The Role

Valstad is seeking a Director of Business Development & Strategic Partnerships to build the commercial relationships that turn our technology into scaled production programs.

You will work directly with shipyards, vessel owners, naval architects, defense companies, autonomous-vessel developers, prime contractors, government stakeholders and other industrial partners. You will identify where Valstad can create immediate operational value, structure initial engagements, guide opportunities through technical and commercial evaluation, and convert successful projects into repeat production relationships.

This is not a conventional software-sales role. Valstad sells physical manufacturing capacity, advanced production capability and, over time, robotic manufacturing systems. Opportunities may involve customer-supplied steel, engineering data, qualification requirements, production schedules, freight constraints, inspection standards, facility integration and complex commercial relationships.

You will need to understand how customers build ships, where production is constrained, which structures are appropriate for Valstad's process, and how a partnership can be structured to improve schedule, capacity, labor productivity or program risk.

The ideal candidate combines commercial judgment with enough technical and manufacturing fluency to earn credibility with shipyard executives, program managers, engineers and production leaders. You should be comfortable originating relationships, developing opportunities from ambiguity, coordinating technical evaluations, negotiating agreements and staying involved until the promised outcome has been delivered.

What You Will Own
Market and Account Development

• Develop and execute Valstad's business-development strategy across commercial shipbuilding, defense shipbuilding, autonomous vessels and adjacent maritime markets.
• Identify the shipyards, vessel programs, customers and strategic partners where Valstad can create the greatest near-term value.
• Build relationships with senior executives, program managers, engineering leaders, production leaders, supply-chain teams and government stakeholders.
• Develop account plans for priority shipyards, vessel owners, defense primes and emerging maritime companies.
• Originate new opportunities through direct outreach, industry relationships, customer referrals, events and targeted market development.
• Build a qualified pipeline based on actual production requirements, customer urgency, technical fit and likelihood of award.
• Maintain a clear understanding of relevant vessel programs, production schedules, backlog, capacity constraints and sourcing decisions.
• Identify opportunities before they become formal solicitations.
• Develop relationships early enough to shape technical requirements, sourcing strategies and commercial structures.
• Determine where Valstad should act as a supplier, manufacturing partner, technology provider, subcontractor or strategic collaborator.
• Avoid spending company resources on opportunities that lack urgency, funding, technical fit or a credible path to award.

Customer Discovery and Opportunity Qualification

• Conduct detailed discovery with customer leadership, engineering, production, quality and procurement teams.
• Understand the customer's current manufacturing process and identify the actual source of schedule, labor, throughput or quality constraints.
• Identify candidate panels, assemblies, modules or other structures that fit Valstad's production capabilities.
• Gather the information required for technical evaluation, including CAD models, drawings, material specifications, welding requirements, inspection criteria, delivery schedules and production quantities.
• Work with Valstad engineering and manufacturing teams to assess technical feasibility and production readiness.
• Distinguish between opportunities that can proceed using existing capabilities and those requiring new engineering, equipment, qualification or process development.
• Quantify the operational and economic value Valstad can provide.
• Develop business cases based on schedule improvement, capacity expansion, labor reduction, capital avoidance, throughput, cost and program-risk reduction.
• Understand customer decision processes, budgets, procurement pathways and internal stakeholders.
• Identify the commercial, technical and organizational conditions required to close each opportunity.
• Maintain clear qualification criteria and recommend when opportunities should be advanced, paused or declined.

Deal Development and Commercial Structuring

• Own opportunities from initial engagement through agreement, award and expansion.
• Develop proposals, statements of work, pricing structures, partnership frameworks and executive presentations.
• Structure paid pilots that prove technical and operational value while creating a path to larger production commitments.
• Negotiate commercial terms in coordination with Valstad leadership and legal counsel.
• Develop deal structures that appropriately account for:
  
  • Non-recurring engineering
  • Tooling and fixture development
  • Qualification and testing
  • Customer-supplied versus Valstad-supplied material
  • Production quantities and capacity commitments
  • Delivery schedules
  • Freight and logistics
  • Inspection and acceptance
  • Payment milestones
  • Intellectual property
  • Exclusivity
  • Warranty and liability
• Establish deposits, progress payments and other commercial protections appropriate for an early-stage manufacturer.
• Structure initial programs so that successful execution naturally expands into repeat production.
• Develop long-term supply agreements, capacity reservations, framework agreements and strategic partnerships where appropriate.
• Coordinate closely with finance and operations to ensure proposed pricing and terms reflect actual delivery costs and risk.
• Maintain disciplined control over proposal assumptions and commitments.
• Ensure that Valstad does not make commercial promises that engineering or manufacturing cannot reliably deliver.

