About this role
Planet designs, builds, and operates the largest constellation of imaging satellites in history to deliver empirical information via a cloud-based platform to commercial, environmental, and humanitarian sectors. The Director of Sales, Middle East will lead the regional sales organization, drive the Go-To-Market strategy, and accelerate revenue growth across national security, defense, and government sectors. In this capacity, the leader will build executive relationships across defense ministries and key contractors while positioning the Earth observation platform as an essential capability for mission-critical operations.
Candidates should possess deep defense domain expertise, a track record of managing high-performing teams in the region, and an established executive network across Defense Ministries, Intelligence Agencies, and Prime Contractors. The ideal person combines strategic commercial acumen with an understanding of national security priorities, operating effectively within the United Arab Emirates as a remote team member.
What you will do
- Drive strategic revenue growth by owning and executing a Go-To-Market strategy to build, negotiate, and close complex deals across sovereign defense and government sectors.
- Maintain rigorous pipeline hygiene in Salesforce.com and deliver accurate, data-driven revenue forecasts to executive leadership.
- Engineer tailored capture strategies and executive narratives that align with agency-level priorities and win competitive procurements.
- Build, mentor, and scale a high-performing sales team while establishing a culture of accountability and continuous professional development.
- Train and inspect direct reports on core sales methodologies and capture frameworks such as MEDDPICC and Shipley.
- Orchestrate collaboration across internal matrix teams including Government Affairs, Product, Engineering, and Field Marketing.
- Partner with Pre-Sales and Solutions Engineering to secure technical wins and collaborate with Post-Sales teams for customer onboarding and retention.
What you need
- Bring 8+ years of experience with a track record of driving revenue growth, building high-performing teams, and exceeding quotas.
- Possess 6+ years of progressive leadership and management experience recruiting, mentoring, and retaining top-tier talent.
- Demonstrate deep experience establishing pipeline discipline, accurate revenue forecasting, and deal inspection using Salesforce.com and modern sales methodologies.
- Have an extensive background navigating complex government and defense procurement frameworks across the Middle East, with a focus on the UAE, KSA, Oman, and Bahrain.
- Maintain an established C-level network across Ministries of Defense, Intelligence Agencies, and Tier-1 Prime Contractors in the MENA region.
- Show a deep understanding of how commercial technology and advanced data feeds support sovereign defense and national security missions.
Nice to have
- 5+ years of progressive sales leadership and enterprise business development experience within defense, national security, or government technology sectors
- Deep operational understanding of defense domain priorities, sovereign procurement frameworks, and agency decision-making processes across the UK and EMEA regions
- Experience managing complex, multi-year deal cycles with disciplined capture frameworks and pipeline governance
- Fluency in both English and Arabic
Benefits
- Paid time off including vacation, holidays and company-wide days off
- Employee Wellness Program
- Home Office Reimbursement
- Monthly Phone and Internet Reimbursement
- Tuition Reimbursement and access to LinkedIn Learning
- Equity
Skills and tech stack
Questions candidates ask
What is the remote work policy for this position?
This is a full-time, remote position based in the United Arab Emirates. If located near an office, you are expected to work from that office 3 days per week.
What compensation is associated with this role?
The salary details are not specified, but this role is eligible to receive commission.
What tools and sales frameworks are used by the team?
The team utilizes Salesforce.com for pipeline governance and follows core sales methodologies and capture frameworks such as MEDDPICC and Shipley.
What benefits are provided to employees?
Offerings include paid time off, an employee wellness program, home office reimbursement, monthly phone and internet reimbursement, tuition reimbursement, access to LinkedIn Learning, and equity, though benefits depend on employment type and geographical location.