Director, Pre-Sales Global D&I

Welcome to Planet. We believe in using space to help life on Earth. Planet designs, builds, and operates the largest constellation of imaging satellites in history. This constellation delivers an unprecedented dataset of empirical information via a revolutionary cloud-based platform to authoritative figures in commercial, environmental, and humanitarian sectors. We are both a space company and data company all rolled into one. Customers and users across the globe use Planet's data to develop new technologies, drive revenue, power research, and solve our world’s toughest obstacles. As we control every component of hardware design, manufacturing, data processing, and software engineering, our office is a truly inspiring mix of experts from a variety of domains. We have a people-centric approach toward culture and community and we strive to iterate in a way that puts our team members first and prepares our company for growth. Join Planet and be a part of our mission to change the way people see the world. Planet is a global company with employees working remotely world wide and joining us from offices in San Francisco, Washington DC, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, and The Netherlands. About the Role:   The Director of Pre-Sales, Global Defence & Intelligence (D&I) will be responsible for leading Pre-Sales Solution Architects worldwide. This leader will deliver excellence in technical sales, account strategy, relationship building, and solution architecting tailored specifically to national security, Defence & Intelligence institutions. The mission of Pre-Sales is to provide trusted technical advice, enabling global defence customers to leverage Earth Observation data and geospatial intelligence to support critical military operations, decision-making, and strategic outcomes. The ideal candidate is an accomplished people manager, a geospatial expert with strong commercial acumen, and possesses over 10 years of experience in Defence & Intelligence. You possess a deep understanding of government defense customers, complex procurement frameworks, and military command structures. This is a visible, strategic, and highly influential global role, partnering closely with internal D&I Sales teams, Space Systems, Product Engineering, and trusted defense partner ecosystems to secure complex, large-scale government contracts. This is a full-time, remote position based in the UK or Germany. If located near an office, you are expected to work from that office 3 days per week. Impact You’ll Own: Create the conditions for high performance; recruit, coach, and develop a global team of specialized D&I Pre-Sales Solution Architects. Support global D&I sales teams and partner ecosystems by providing world-class technical sales capability to win new defense programs and expand existing accounts. Apply deep expertise in remote sensing, imagery analytics, and complex data architecture to design solutions supporting Military Operations, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) workflows. Lead high-impact customer engagements, workshops, pilots, and technical demonstrations tailored to defense commanders, intelligence analysts, and procurement officers. Collaborate closely with Global Professional Services, Program Management and Customer Success to conduct rigorous technical assessments, ensuring flawless execution from validation to operational delivery. Feed insights, security requirements, and intelligence use cases directly back to Product and Marketing to shape the product roadmap. Serve as a core member of the Global Pre-Sales & Services leadership team, shaping overarching department strategy and driving execution. What You Bring: 8+ years of relevant work experience and 6+ years of supervisory or leadership experience managing and scaling technical sales (Pre-Sales / Solution Architecture) teams. 8+ years of professional experience in a Defence & Intelligence environment. Acti