Strategic Partnerships

• Develop partnerships with shipyards that want additional capacity without large upfront capital investments.
• Structure relationships that allow Valstad to complement existing shipyard labor and facilities rather than create unnecessary competitive tension.
• Identify partnerships involving:
  
  • Outsourced panel and structural production
  • Dedicated manufacturing capacity
  • Customer-funded process development
  • Joint qualification
  • Technology deployment
  • Local or regional production
  • Government-supported modernization
  • Teaming on vessel programs
• Build relationships with naval architects, design firms, classification organizations, defense primes and maritime suppliers that can increase Valstad's access to programs.
• Develop relationships with steel suppliers, equipment providers, logistics companies and other organizations that strengthen Valstad's ability to deliver.
• Identify government, state, regional and industry programs that could support customer adoption or manufacturing expansion.
• Lead early discussions regarding deployment of Valstad robotic cells into partner facilities.
• Develop partnership models that align incentives and protect Valstad's technology, economics and strategic position.
• Ensure strategic agreements produce concrete operational or commercial value rather than becoming inactive memoranda of understanding.

Defense and Government Opportunities

• Develop Valstad's pipeline across defense shipbuilding, unmanned maritime systems and other national-security applications.
• Build relationships with defense shipyards, prime contractors, program offices, research organizations and relevant government stakeholders.
• Identify opportunities through prime contractors, shipyard partners, subcontracting relationships and direct government engagement.
• Support capture planning for funded defense opportunities.
• Understand applicable acquisition pathways, contracting structures and budget cycles.
• Coordinate responses to requests for information, requests for proposals, white papers and other government or prime-contractor solicitations.
• Work with internal and external experts on proposal development, pricing, compliance and contracting.
• Help identify and pursue opportunities involving SBIR, STTR, OTA, research, industrial-base or manufacturing-modernization funding.
• Maintain awareness of qualification, cybersecurity, export-control, quality and contracting requirements that may affect an opportunity.
• Separate genuine funded demand from general expressions of government interest.
• Build a credible path from demonstration or research funding to production revenue.

Commercial Shipbuilding and Maritime Markets

• Develop relationships with inland, commercial and specialty shipbuilders.
• Identify opportunities in barges, workboats, ferries, offshore vessels, autonomous vessels and other steel maritime structures.
• Understand customer requirements for cost, delivery, inspection, classification and production flexibility.
• Position Valstad as a source of flexible manufacturing capacity for yards experiencing backlog, labor constraints or schedule pressure.
• Develop repeatable offerings for common structural products and customer segments.
• Identify opportunities where Valstad can produce structures faster or more economically than conventional internal production.
• Build partnerships with vessel owners and developers that influence sourcing decisions.
• Help customers understand how design choices and data quality affect robotic manufacturability.
• Convert successful first articles into recurring production work.

Pipeline Management and Forecasting

• Build and maintain a disciplined CRM process.
• Track accounts, opportunities, stakeholders, technical requirements, next actions, risks, estimated value and expected timing.
• Define clear opportunity stages and exit criteria.
• Maintain realistic forecasts based on customer evidence rather than optimism.
• Conduct regular pipeline reviews with company leadership.
• Identify the specific action required to advance each priority opportunity.
• Track leading indicators such as:
  
  • Qualified customer meetings
  • Technical-data packages received
  • Feasibility assessments completed
  • Paid pilots proposed
  • Proposals submitted
  • Commercial terms agreed
  • Awards received
  • Pilot-to-production conversion
  • Repeat bookings
• Develop bookings, revenue and capacity forecasts with finance and operations.
• Ensure the commercial pipeline can be translated into credible production and hiring plans.
• Build systems that can support a larger business-development and capture organization over time.

Customer and Internal Leadership

• Serve as a senior commercial representative of Valstad.
• Communicate Valstad's technical capabilities clearly without exaggerating maturity or performance.
• Translate customer needs into actionable internal requirements.
• Bring engineering and manufacturing leaders into customer discussions at the right time.
• Prepare internal teams before customer meetings and document decisions afterward.
• Maintain a clear record of customer commitments, assumptions and unresolved questions.
• Coordinate executive briefings, facility tours, demonstrations and production reviews.
• Communicate setbacks, delivery risks and technical limitations directly and professionally.
• Develop trusted relationships that survive inevitable challenges during new-product introduction.
• Help the company develop positioning, sales materials, case studies and customer references.
• Provide structured voice-of-customer input to company strategy, product development and manufacturing priorities.
• Represent Valstad at relevant industry events, conferences and customer locations.

Initial Priorities
First 30 Days

• Develop a working understanding of Valstad's technology, production process, cost structure and current capabilities.
• Learn which structures can be produced today and which require additional development.
• Review the current customer pipeline, active discussions, proposals and strategic relationships.
• Meet current customers, prospects and important industry partners.
• Develop a clear account map for priority commercial and defense opportunities.
• Implement a consistent CRM structure and opportunity-qualification process.
• Identify the ten highest-priority accounts and the next action required for each.
• Begin taking ownership of customer follow-up and commercial coordination.
• Build a factual view of where ne