Business Development Manager

About Us

Great Sky is a technology startup based in Boulder, Colorado, with a mission to rebuild AI from first principles. We are pursuing neuroscience-inspired hardware and algorithms that overcome the greatest challenges in scaling AI systems. Learn more at greatsky.ai.

Job Overview

Great Sky's CEO is the face of the company and the primary relationship-holder with customers, partners, and government stakeholders. Your job is to make every one of those conversations as effective as possible.

We're looking for a Business Development Manager to help us build and manage our commercial and government pipeline. This is a behind-the-scenes role with outsized impact. You'll identify the right people for us to talk to, prepare the CEO for customer and partner meetings, follow up on conversations, and navigate the processes that move relationships forward. You won't be the primary relationship-holder, but you'll be the reason those relationships advance.

You'll also own our government funding strategy, including identifying and applying for relevant government-funding opportunities.

Great Sky operates with founder-led sales — our CEO is the primary relationship-holder and face of the company with customers, partners, and government stakeholders. This role exists to make those relationships as effective as possible, not to replace them.

This is a full-time role based in Boulder, CO, with travel as well as flexibility for some remote work.

What You’ll Do

Pipeline and relationship management

• Build and maintain a prioritized target list of customers and partners across government agencies, hyperscalers, and startups
• Identify the right contacts within target organizations and find the best path to a conversation, including leveraging Great Sky's network of investors and supporters to get warm introductions
• Ensure the sequencing of meetings is right — knowing when to engage, who should be in the room, and how to advance a relationship without moving too fast or too slow
• Manage and organize the pipeline, tracking outreach, conversations, and follow-ups so nothing falls through the cracks
• Prepare the CEO for customer and partner meetings with research, context, talking points, and materials
• Own follow-up after meetings, including next steps, outstanding questions, and keeping momentum going
• Draft and maintain pitch materials, one-pagers, and leave-behinds in collaboration with the team

Commercial negotiations and partnerships

• Support the structuring and negotiation of commercial partnerships, working alongside legal counsel to get deals across the line
• Serve as the point person for Joint Development Agreements (JDAs) and other partnership agreements once signed, ensuring commitments are tracked and followed through
• Help set up the operational infrastructure for new partnerships so they start on the right foot
• Develop a working understanding of Great Sky's technology and how it maps to the needs of different customer segments
• Translate complex technical capabilities into accessible narratives for non-technical stakeholders
• Help the leadership team think through go-to-market sequencing and prioritization

Government funding

• Identify relevant SBIR, STTR, BAA, and other government funding opportunities
• Manage the application process end-to-end: coordinating with technical leads to ensure the right people contribute the right sections on time, managing deadlines, and keeping submissions on track. You are not writing the core technical descriptions, but you are the reason they get done
• Build relationships with program managers and contracting officers at relevant agencies
• Track deadlines, requirements, and pipeline across all active government opportunities

Market intelligence

• Stay on top of the competitive landscape, emerging trends, and shifts in the market for AI hardware and related technologies
• Develop a working understanding of the size and shape of the markets Great Sky is pursuing, including relevant applications for the government, hyperscalers, and startups
• Identify where customer needs are evolving and how Great Sky's technology maps to those needs, now and over time
• Bring market insights back to the team in a way that informs strategy and prioritization

Outcomes for the First Year

• A prioritized, actively managed target list across government, hyperscalers, and startups
• Active conversations underway with a meaningful number of qualified commercial prospects
• At least two SBIR or STTR applications submitted, with a pipeline of future opportunities identified
• A repeatable process for meeting preparation and follow-up that the CEO can rely on

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Engineering, or a related field. Master's degree or equivalent experience preferred.
• 5+ years of experience in business development, sales, partnerships, or a related commercial role, ideally at a deep tech, hardware, or government-facing company
• Demonstrated experience building and managing a commercial pipeline from scratch, including identifying targets, initiating outreach, and moving relationships through a long sales cycle
• Ability to quickly understand customer requirements, navigate technical product lines, and independently drive early pipeline development
• Demonstrated experience building and managing a commercial pipeline from scratch, including identifying targets, initiating outreach, and moving relationships through a long sales cycle
• Proven ability to project manage complex, multi-stakeholder processes with hard deadlines, including coordinating across technical and non-technical contributors
• Experience navigating and leveraging investor and stakeholder networks to open doors and generate warm introductions
• Ability to translate deeply technical work into clear, compelling narratives for non-technical audiences including customers, investors, and government stakeholders
• Strong communication and relationship-building capabilities across internal and external stakeholders
• Strong organizational skills and a bias toward follow-through; things don't slip on your watch
• Comfortable operating with high ambiguity and long feedback loops, where deals and funding cycles play out over months or years
• Experience working closely with a founder or CEO as a commercial support function, with a low-ego approach to letting leadership lead

Nice to Have

• Familiarity with AI, semiconductor, or photonics ecosystems
• Experience with CRM tools or pipeline management systems
• Prior experience at a seed or Series A deep tech company
• Existing relationships within DoE, DoD, national labs, or hyperscaler procurement teams
• Familiarity with government contracting vehicles including SBIRs, STTRs, OTAs, and BAAs, and an understanding of how federal procurement processes work
• Experience with government program manager relationships and the federal procurement process

Benefits & Perks

• Competitive compensation package (salary range: $150k – $200k, negotiable based on experience)
• Equity in our rapidly growing company
• Health, dental, vision, and life insurance options
• Flexible PTO
• Support for learning and conferences
• Collaborative, high-ownership environment in Boulder, CO

How to Apply

Send your resume and a cover letter detailing your experience and relevance to the role to [email protected]. Please put the job title in the subject line. Include a brief summary of a customer pipeline or government funding effort you've led and what you learned from it.