includes "Convert tactical demos and pilot deployments into scalable contracts" in a sales job description.
Germany and the UK have opened faster routes. Germany's procurement law of 2026 allows more direct awards below the EU threshold and advance payments so that startups can take on contracts. In May 2026 the UK awarded contracts of up to £4 million to 13 British companies through its accelerated contracting route, and more than half of them were new to defence.
Selling through a large defence company, often called a prime, is another route. "For some companies, a prime could be the quicker route to market," says Singh. The few job descriptions on our board that mention selling to large defence companies describe long sales cycles there too.
The different sales jobs
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Business development finds new customers.
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A capture manager leads the effort to win a specific large contract. At young companies this is often part of a business development job.
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A bid manager plans and writes the response to a tender.
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A pre-sales engineer shows the customer that the product works.
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An account manager looks after a customer after the first order.
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A partner manager sells through other companies.
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A grants manager wins public funding for development projects.
The work at young and large companies
About 1 in 3 sales jobs at young companies include running demonstrations and trials, against fewer than 1 in 10 at the large defence companies we looked at, among them Thales, Saab and QinetiQ. Passing customer needs to the product or engineering team is common at both, in more than 4 in 10 sales jobs at young companies and about 1 in 3 at the large ones. The Munich company ZeroPhase describes its sales manager as "the key person in the company who speaks to end users every day".
The large companies split more of the work between specialists. About 1 in 3 of their sales jobs are bid roles, against fewer than 1 in 10 at young companies. A bid manager at Thales leads a team of about 10 people from engineering, logistics, contracts and finance. The British company QinetiQ asks its account manager to develop opportunities "to the point that they can be handed over as qualified opportunities to the Capture team", which then runs the effort to win that contract.
If you are starting out
Jobs for people at the start of their career make up about 1 in 20 sales jobs at young companies and a similar share at the large ones. At young companies, these are mainly business development roles. MBDA and BAE Systems advertised UK placements this autumn for students and graduates in commercial teams that negotiate and manage customer contracts.
If you have a few years of sales experience
Mid-level jobs are more open to people from other industries than senior ones. At young companies, about 6 in 10 mid-level sales jobs require neither defence experience nor an existing network. Mid-level jobs typically ask for about 3 years of sales experience, often with complex or technical products. The Dutch software company Intelic writes that "Defense sector experience is a bonus, not a prerequisite".
Mid-level roles made up about 3 in 10 sales jobs at the large companies, against about 1 in 6 at young companies. About 8 in 10 of those mid-level jobs at the large companies required neither defence experience nor an existing network, and most are bid or pre-sales roles.
Steve Blank, who teaches at Stanford, argues that hiring salespeople with commercial habits "is actually a detriment, because you need to unlearn every one of those things." Blank is describing the US system, and in Europe almost 9 in 10 sales jobs at young companies involve public tenders.
If you are senior
Senior sales jobs typically ask for 5 years of experience or more. At both young and large companies, about 6 in 10 senior jobs that deal directly with customers require defence experience, and most of the rest prefer it. An existing network is required in about 4 in 10 of these jobs at young companies and about 2 in 10 at large ones. The German camera maker Kappa Optronics asks its sales manager for "a reliable and up-to-date network in the defense sector".
The job descriptions tie the network to timing. The British company Skyral asks its salesperson to "build trusted relationships well before a formal procurement process begins". "In most sectors, you can sell a good product if it works. Here, no one buys from you until you've earned their trust," writes Agris Kipurs, who runs the Latvian drone company Origin Robotics.
At the large companies we looked at, about 3 in 10 senior bid and pre-sales jobs require defence experience and none requires an existing network.
Some young companies do hire senior salespeople from other industries. The Danish counter-drone company MyDefence writes in its commercial director job description, "Experience from the defence or security industry is an advantage, but not a requirement."
Moving into sales from other professions
Engineers can move into sales through proposals and pre-sales. A job description for a proposal engineer at iComat, which makes composite parts, says, "Previous Business Development or proposal experience is useful, but it isn't essential." Consultants can look at tender roles, and the German robotics company ARX Robotics accepts a background in strategy or operations consulting for its tender manager. The British sensor company CRFS accepts "military end-user domain experience" as an alternative to business sales experience.
Where the jobs are
Germany, the UK, Poland, France and Sweden currently have the most open sales jobs on our board. When a job description mentions demonstrations or trials, ask in the interview how the company gets from a successful test to a funded purchase.
