Senior AE Defense

About the role

This is a senior sales role leading Jiga's expansion into defense manufacturing. You'll own the full sales cycle with Tier 2/3 suppliers and defense startups - companies under real pressure to fix broken supply chains and turn them into long-term production relationships.

Jiga is the professional manufacturing platform that helps the world's best companies make their products. Companies source the mission-critical parts that help them launch satellites, build robotics, and strengthen national security.

We're a fast-growing Series A, Y Combinator backed company transforming how hardware companies build their supply chains. We have strong and proven product market fit, growing exponentially YoY. Teams at companies like NASA, Collins, Archer and Leidos use our platform to get high-quality custom parts faster.

About the Role

You'll be selling to the companies that are under the most pressure to accelerate their supply chains: Tier 2/3 defense suppliers who just won contracts they can't fulfill, and defense tech startups who need parts yesterday.

These aren't enterprise sales with 18-month cycles and endless procurement committees. These are urgent, high-stakes deals where the buyer is feeling real pain and needs a solution now.

What You'll Do

Hunt and build pipeline

• Find Tier 2/3 suppliers and defense startups who are struggling with their supply chains

• Cold outbound, events, referrals, creative prospecting. Whatever it takes

• Travel to defense industry events and customer sites to build relationships

Run consultative sales cycles

• Lead discovery with supply chain leaders and engineering teams

• Understand their manufacturing pain, demo Jiga, and close deals

• Navigate procurement teams, multi-stakeholder decisions, and defense-adjacent complexity

Become the trusted expert

• Deeply understand your customers' manufacturing challenges: lead times, supplier reliability, documentation, capacity constraints

• Lead with insight. Be a trusted advisor, not just a seller

• Coordinate with ops on custom manufacturing requirements, DFM, and production timelines

Must-Haves

• Defense ecosystem experience. 6+ years in defense/government sales, BD, or roles where you sold to or worked with manufacturers serving defense.

• Manufacturing or industrial sales experience. You've sold physical products, parts, or supply chain solutions.

• Proven hunter. You've built pipeline through outbound, not just worked inbound leads.

• Proven closer. Track record of closing complex B2B deals through consultative selling.

• Startup DNA. You've worked at fast-moving, venture-backed companies.

• US citizen, US-based (defense hub preferred: LA, DC, Austin)

What you get

• Real impact - Your work directly affects whether defense companies meet their deadlines and contracts

• Ownership - Build pipeline and close deals with full autonomy

• Growth - Series A company building toward massive outcomes

• Culture - Autonomy, honesty, speed, and a no-BS environment

• Mission - Help rebuild American manufacturing capacity and strengthen national security

• Flexibility - Fully remote, async-first, results-oriented (with travel to customers and events)