Head of Federal

About the role

ABOUT AUSTIN SENSING COMPANY Austin Sensing Company builds radar, acoustic, and RF sensors for defense, public safety, critical infrastructure, and autonomous systems. We design and manufacture our hardware in Austin, Texas, with a focus on making high-performance sensing reliable, affordable, and widely available. ABOUT THE ROLE We’re hiring a Head of Federal to lead defense sales in the United States and internationally. You’ll own our defense pipeline, build relationships with military customers, and turn operational interest into funded programs and signed contracts. This is a hands-on sales leadership role. You’ll work directly with the founders, engineers, and deployment engineers to get our products in front of the right customers, demonstrate their capabilities, and move opportunities through procurement. Your responsibility extends from the first conversation through contract award and expansion. We’re looking for someone who understands how defense customers buy, has earned credibility with operators and acquisition teams, and has personally closed business. You should be comfortable meeting a military unit in the field, discussing requirements with a program office, and negotiating a contract. Domestic and international travel required. WHAT YOU’LL DO - Own defense sales strategy and pipeline across U.S. and international markets. - Build relationships with military units, program offices, acquisition teams, and allied defense customers. - Identify opportunities where our radar, acoustic, and RF sensors meet an operational need and have a credible path to funding. - Develop account and capture plans that identify decision-makers, requirements, budgets, procurement routes, and next steps. - Lead customer conversations, product presentations, proposals, negotiations, and contract pursuits. - Work with deployment engineers to plan demonstrations and evaluations at military bases, training sites, and customer locations. - Convert successful evaluations into purchases, follow-on orders, and broader adoption. - Develop relationships with prime contractors, integrators, and international partners that can help us reach customers and win business. - Bring customer requirements and field feedback to engineering, helping the team prioritize product improvements. - Coordinate with counsel and internal teams on export requirements and international sales. - Build and lead the defense sales team as the business grows. WHAT YOU’LL BRING - 7+ years of relevant experience in defense sales, business development, or capture, with direct responsibility for winning business. - A record of closing defense contracts and growing customer accounts. - Strong knowledge of U.S. defense procurement, funding cycles, and acquisition processes. - Experience selling internationally to allied defense customers or working with partners to pursue those opportunities. - Established relationships with military operators, acquisition professionals, or defense industry partners. - The ability to distinguish customer interest from a funded opportunity and build a realistic plan to close. - Experience selling technical hardware or systems and working closely with engineering teams. - Strong negotiation skills and clear communication. - Willingness to travel frequently within the United States and overseas for customer meetings, demonstrations, and field evaluations. PREFERRED EXPERIENCE - Experience selling radar, sensing systems, counter-UAS technology, or related defense products. - Experience taking a product from an initial military evaluation to repeat orders or a larger program. - Familiarity with both direct commercial sales and government-to-government pathways for international defense purchases. - Experience working with prime contractors and integrating products into larger defense systems. - Experience building a defense sales function at an early-stage company. BENEFITS - 401(k) - Insurance benefits - Lunch and dinner served daily