Vice President, Marketing

THE POSITION

Saildrone is seeking a Vice President of Marketing to join our DC Capture team. Reporting directly to the Chief Government Relations Officer, you will play a critical role in realigning our marketing apparatus to Washington, DC, and establishing the strategic architecture needed to transition Saildrone from early-stage growth to defense market maturity. We are looking for a seasoned executive leader who creates clarity from ambiguity, possesses a relentless energy to drive revenue growth, and has a proven track record of successfully dragging high-growth tech firms through the defense pivot into enterprise-level operational maturity.

THE TEAM

The Marketing Team is responsible for shaping Saildrone’s global brand, driving strategic demand generation, and positioning our platform to win major defense and federal contracts. We are focused on delivering sophisticated, scalable marketing solutions that differentiate Saildrone within a high-stakes national security and defense environment. Operating at the intersection of policy and technology, the marketing team serves as a high-discretion partner to Sales, Government Relations, and external agencies to ensure marketing directly accelerates mission success, sales and business growth.

THE RESPONSIBILITIES

• Execute the Defense Heavyweight Pivot: Develop and own the overarching marketing strategy to transition Saildrone from an early-growth brand to a mature, dominant player within the national security and defense ecosystem.
• Drive BD Alignment: Architect and execute comprehensive campaign plans and marketing strategies that directly align with macro-level Business Development (BD) objectives, moving far beyond day-to-day communications to influence long-cycle federal acquisitions.
• Optimize External Agency Partnerships: Direct and orchestrate relationships with top-tier external public relations, public affairs, and crisis communication firms; selectively leverage outside counsel to maximize impact and ensure high-fidelity delivery at scale.
• Establish Washington Governance: Realign marketing operations to the Washington, DC ecosystem, setting up foundational frameworks, metrics, and regional messaging tailored to defense stakeholders and policymakers.
• Optimize Operational Throughput: Oversee the allocation of significant marketing budgets, ensuring strict fiscal discipline, high delivery standards, and measurable ROI across all enterprise campaigns.
• Foster Executive Collaboration: Work closely with Government Relations, Sales, and executive leadership to align messaging with rapidly shifting geopolitical realities and federal procurement cycles.
• Cultivate Accountability: Establish a culture of ownership, strategic rigor, and delivery excellence across the brand, digital, and public relations functions.
• Build the Bench: Recruit, retain, and mentor a high-performing marketing organization, developing internal talent while optimizing the mix of in-house capabilities and external agency support.
• Maintain Industry Ethics: Perform all responsibilities in accordance with Saildrone values, ensuring all strategies adhere to the strict ethical, security, and quality guidelines of the defense industry.

THE QUALIFICATIONS

• Proven Enterprise Scale: 12+ years of progressive marketing experience, with a track record of serving as a VP or senior leader who has successfully scaled a company from late-early growth to mature enterprise status.
• Defense Ecosystem Expertise: Deep, verifiable domain expertise working within the Washington, DC defense, national security, and federal contracting ecosystem.
• Strategic Campaign Mastery: Demonstrated proficiency in building macro-level marketing campaign plans and business development strategies tailored for complex, long-cycle B2G/G2G sales environments.
• Sophisticated Agency Management: Proven ability to manage, direct, and collaborate with top-tier external communication and crisis management firms, maintaining absolute discretion and a focus on high-fidelity delivery.
• Macro Decision-Making: Proven ability to analyze highly complex geopolitical and market issues, making rapid strategic pivots and budget reallocations under intense time and reputational pressure.
• Executive-Level Communication: Exceptional ability to clearly communicate visionary storytelling, strategic defense positioning, and marketing ROI to board members, federal partners, and cross-functional executives.
• Fiscal Leadership: Working knowledge of managing large-scale budgets and metrics-driven marketing requirements within a high-growth, venture-backed or public defense tech organization.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

• Travel: Ability to travel domestically and internationally 20–30% of the time to support industry events, government briefings, and corporate headquarters.