Business Development Manager

About the Role

Put simply, we set the standards by which everything is measured. In doing so, the National Physical Laboratory is directly helping innovators and industrialists to make ground breaking discoveries, adopt novel technologies and scale up manufacturing processes for economic impact, productivity and national prosperity.

DEFENCE & SECURITY BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

If you've spent time working in or around the defence supply chains in advanced manufacturing, engineering, materials, industrialisation or applied R&D, this role gives you the opportunity to help shape the UK's future defence and security capability.

At NPL, we're helping government, primes, SMEs and technology innovators solve some of the UK's most important challenges. From advanced materials and autonomous systems to resilient supply chains, manufacturing scale-up and digital assurance, we help bridge the gap between innovation and operational capability.

As our Defence & Security Business Development Manager , you'll help bring together the defence community and the UK's world-class science, engineering and manufacturing ecosystem.

You'll work with organisations developing the technologies, materials and industrial capabilities that will underpin future defence and national security outcomes.

• Accelerate the adoption of emerging technologies into defence applications
• Connect defence needs with advanced manufacturing and industrial capability
• Translate cutting-edge R&D into deployable solutions
• Improve confidence, assurance and performance through measurement science and standards
• Support the development of resilient UK supply chains and sovereign capability
• Help innovative organisations move from concept to operational impact

What you'll be doing:

• Building relationships across government, defence, industry and research organisations
• Understanding emerging defence challenges and identifying where NPL can create impact
• Connecting defence users with technology developers, manufacturers and innovators
• Scoping collaborative R&D programmes, innovation projects and capability-building initiatives
• Representing NPL at defence, security and advanced manufacturing events and forums
• Supporting the development of new propositions aligned with UK defence priorities

Why this role is different:

This is not a traditional sales role.

Success comes from understanding both the challenges facing defence organisations and the realities of developing, industrialising and deploying technology at scale.

You'll be working at the intersection of:

• Defence and national security
• Advanced manufacturing and industrial capability
• Science, technology and innovation
• Assurance, standards and measurement
• Government, academia and industry collaboration

About You

The ideal Business Development Manager will possess superior interpersonal, networking and communication skills with a strong awareness of appropriate behaviour when supporting customers.

By utilising our incredible suite of equipment and laboratories, you’ll enjoy educating and inspiring our clients through demonstrating our capabilities in research excellence for consultancy.

Who we're looking for:

You may have come from:

• A defence prime or major supplier
• An engineering or manufacturing leadership role
• Defence innovation, capability development or technology transfer
• Advanced manufacturing or materials R&D
• Industrialisation, production engineering or scale-up programmes
• Technical consulting, innovation management or strategic partnerships

Most importantly, you'll be someone who can speak the language of both defence users and technology innovators, helping translate operational needs into practical, deployable capability.

Why join NPL?

• Work alongside world-leading scientists and engineers
• Contribute to the UK's security, resilience and sovereign capability
• Influence technology adoption at a national level
• Help innovative technologies make the journey from research to real-world impact
• Build relationships across some of the UK's most important industrial and defence networks

We actively recruit citizens of all backgrounds, but the nature of our work in specific departments means that nationality, residency and security requirements can be more tightly defined than others. You will be asked about this throughout the recruitment process. To work at NPL, you will need to obtain BPSS security clearance.

You will need to have an SC clearance with no restrictions, or you must have the ability to obtain an SC clearance.

Please note: Applications will be reviewed, and interviews conducted throughout the duration of this advert therefore we may at any time bring the closing date forward. We encourage all interested applicants to apply as soon as practical.

About Us

The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) is a world-leading centre of excellence that provides cutting-edge measurement science, engineering and technology to underpin prosperity and quality of life in the UK. Find out more about what it is like working here - The measure of us - Overview