Sales Manager – Aviation, Middle East & Asia-Pacific at Spire in Glasgow

Job description

• We are seeking an ambitious, self-directed Sales Manager with a winning and growth mindset, a relentless hunter, ready to go out and build the business — to own revenue growth for Spire's aviation portfolio and bundles across the Middle East and Asia-Pacific.
• The role carries two tightly linked motions. The first is the partner ecosystem: owning and selling to the commercial defense contractors, systems integrators, application service providers, and data integrators that deliver national aviation, airspace, and security programs in these markets, the most frequent route to revenue. The second is direct sales to the civil aviation and defense agencies behind those programs.
• Your customer landscape extends beyond civil aviation: maritime security, airspace security, and multi-domain awareness users are key potential customers for Spire's data across the region. This is a high-impact, quota-carrying role for a seller who understands how governments and their delivery ecosystems buy through long procurement cycles, tenders, offsets, and partner-delivered programs. Operating with the autonomy of a regional owner, you will establish Spire as the trusted aviation data partner across two of the fastest-growing aviation markets in the world, selling a product that is, quite literally, powered by space.
• As Spire's portfolio expands, this role is also expected to grow into selling integrated products: Aviation + Weather and Aviation + RF geolocation (RFGL) signal-interference products — giving you more ways into every account.

Responsibilities

• Own the territory: Build and execute a territory plan spanning the Middle East and Asia-Pacific — mapping the contractor and integrator ecosystem, agencies, budgets, procurement vehicles, and prime relationships country by country, and prioritizing the opportunities with the highest revenue potential.
• Hunt relentlessly and exceed targets: Meet and surpass assigned quota through proactive outbound prospecting, disciplined qualification, and full-cycle execution. This is a hunting role: you create demand rather than wait for it.
• Sell to and through the partner ecosystem (B2B2G): Own relationships with commercial defense contractors, systems integrators, application service providers, and data integrators across the region — identifying, qualifying, and winning positions that embed Spire’s aviation data inside their programs, platforms, applications, and bids. Get onto bid teams before the tender publishes, secure teaming agreements, and make Spire the default data layer on recurring recompetes.
• Build the reseller channel: Structure and negotiate reselling and distribution agreements with data integrators and software companies, creating a scalable indirect revenue engine alongside your direct business.
• Sell direct to government (B2G): Uncover the operational needs of civil aviation authorities, ANSPs, defense and security agencies, maritime security and multi-domain awareness organizations, search and rescue organizations, transport ministries, and research institutions, and propose tailored solutions built on Spire’s global flight tracking, historical data, and analytics.
• Navigate government procurement: Lead responses to tenders, RFPs, and RFIs; structure deals through direct contracts, teaming agreements, and reseller or integration partnerships; and manage long, multi-stakeholder sales cycles with rigor and patience.
• Master the product: Develop deep expertise across Spire’s aviation APIs and ADS-B coverage, historical flight datasets, and their applications in airspace monitoring and security, maritime and multi-domain awareness, airport and airline operations, SAR, safety oversight, and AI model development — to communicate compelling value to technical and executive audiences alike.
• Grow into the integrated portfolio: As Spire’s offerings expand, position Aviation + Weather and Aviation + RFGL signal-interference integrated products in your accounts — capturing and qualifying customer demand signals today and feeding them to product and leadership to inform the roadmap and the timing of expansion.
• Build lasting relationships: Develop trusted, long-term relationships with contractor, integrator, and software company executives and senior government stakeholders, understanding their missions, constraints, and objectives to position Spire for multi-year engagements.
• Negotiate and close: Lead commercial negotiations on terms and pricing across government contracting frameworks, reseller and distribution agreements, and partner margins, reaching mutually beneficial deals and closing reliably.
• Manage your pipeline: Maintain an accurate, up-to-date pipeline in our CRM, forecasting rigorously and following up on every lead, tender, and opportunity.
• Know the market: Track government aviation programs, defense, airspace, and maritime security modernization initiatives, multi-domain awareness programs, competitive movements, and emerging opportunities across your regions to inform strategy and shape demand early — before tenders are published.
• Represent Spire: Raise Spire’s profile at airshows, defense and security exhibitions, and ATM and ANSP forums across the Middle East and Asia-Pacific, generating qualified opportunities and strengthening the partner ecosystem.
• Collaborate cross-functionally: Partner with product, engineering, legal, and customer success teams to align solutions with customer requirements — including data sovereignty, security, and compliance considerations for government buyers — and feed market insight back into the product roadmap.

