Commercial Sales Manager

Role Overview: We are looking to grow the Commercial Sales team at Aalyria. Reporting to the Head of Commercial Sales, you will be the primary lead in the sales process, driving the customer journey through pre-sales process and post-sales growth. You will work directly with prospective and existing customers to understand their network environments, architect compelling solutions, and drive every stage of the deal from discovery through close. This is a hands-on, customer-facing role that requires both technical credibility and commercial awareness. You will be the person in the room who can understand the technical and business needs of customers, run a live demo, lead responses to RFPs, and drive the deal to close. You will work across defense, commercial satellite, and emerging 5G NTN verticals, and you will partner closely with the broader sales, product, and engineering teams to continuously improve how Aalyria goes to market. Key Responsibilities: Pre-Sales Leadership: Drive the full pre-sales journey, managing the end-to-end process from initial qualification through technical validation and handoff, ensuring seamless alignment between customer requirements and Aalyria’s technical value proposition. Market & Competitive Positioning: Maintain a sophisticated understanding of the competitive landscape. Distill complex technical and market trends into battlecards and positioning materials that equip the team to effectively differentiate Aalyria. Consultative Expertise: Build trust with decision-makers by demonstrating both platform fluency and a nuanced understanding of the regulatory and operational landscapes in our target markets. Voice of the Customer: Act as the critical bridge between the field and Engineering/Product. Translate specific customer feedback and industry-wide technical trends into prioritized roadmap inputs that accelerate product-market fit. Strategic Technical Discovery: Lead high-impact discovery sessions with a deep technical focus. Analyze prospect network architectures and operational requirements within target industries (aerospace, defense, 5G NTN), translating complex needs into actionable solution requirements. Required Qualifications: Experience: 7+ years in a Sales, Business Development, Solutions Architecture, Sales Engineering, or equivalent customer-facing technical role within a B2B technology, deep-tech, or hard science industry. Communication: Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Able to explain technically complex concepts clearly and concisely to both engineering and executive audiences. Strong proposal and technical writing ability. Commercial Instinct: Understanding of the B2B sales process and what it takes to advance and close complex, multi-stakeholder deals. You know how to keep engagement aligned with deal momentum. Technical Depth: Demonstrated ability to understand and discuss complex technical systems at a meaningful level of detail, sufficient to understand customers’ business and their expected outcomes, evaluate trade-offs, and identify opportunities and risks. Familiarity with networked systems, distributed platforms, or infrastructure software is strongly valued. Self-Direction: Comfortable managing multiple concurrent engagements with varying levels of urgency. Able to prioritize, operate independently, and bring structure to ambiguous situations. Preferred Qualifications: Background in industries where buyers have strong engineering or scientific backgrounds, such as aerospace, defense systems, advanced networking, energy technology, RF/communications, or scientific instrumentation. Familiarity with satellite communications systems, multi-orbit network architectures, or 5G/NTN integration concepts. Experience with network management, SDN, or cloud-native infrastructure platforms. Experience building or contributing to demo environments, sandboxes, or technical evaluation infrastructure. Prior experience at a venture-backed deep-tech or hard-science startup where the sales cycle involved significant technical evaluation. Combination of engineering and sales experience. What We Offer: Innovative Environment: Work at a cutting-edge company shaping the future of aerospace communications. Impactful Work: Directly contribute to critical national security programs and initiatives. Growth Opportunities: Expand your career with opportunities for professional development and advancement. Inclusive Culture: Be part of a collaborative, supportive, and inclusive workplace where your contributions matter. Flexibility: Flexible working arrangements including hybrid remote/in-office schedules. Compensation and Equity: Competitive salary, comprehensive benefits (401(k), dental, vision, health, life insurance), paid time off, and equity options. ITAR/EAR Requirements: This position involves access to export-controlled information. To comply with U.S. government export regulations, applicants must meet one of the following criteria: (A) Qualify as a U.S. person, which includes: U.S. citizen or national U.S. lawful permanent resident (green card holder) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. 1157 Asylee under 8 U.S.C. 1158 (B) Be eligible to access export-controlled information without requiring an export authorization. (C) Be eligible and reasonably likely to obtain the necessary export authorization from the appropriate U.S. government agency. The company reserves the right to decline pursuing an export licensing process for legitimate business-related reasons. Equal Opportunity Employer Statement: Aalyria is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Qualified applicants from all backgrounds are encouraged to apply. About Aalyria: Aalyria is a leading technology company that supplies laser communications technology and temporospatial software-defined networking platforms to the aerospace industry. With technology acquired from Google, Aalyria is at the forefront of innovation in satellite and airborne mesh networks, as well as cislunar and deep-space communications. We are revolutionizing the orchestration and management of planetary mesh networks using any radio or optical spectrum, any orbit, and any hardware across land, sea, air, and space.