Location: Noida (Work from Office)
Reporting to: Founder / CEO
Experience: 4–10 Years
About ZOID Technologies
ZOID is a Defence and Aerospace R&D startup building advanced technologies for the Indian Armed Forces and government agencies, including AI-based FOD Detection Systems, missile decoy solutions, GNSS anti-jamming, and geospatial platforms. Funded under the iDEX initiative (Ministry of Defence), we work on projects of strategic national importance. As we scale our government contracts and deployments, we are looking for a hands-on professional to own the commercial and delivery lifecycle end to end, from winning tenders to delivering projects on time.
About the Role
This is a high-impact Founder's Office role working directly with the Founder/CEO to drive strategic initiatives across business development, fundraising, government engagement, commercial operations, and project execution. The role combines ownership of the defence tender-to-delivery lifecycle with investor relations, strategic partnerships, executive stakeholder management, and cross-functional business execution. You will identify and win defence tenders, prepare techno-commercial proposals, manage contracts and procurement, and coordinate cross-functional teams to deliver projects on schedule and in compliance with DAP, DPM, and applicable procurement guidelines. This is an execution role, not an advisory one.
Key Responsibilities
Founder's Office & Strategic Initiatives
- Work closely with the Founders on strategic priorities, business planning, and organizational growth initiatives.
- Drive execution of cross-functional strategic projects across engineering, finance, business development, operations, and product teams.
- Support strategic partnerships, collaborations, JV discussions, and long-term business opportunities
- Build and maintain long-term relationships with senior officials across the Ministry of Defence, Indian Armed Forces, DRDO laboratories, defence PSUs, iDEX, DGQA, DGAQA, and other government organizations.
Fundraising & Investor Relations
- Support fundraising initiatives including preparation of investor decks, financial models, business plans, and due diligence documentation.
- Coordinate with existing and prospective investors, venture funds, family offices, government funding agencies, and strategic investors.
- Manage investor communication, periodic business updates, MIS reports, and fundraising data rooms.
- Track fundraising pipelines, investment discussions, and post-investment action items.
- Assist in grant applications under iDEX, DRDO, MeitY, DST, Startup India, and other government innovation programs.
- Coordinate financial, legal, commercial, and technical documentation required during fundraising and investment processes.
Tender Lifecycle & Bid Management
- Identify and prioritise bidding opportunities across RFI, RFQ, EoI, and RFP, from identification through to contract award.
- Own bid/no-bid decisions by evaluating commercial viability, eligibility, risk exposure, resource bandwidth, and strategic alignment.
- Develop bid strategy and prepare proposals, SOPs, and submissions with strict compliance to DAP, DPM, and applicable guidelines.
- Manage pre-bid queries and post-bid clarifications, coordinating internal teams and external stakeholders.
- Handle government procurement through GeM and other e-procurement portals.
- Maintain structured records of all bids, contracts, amendments, and approvals.
Techno-Commercial Proposals & Pricing
- Prepare techno-commercial proposals including detailed costing, pricing strategy, and margin analysis for competitive, compliant submissions.
- Finalise cost structures, pricing models, and margin frameworks across products, projects, and services.
- Perform project costing, landed-cost analysis, and CAPEX/OPEX allocation to support bid/no-bid decisions and commercial planning.
- Ensure commercial terms align with technical scope, contractual risk, and cash-flow impact.
Procurement Categories & Compliance
- Interpret and map procurement categories — Buy (Indian-IDDM), Buy (Indian), Buy & Make (Indian), Buy (Global), and Make — to ensure eligibility and compliance.
- Build compliance matrices, product datasheets, and solution presentations for defence and UAV/drone solutions.
Procurement & Vendor Management
- Manage end-to-end procurement from domestic and international suppliers.
- Identify, evaluate, onboard, and negotiate with vendors on pricing, quality, lead time, and commercial terms.
- Develop supplier relationships and monitor vendor performance.
- Oversee import logistics and ensure full customs and export-control compliance.
- Prepare RFQs, purchase orders, and commercial comparisons.
Contracts & Commercial Provisions
- Manage the complete contract lifecycle: commercial negotiations, PO finalisation, agreement execution, and delivery alignment.
- Manage contractual provisions including payment milestones, delivery schedules, warranty terms, Liquidated Damages (LD), and Bank Guarantees (BG).
- Draft, review, and manage customer contracts, MoUs, NDAs, and partnership agreements alongside legal advisors.
Licensing, Certifications & Regulatory Approvals
- Identify required licences, registrations, certifications, and approvals related to defence procurement, government empanelment, export controls, and quality compliance.
- Coordinate with government bodies, certification agencies, and consultants to obtain, renew, and manage approvals.
Project Coordination & Delivery
- Own project schedules end to end, from kickoff to final delivery and acceptance.
- Build and maintain project plans, milestones, and delivery timelines; track progress and drive corrective action before slippage.
- Coordinate across engineering, production, QA, finance, and operations to keep procurement and delivery aligned with project timelines.
- Track milestones tied to iDEX/MoD contracts, including deliverable acceptance, milestone verification, and payment triggers.
- Maintain project trackers, MIS dashboards, and a live risk register.
Government Engagement & Market Intelligence
- Liaise with MoD liaison officers, defence PSUs, and government departments for contract execution, invoice acceptance, and payment finalisation.
- Conduct market research, competitor analysis, and customer requirement assessments.
- Build and maintain relationships with government agencies, defence organisations, and industry partners.
Preferred Profile
- 4–10 years experience working directly with CXOs, founders, or leadership teams in a high-growth startup or technology organization(preferred defence, aerospace, electronics or deep-tech startup)
- Exposure to fundraising, venture capital interactions, strategic planning, or investor relations will be highly preferred.
- Experience across techno-commercial, procurement, or project management, preferably in defence, aerospace, electronics, or deep-tech.
- Hands-on experience with government tenders, PSU contracts, or regulated procurement environments.
- Working knowledge of DAP/DPM, procurement categories, and defence acquisition guidelines.
- Experience with international procurement, imports, and vendor negotiation.
- Proven ability to deliver projects on time in a cross-functional environment.
- Strong costing, pricing, negotiation, and stakeholder-management skills; proficient in MS Excel and dashboards.
- Comfortable operating in an ambiguous, fast-paced startup environment while driving multiple strategic initiatives simultaneously.
