Business Development Associate

Xona is the navigational intelligence company bringing real-time, centimeter-level certainty to any device, anywhere on Earth. With Pulsar – the world’s most advanced PNT satellite infrastructure in Low Earth Orbit – Xona will offer a future-proof, backwards-compatible global positioning system optimized for absolute precision, superior power, and robust protection. Xona is seeking a Business Development Associate to join our growing UK team. This role is designed as an entry point into commercial leadership within the organisation. Initially, you will support business development and sales activities in a back-of-house capacity, working closely with technical and commercial teams to understand our products, customers, and markets. Over time, you will take on increasing ownership of customer engagement, sales execution, and government engagement as you build expertise in Xona’s offerings and the broader PNT ecosystem. What You’ll Do - Business Development Support You will support the sales pipeline by conducting market research, identifying target customers, and helping to qualify new opportunities across key verticals. - Customer & Market Analysis You will develop a strong understanding of customer needs, use cases, and competitive positioning within the PNT landscape, helping to inform commercial strategy. - Sales Operations & Coordination You will assist in preparing proposals, presentations, and commercial materials, as well as coordinating internal stakeholders to support ongoing deals and partnerships. - Customer Engagement (Progressive Responsibility) As your experience grows, you will begin to engage directly with customers, supporting meetings, demonstrations, and eventually leading sales discussions and managing accounts. - Cross-functional Collaboration You will work closely with engineering, product, and leadership teams to align customer requirements with product capabilities and roadmap development. Requirements - 3–5 years of experience in business development, sales, or a related commercial role. - Strong understanding of Position, Navigation and Timing (PNT), ideally from a user or application perspective. - Ability to understand and communicate complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences. - Experience supporting or managing sales pipelines, CRM tools, and commercial processes including bid writing. - Experience coordinating with government in both civil and defence. - Excellent written and verbal communication skills. - Highly organised, proactive, and comfortable working in a fast-paced startup environment. - Must have right to work in the UK. Desirable - Experience in one or more of the following sectors: - Agritech - Automotive - Marine - Timing / critical infrastructure - Defence - Familiarity with GNSS technologies, PNT solutions, or adjacent space-based services. - Experience working in a technical or engineering-led organisation. - Exposure to early-stage or high-growth companies. Special Considerations This role requires Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) checks, and successful candidates must be eligible to obtain UK Security Clearance (SC). Benefits - Flexible working and PTO/time off policy, Xona measures progress by results not time on the clock - Hybrid working - three days per week in office in London - Supportive parental leave - Health insurance For U.S. Roles: To comply with U.S. Government space technology export regulations, applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the United States (i.e. Green Card holder), or other protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3). For U.K. Roles: To comply with U.K. regulations, this role requires Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) checks, and successful candidates must be eligible to obtain UK Security Clearance (SC). For Canada Roles: Successful candidates must obtain and hold a security clearance at the reliability status level, and pass security assessment for the Canadian Con