UAE Armed Forces & Defense Account Executive

About the role

Planet, a space and data company that designs, builds and operates a constellation of imaging satellites, is hiring a UAE Armed Forces & Defense Account Executive. Based in the UAE (Abu Dhabi preferred), the role manages Planet's strategic relationship with the UAE Armed Forces, the Ministry of Defence and allied defense and national security stakeholders, while driving customer acquisition and expansion of broad-area monitoring, high-resolution tasking and automated search capabilities. It is a full-time remote role with frequent local presence and direct stakeholder engagement in Abu Dhabi and across the Emirates.

Key responsibilities

• Own and advance relationships with the UAE Armed Forces, Joint Operations Command, the Ministry of Defence and national security entities, partnering with Professional Services and Customer Success.
• Identify, qualify, negotiate and close high-value, complex deals to expand satellite imagery, automated analytics and AI-enabled earth observation solutions.
• Target and capture defense programs of record, joint procurement opportunities and strategic initiatives with regional defense primes and system integrators.
• Meet or exceed regional revenue quotas, keep pipeline hygiene in Salesforce.com and provide quarterly and annual revenue forecasts.
• Build technical command of Planet's Earth Observation constellation, analytics feeds and AI capabilities to match military ISR and border/maritime surveillance priorities.
• Work with Pre-Sales/Solutions Engineers to deliver demonstrations, architect custom proposals and secure technical wins with senior military and procurement stakeholders.

Required profile

• 6+ years of operational or technical experience in defense, intelligence or national security (e.g. military staff, defense procurement, government defense contracting).
• 6+ years of enterprise SaaS, DaaS or geospatial data sales, with a track record of closing complex, multi-year government deals.
• Bachelor's degree in business, engineering, international relations or a related field, or commensurate experience.
• Deep understanding of UAE government and defense procurement cycles, evaluation boards and multi-agency approvals.
• Ability to source opportunities, run deep mission discovery, manage multi-stakeholder relationships and negotiate structured pricing.
• Excellent written, verbal and interpersonal communication, able to brief senior military leadership and technical end-users.
• Self-starter who works independently under tight deadlines.

What makes you stand out

• Established network across UAE Armed Forces branches, the MoD and sovereign defense leaders.
• Background in Earth Observation, Remote Sensing, GIS/C4ISR or military space operations.
• Fluent Arabic and English, spoken and written.
• Master's degree or professional certifications in defense studies, aerospace/geospatial engineering or business administration.

What we offer

• Paid time off including vacation, holidays and company-wide days off.
• Employee wellness program.
• Home office reimbursement and monthly phone and internet reimbursement.
• Tuition reimbursement and access to LinkedIn Learning.
• Equity.
• Volunteering paid time off.