The Account Manager is responsible for retaining, strengthening, and profitably growing assigned customer relationships. This role serves as a commercial contact for assigned accounts and coordinates pricing, quotations, forecasting, customer satisfaction, new product launches, and issue resolution across Sales, Engineering, Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, Finance, and other business partners. The Account Manager I/II/III structure reflects increasing account complexity, decision-making authority, commercial ownership, and strategic impact. Level III is primarily assigned larger, more complex, or more demanding customers, including automotive-market accounts with heightened commercial, quality, launch, forecast, and contractual requirements.
What You'll DoCore responsibilities applicable to all levels:
- Manage assigned customer relationships and serve as a commercial liaison between the customer and the company.
- