Marketing Manager, Founding Marketing Hire

Job Description
About Aventra
Aventra builds long-range, low-cost strike and ISR systems for the US and its allies: stratospheric platforms, precision glide vehicles, and ultra long range attack drones. Mass at range, at a price that changes the math. We're venture-backed, based in Herndon, Virginia, and flying hardware today. We are a mission-driven team moving at startup speed with defense-grade accountability. Our programs span contracted deliveries, government demonstrations, and ongoing system development, and our pace reflects the urgency of the problems we’re solving.

We're hiring our founding marketing hire
— someone who can own the full marketing function end to end from day one and grow into a leadership role as the team scales. You'll work directly with the founders and executive team, shape how Aventra shows up publicly in a fast-moving defense-tech and national security landscape, and build the systems and team needed to support a company scaling through Series B and beyond. Strong performance in this role comes with a clear path to Head of Marketing, including hiring and managing a team.

What You'll OwnOwnership • Aventra's social media presence and brand voice across all platforms

• Content generation, from concept through production, in partnership with outside creative resources
• Inbound and outbound marketing campaigns, including planning, execution, and performance tracking
• A social and content calendar aligned to product milestones, funding announcements, and industry events
• Sourcing, hiring, and managing photography and video vendors/contractors
• Product collateral development (data sheets, one-pagers, web content, trade show materials) in partnership with engineering and product
• Client and partner-facing marketing support at conferences, demos, and industry events
• Building the marketing function's foundational systems (CRM/marketing automation, brand guidelines, content workflows) as the team scales

3-6+ years of marketing experience, with a track record of owning a marketing function or major workstream independently
~ Strong written and visual eye; able to brief and manage outside creative vendors effectively
~ Experience running both inbound (content, SEO, campaigns) and outbound (targeted outreach, event marketing, ABM-style campaigns) motions
~ Comfortable operating with minimal structure and building process rather than inheriting it
~ Client-facing and comfortable representing the company at industry events and in front of customers/partners
Prior experience at a venture-backed startup, ideally at or near the founding marketing hire stage
Willing to be based in Herndon, VA and travel roughly 20% of the time
Generous health coverage for employee and family, premium fully covered
~Travel & Work EnvironmentTravel Requirements
Travel up to 25% to customer sites, and field test locations
Ability to work in austere field conditions and military operational environments
Flexibility to support urgent operational requirements and schedule changes
Collaborative environment supporting critical national security missions
Direct support to warfighter capabilities and mission success
This is a ground-floor opportunity to build a marketing function at a Series A defense-tech company backed by a tier-1 venture syndicate, led by a multi-time defense founding team, with direct access to the founders and a clear growth path into a leadership role as the company and team scale.
Aventra Defense Systems, Inc is a venture-backed startup building scalable, precision-guided capabilities for the next generation of combat. We are assembling a team of engineers and operators who believe in speed, simplicity, and delivering real capability to the field—not just PowerPoint slides.
We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.