Account Executive - Aerospace & Mission Systems

Job Description

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 engineering across aerospace programs.

This includes familiarity with how modeling and simulation, digital twins, hardware-in-the-loop environments, software-in-the-loop environments, integration laboratories, and digital engineering ecosystems contribute to the development and sustainment of aerospace platforms.

The role will identify opportunities where software infrastructure can help connect these environments and create more consistent workflows from development through integration and operational deployment.

The Account Executive should be able to engage customers around questions such as:

• How can software move consistently from a developer environment into model and simulation, integration labs, flight test, and operational systems?

• How can programs reduce differences between engineering, testing, and operational environments?

• How can digital twins and simulated environments support faster development and validation of mission software?

• How can software artifacts be securely promoted between security boundaries and isolated environments?

• How can programs create repeatable DevSecOps pipelines while operating across disconnected or highly controlled networks?

• How can capabilities validated in a digital engineering environment be more easily transitioned onto operational platforms?

DevSecOps & Software Delivery

The Account Executive should be familiar with modern DevSecOps practices and how they apply within aerospace programs.

This includes understanding the challenges of delivering software into environments where traditional enterprise cloud patterns may not apply, including classified networks, disconnected systems, onboard compute, integration laboratories, embedded environments, and aircraft or spacecraft operating at the tactical edge.

The role does not require the Account Executive to be the technical architect, but they must have enough technical fluency to recognize where software delivery, containerization, orchestration, artifact management, security, and automation can materially change the economics and speed of a program.

Working in SAP/SAR & Isolated Environments

Many aerospace programs require development and integration efforts to operate inside highly restricted or isolated environments.

The Account Executive should understand the business and engineering implications of Special Access Programs, Special Access Required environments, classified networks, air-gapped systems, and other restricted development environments.

They should recognize the operational impact when each program or platform requires its own isolated software factory, integration workflow, tooling stack, or engineering team.

A key part of the role will be identifying opportunities to create reusable patterns, software components, deployment approaches, and architectures that allow customers to maintain required isolation while reducing unnecessary duplication across programs.

Partnership With Solutions Architecture

The Account Executive will operate in close partnership with a Solutions Architect.

The Account Executive owns the business and account strategy, including:

• Identifying strategic programs and customers.

• Developing executive and program-level relationships.

• Understanding acquisition and funding pathways.

• Building the opportunity and competitive strategy.

• Navigating partner and prime relationships.

• Drivin