Role details
Job description
About the Role
After successfully expanding across the U.S. and Middle East, Europe is Rainmaker’s next major expansion. We are hiring three market leaders to open Europe, and this role will own Rainmaker’s commercial and government strategy across Italy and Spain.
This is an ambitious, founder-style role with significant opportunities for growth. Beyond national or state governments, you will need to understand how Brussels moves money and writes rules: which EU funding instruments are real for a company like ours, which regulations shape drone operations, and which EU entities matter. You will work closely with our advisors in Brussels on all of it.
This is not a representative-office job. We expect more outbound, more travel, and more direct selling than a typical corporate development position. You will be the link between Europe and Rainmaker’s HQ in El Segundo, California, representing the company to customers and feeding back signals so that product, science, and policy decisions reflect conditions on the ground. The role is expected to grow as the market matures.
What You'll Do
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Build Rainmaker’s go-to-market and account strategy for Italy and Spain, owning every deal from qualification to signature.
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Build trusted relationships across national ministries, river basin authorities (confederaciones hidrográficas in Spain, autorità di bacino in Italy), regional governments, irrigation consortia, utilities, and agricultural organizations and insurers.
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Map the EU and national funding landscape with our Brussels advisors, with particular attention to drought response and climate adaptation instruments.
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Coordinate with Rainmaker’s international teams to direct the region’s regulatory and legal workstreams, including UAV airspace access with ENAC, AESA, and other national authorities under EASA frameworks.
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Qualify opportunities in adjacent Mediterranean markets as signals warrant, and make the case for where we go next.
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Hire and lead the in-market team as traction matures, and build the playbooks that let Rainmaker expand faster.
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Represent Rainmaker in ministerial meetings, industry forums, and media across the region.
Required Qualifications
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10+ years across business development, government affairs, commercial sales, or strategy, with material experience in both public-sector and fast-growing commercial settings.
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Professional fluency in Italian or Spanish plus English; strong preference for candidates who can work in both. The role covers two markets and the languages are part of the job.
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Strong existing industry and trade association relationships across one or more of Rainmaker’s adjacent sectors: water, agriculture, insurance, energy, environment, or infrastructure.
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Track record of building something from zero: first deals, first regulatory clearances, first contracts in a new market or category.
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Comfortable operating at both strategic and operational altitude. You can write the market entry thesis on Monday and run the negotiation on Friday.
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Proven public communicator: panels, ministerial roundtables, and on-record national media.
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High tolerance for ambiguity and willingness to travel frequently across the region, to Brussels, and to the U.S.
Preferred Qualifications
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Working knowledge of the EU funding and regulatory landscape: Horizon Europe, LIFE, EIC, EASA drone regulation, and how Brussels actually allocates money.
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Fluency in Mediterranean water politics: basin authorities, irrigation communities, and the drought emergency machinery in either country.
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Experience crafting and closing novel contracts.
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Sufficient scientific literacy to hold credible conversations with water officials, meteorologists, hydrologists, etc., or strong enough curiosity to get there quickly.
Using AI in Your Application
Fluency with modern AI tools is an expectation for this role, and we encourage you to use them as you prepare your application. We are evaluating your own judgment, experience, and perspective, so human inputs should be the foundation of what you submit.
Role context
This Director of Business Development - Southern Europe role at Make Rain sits in the business_development track within drone and robotics operations. The position is tied to Barcelona, Spain and is posted earlier in the current hiring cycle, which signals active hiring intent rather than archived demand. Compensation is not disclosed in the source listing, so candidates should verify range details directly with the employer. Combined with the live company and role links on this page, this listing gives candidates a direct path to compare equivalent openings by employer, market, and role focus.
Ready for the next step?
Apply directly with Make Rain
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Location
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Barcelona, Spain
Location
Barcelona, Spain
Approximate role location based on the employer listing.
Barcelona, Spain
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