Requirements

• A winning and growth mindset: a relentless hunter who goes out and creates opportunities, thrives on outbound pursuit, and treats every account as expandable.
• 8+ years of experience in sales or business development selling data products, SaaS, or technology solutions in the Middle East and/or Asia-Pacific.
• A proven track record selling through or alongside prime contractors, systems integrators, application service providers, resellers or data integrators (B2B2G) and to governments (B2G) — including positioning your solution as a subcontracted or embedded component of a partner-delivered program.
• Experience structuring and negotiating reselling or distribution agreements with data integrators and software companies.
• A demonstrated track record of consistently meeting or exceeding sales targets and quotas.
• Domain fluency in aviation, aerospace, defense, maritime data, or geospatial data, or deep experience selling digital transformation and analytics into government, security, or research organizations.
• The range to grow with the role: comfort expanding into commercial deal cycles and a broader, integrated product portfolio as territory scope evolves.
• A consultative, value-based selling style with excellent communication, presentation, and negotiation skills, effective from working level to minister level.
• Proven ability to build and maintain trusted relationships across cultures, time zones, and seniority levels.
• Proficiency with sales tools (e.g., Salesforce or similar CRM, LinkedIn Sales Navigator).
• Self-motivated, results-oriented, and effective working independently in a remote, globally distributed team.
• Fluent in English, and willing to travel up to 50% across the Middle East and Asia-Pacific for customer meetings, partner engagement, and industry events.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience, preferably in a high-tech field.
• Additional language skills relevant to the Middle East or Asia-Pacific regions (e.g., Arabic, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, Bahasa Indonesia/Malay, Hindi).
• Background or hands-on experience in flight operations (e.g., airline or cargo operations, dispatch, ANSP, or military flight operations).
• Experience embedding data or technology products into contractor, systems integrator, or application service provider solutions or national programs.
• Experience selling weather data, forecast services, or numerical weather prediction outputs into aviation, defense, or national meteorological customers.
• Familiarity with geospatial data, ADS-B, air traffic surveillance, RF geolocation and signal-interference detection, satellite data, or AI/analytics applications built on aviation and weather data.
• An existing network across civil aviation authorities, ANSPs, defense ministries, maritime and airspace security organizations, or the contractors and integrators that serve them in the region.

Skills

Required

• Sales or business development
• B2B2G and B2G sales
• Negotiation
• Consultative selling
• Communication and presentation
• Relationship building
• CRM proficiency (e.g., Salesforce)
• Territory planning
• Pipeline management
• Prospecting

Preferred

• Flight operations experience
• Experience selling weather data

Benefits

• Mission with impact: help governments and the ecosystems that serve them make their skies safer, more secure, and more efficient using data collected from space.
• Real ownership: a large, high-potential territory spanning two regions and a full partner ecosystem, with the autonomy to build it your way.
• A role designed to grow: a defined path into bundled Aviation + Weather and Aviation + RFGL offerings as Spire’s portfolio scales.
• Competitive compensation: base salary plus uncapped commission, and equity participation.
• Flexible, remote-first working within a collaborative, international team spanning four continents.
• Generous time off, local statutory benefits, and support for professional development. (Specific benefits vary by country of employment.)
• Access to US export-controlled software and/or technology may be required for this role. If needed, Spire will arrange the necessary licenses — this is not something candidates need to have before applying.
• Spire operates a hybrid work model, and this position will require you to work a minimum of three days per week in the office.
• Access to US export-controlled software and/or technology may be required for this role. If needed, Spire will arrange the necessary licenses—this is not something candidates need to have before applying. #LI-MI1
• 🛰️ Name Your Satellite Program (NYSP)
• 🚀 Launch Attendance
• 🌴 Generous Time Off Policy
• 🎓 Education Assistance Program
• 🥰 Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• 📈 Employee Stock Purchase Program (ESPP)
• 👣 Family Leave
• 💪 Fitness Reimbursement
• 🧡 Employee Referral Program
• 🍉 Healthy snacks & beverages in every office