ABOUT PLANETEK ITALIA
Planetek Italia is a leading Italian company in geospatial technologies and Earth Observation solutions, with more than 30 years of experience transforming satellite, aerial, and drone data into actionable insights. We operate across multiple sectors — including environmental and land monitoring, smart cities, open government, defence and security, scientific missions, and planetary exploration — supporting public institutions, private organizations, and international agencies in managing complex spatial challenges.
Our expertise spans geospatial data analytics, on-board software for satellites, ground segment systems, Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDI) compliant with INSPIRE, and cloud-based SaaS platforms designed to support decision-making in dynamic and mission-critical environments. Among our flagship innovations is Rheticus®, an award-winning cloud platform that delivers continuous and automated geospatial monitoring services.
Planetek Italia is part of the D-Orbit Group, with offices in Italy, Portugal, the UK, Greece, and the USA, operating in both national and international markets.
Alongside Planetek Italia S.r.l., the group comprises Planetek Hellas e.p.e., as well as two university spin-offs — GAP S.r.l. and GEO-K S.r.l. — both specialized in the processing of remotely sensed data captured by optical and radar sensors.
Driven by innovation, collaboration, and a strong commitment to sustainability, Planetek Italia brings together multidisciplinary teams of engineers, analysts, developers, and domain experts. We believe in creating technologies that help organisations better understand the world, make informed decisions, and contribute to a more sustainable and secure future.
YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES AS “BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT LEAD D&I”
As a Business Development Lead in the Defence & Intelligence sector, you will:
Identify and assess new business opportunities within the Defence & Intelligence market.
Develop and maintain relationships with customers, institutional stakeholders, partners, and relevant industry players.
Engage with customers to understand their operational needs and identify how Planetek Italia’s geospatial, Earth Observation, and technology capabilities can respond to them.
Take end-to-end ownership of assigned business opportunities: coordinate the preparation and submission of commercial offers, lead negotiations within the agreed mandate, and drive opportunities through to contract award.
Contribute to account plans and business development initiatives in line with the priorities of the Business Unit.
Engage with multidisciplinary internal teams to craft competitive technical and commercial proposals.
Contribute to tenders, strategic programmes, and partnership opportunities by collecting and coordinating the required internal inputs.
Communicate effectively with both technical and executive-level stakeholders, articulating value propositions clearly and convincingly.
Monitor relevant market developments, customer needs, procurement initiatives, and emerging opportunities.
Keep information on opportunities, contacts, and business development activities up to date through the company’s CRM and reporting tools.
Manage multiple opportunities simultaneously, prioritizing efforts to achieve commercial targets and strategic objectives.
Represent Planetek Italia at customer meetings, conferences, exhibitions, and industry events.
Contribute to strengthening Planetek Italia’s positioning and network within the national and international Defence & Intelligence ecosystem.
As your knowledge of the market, customers, and Planetek Italia’s solutions develops, you will take increasing ownership of key accounts while remaining accountable for progressing assigned commercial opportunities through to contract award.
YOUR BACKGROUND:
You have gained experience in Business Development, Sales, or Strategic Account Management within the Defence & Intelligence sector, ideally working with geospatial technologies, Earth Observation solutions, ICT systems, or complex engineering programmes.
You can listen to customers, understand their needs, and work with technical specialists to develop relevant value propositions. You are comfortable building professional relationships and communicating with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
You work well with people from different areas of the business and can coordinate their contributions when preparing proposals or pursuing commercial opportunities. You are organised, proactive, and able to manage different activities and priorities with a good level of autonomy.
You also have:
Good communication, presentation, and relationship-building skills.
Good analytical and problem-solving abilities.
Professional proficiency in written and spoken English.
Availability to travel in Italy and abroad.
Knowledge of Defence institutions, Armed Forces, public procurement processes, or complex tender procedures will be considered an advantage.
A degree in engineering, computer science, geospatial sciences, economics, international relations, political science, or another relevant field may be helpful, but we are open to different educational and professional backgrounds.
We do not expect you to know every aspect of our technologies or to have an established network across the entire Defence & Intelligence ecosystem. What matters is your ability to build credible relationships, understand complex needs, learn quickly, and connect customers with the right expertise within Planetek Italia and the D-Orbit Group.
WHY PLANETEK:
At Planetek Italia, we believe that results matter more than hours and that people come before skills. We value passion, accountability, collaboration, and a strong sense of purpose in everything we do.
Ethics, professionalism, and openness are the principles that shape our culture and guide our relationships with colleagues, partners, and customers.
Choose Planetek Italia if you are looking for an environment where curiosity and initiative are encouraged, where you can work alongside highly specialized people, and where responsibility grows together with experience.
At Planetek Italia, welcoming diversity is not just a principle, but an integral part of the way we work. We are committed to creating an environment where everyone is respected, valued, and free to contribute, regardless of their personal characteristics, identity, background, or experience. We believe that our differences make us stronger and lead to better ideas, decisions, and results.
WHAT WE OFFER:
We want people to have the conditions and opportunities they need to do their best work and continue growing.
We offer:
A base salary ranging from €45,000 to €60,000 gross per year, depending on experience and skills.
A performance-based variable component.
Meal vouchers.
Access to Wellhub, offering a wide range of fitness, wellness, and wellbeing services.
Access to Serenis, including unlimited individual psychotherapy, nutrition, and coaching sessions.
Learning and professional development opportunities through training, books, workshops, conferences, and participation in challenging national and international projects.
Final compensation will be determined based on the candidate’s experience, skills, level of responsibility, and internal consistency across comparable positions.
Working Model
This position is based in Bari and follows our flexible hybrid working model, with up to 80% of work done remotely. An initial period at our Bari office is expected as part of the onboarding process, giving you the opportunity to get to know the team, the company and our way of working.
The role also requires availability for customer meetings, events and business travel in Italy and abroad.
ARE YOU INTERESTED?
Let us know who you are, what you have accomplished so far in your career, and how you would like your professional path to evolve.
Along with your CV, please provide us with a short note answering the following questions:
1. Why would you like to bet on a company like Planetek Italia?
2. Why should we bet on you?
Even if you do not meet every requirement, we encourage you to apply if you believe your experience and motivation could be relevant.
At this time, we can only consider candidates who already have the legal right to work in Italy.
Here’s how our hiring process works—simple and straightforward:
Application Review – We carefully review applications that match the key requirements of the role. If your profile is selected for the next stage, a member of our People & Culture team will contact you directly.
We genuinely appreciate every application, even when there is no match for the current opportunity.
First Interview – An initial conversation to get to know each other, discuss the opportunity and align expectations. Depending on the role, you may meet our People & Culture team, members of the relevant team, or both in the same interview.
Further Interviews – Where needed, one or more additional conversations focused on the skills, experience and approach relevant to the role.
Offer – If there is a strong mutual fit, we will share an offer and discuss the next steps.
The exact process may vary depending on the role.
We aim to keep candidates informed throughout the process and appreciate your patience as we carefully evaluate applications.
We look forward to getting to know you and discovering what we could build together.