Senior Marketing Manager, Global Trade Show Strategy

Job description

Anduril Industries is a defense technology company with a mission to transform U.S. and allied military capabilities with advanced technology. By bringing the expertise, technology, and business model of the 21st century’s most innovative companies to the defense industry, Anduril is changing how military systems are designed, built and sold. Anduril’s family of systems is powered by Lattice OS, an AI-powered operating system that turns thousands of data streams into a realtime, 3D command and control center. As the world enters an era of strategic competition, Anduril is committed to bringing cutting-edge autonomy, AI, computer vision, sensor fusion, and networking technology to the military in months, not years. ABOUT THE JOB We are seeking a Senior Marketing Manager, Global Trade Shows Strategy to own, elevate, and scale Anduril’s trade show program. In this role, you will lead the strategic vision, cross-functional alignment, budget governance, and end-to-end operational execution of our presence at major defense, aerospace, and technology expos worldwide. You will act as the single point of accountability for where and how Anduril shows up to customers, government partners, media, and the public. You will serve as the bridge between executive business strategy, our world-class internal design team, and on-the-ground fabrication and production. The ideal candidate blends strategic executive presence with relentless operational rigor, budget discipline, and hands-on experience handling physical hardware showcases. WHAT YOU’LL DO Strategy & Executive Alignment • Drive Global Strategy & Accountability: Act as the single point of accountability for Anduril’s global trade show portfolio, serving as the central leader and operational owner across the company. • Create Company-Wide Clarity: Communicate and create alignment across the business on where we are showing up, why we are showing up, what we are showcasing, who needs to be there, and how big our footprint should be. • Executive & Stakeholder Partnership: Align closely with executive leads for each show to define clear business strategy, product priorities, narrative objectives, and criteria for success prior to commitment. • Mission Alignment: Partner cross-functionally with Business Development, Product Marketing, Communications, and Government Relations to ensure trade show footprints amplify key announcements, strategic campaigns, and product demonstrations. • VIP & Delegation Coordination: Orchestrate executive and high-level engagements on-site, including domestic and international military/government delegation visits, secure customer meetings, and media briefings. Governance, Budget & ROI • P&L & Budget Management: Manage and forecast the global trade show budget end-to-end, maintaining financial discipline, accurate tracking, and transparent forecasting across fiscal quarters. • Attendance & Resource Governance: Establish and enforce a company-wide framework and evaluation process for trade show attendance, badge allocations, and travel & expense (T&E) in close partnership with the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and business unit leaders. • Impact & ROI Measurement: Develop, socialize, and implement a robust measurement and ROI framework across all trade shows, evaluating both quantitative business metrics (pipeline influence, customer meetings, lead acquisition) and qualitative impact (brand positioning, government relations). • Lead & Pipeline Integration: Partner with RevOps to implement on-site lead capture, post-event attribution, and CRM workflows (Salesforce) to connect show activity directly to commercial and defense contract outcomes. Execution & Production Management • Internal Design Collaboration: Partner closely with Anduril’s Internal Design Team—who lead the creative vision, industrial design, and spatial architecture of our exhibits—by providing clear strategic briefs, functional space requirements, product display priorities, and strict budget parameters to bring our brand to life on the show floor. • Hardware & Static Display Logistics: Manage complex hardware logistics and freight shipping for full-scale defense assets, aircraft, uncrewed systems, and prototypes, ensuring strict adherence to export/ITAR controls and facility security protocols. • Scalable Operations: Build standardized playbooks, run-of-shows, and timeline templates to scale trade show operations efficiently as Anduril continues its rapid global expansion. REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS • 8+ years of experience in trade show management, experiential marketing, or large-scale technical event production (B2B tech, aerospace/defense, or high-consequence hardware industries strongly preferred). • Proven track record of managing multi-million-dollar global event budgets and establishing clear ROI, attendance governance, and performance frameworks. • Proven experience partnering with in-house creative/design teams—serving as the bridge between internal design vision, business strategy, and external fabrication/production reality. • Exceptional executive presence with demonstrated success collaborating with, briefing, and influencing C-suite executives and senior leaders. • Hands-on experience managing physical booth builds, floor layout design, AV production, and complex hardware logistics/freight. • Strong commercial negotiation skills with event organizers, convention centers, and fabrication vendors. • Exceptional cross-functional project management skills; ability to manage multiple high-stakes, concurrent event timelines in a fast-paced, rapidly shifting environment. • Willingness to travel domestically and internationally (approx. 25–50%, peak during major show cycles) • Must be a U.S. Person due to required access to U.S. export controlled information or facilities PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS • Direct experience within the Defense, Aerospace, Government, or Industrial Technology sectors (familiarity with expos such as AUSA, Sea-Air-Space, DSEI