Vice President of Sales

About the Company

Join a leading Tier 1 automotive supplier driving innovation in mobility and manufacturing technology. This is an opportunity to make a meaningful impact in a fast-paced, global environment. We're seeking a Vice President of Sales.

About the Role:

The VP of Sales - Customer Team serves as the senior commercial leader for a major OEM account and acts as the "Customer CEO" for the relationship. Responsible for delivering profitable growth by expanding share-of-wallet, winning strategic programs, and protecting account profitability. Works closely with Product Management, Engineering, Operations, Finance, and Planning to align strategy, resources, and customer pursuits. Ensures strong executive relationships with OEM purchasing, engineering, and leadership teams. Balances revenue growth with strong margin discipline, pricing governance, and recovery actions when necessary.

Responsibilities:

• Leads the overall business relationship with the customer and serves as the primary executive contact between the company and the OEM.
• Drives execution of sales at the customer level, ensuring disciplined pursuit of RFQs, strong commercial negotiations, and consistent account management.
• Works closely with Product Management to align customer opportunities with the company’s product strategy and technology roadmap.
• Partners with Engineering, Operations, Finance, and Commercial Operations to ensure coordinated pursuit and execution of customer programs.
• Owns the commercial performance of the account, including pricing discipline, recoveries, tariff pass-through, and resolution of commercial issues.
• Builds strong relationships across purchasing, engineering, program management, and executive leadership within the OEM.
• Acts as the internal leader of the customer team, ensuring cross-functional alignment and accountability for delivering results.

Qualifications

• Lead the overall commercial relationship with the assigned OEM customer and serve as the primary executive contact.
• Drive profitable revenue growth by identifying and capturing new business opportunities and expanding share-of-wallet.
• Develop and execute the strategic account plan aligned with the company’s product portfolio and long-term growth strategy.
• Lead pursuit strategies for key RFQs and strategic platform opportunities.
• Ensure disciplined execution of quoting strategy, pricing governance, and commercial negotiations.
• Own the financial performance of the account, including revenue growth, margin protection, and recovery actions.
• Negotiate major commercial agreements with the customer including pricing, cost recoveries, tariffs, and contractual terms.
• Maintain strong executive relationships with key stakeholders across purchasing, engineering, and leadership within the OEM.
• Lead cross-functional teams across engineering, product management, operations, finance, and quality to pursue and execute programs.
• Manage and resolve major customer escalations related to program performance, quality issues, or commercial disputes.
• Ensure strong pipeline visibility and program tracking in partnership with Commercial Operations.
• Support win/loss reviews and provide market feedback to Product Management to strengthen future product strategy.
• Build and lead a strong customer account team, ensuring accountability and alignment across functions.

Required Skills

• Customer Leadership – Proven ability to build strong relationships with senior leaders at major automotive OEMs.
• Commercial Negotiation – Demonstrated experience negotiating pricing, recoveries, and complex commercial agreements.
• Financial Ownership – Strong understanding of program economics, pricing strategy, and account profitability.
• Strategic Account Management – Ability to develop long-term account strategies aligned with OEM product cycles and platform opportunities.
• Cross-Functional Leadership – Ability to align engineering, product management, operations, and finance to pursue and execute customer programs.
• Operational Discipline – Experience managing pipeline visibility, RFQ prioritization, and structured account operating cadence.
• Problem Solving and Escalation Management – Ability to resolve complex customer issues while maintaining strong relationships.
• Influence and Organizational Leadership – Strong ability to align multiple internal stakeholders around customer priorities.
• Market and Competitive Awareness – Understanding of OEM strategies, competitor positioning, and industry trends.
• Resilience and Composure – Ability to manage high-pressure customer situations and maintain professionalism in negotiations.

Qualifications:

• Bachelors Degree in Business Administration, Sales & Marketing, Marketing, Finance or related field.
• MBA (preferred but not required)
• 10 years of progressive sales experience
• Significant leadership background

Equal Opportunity Statement:

Our Company is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, pregnancy status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status.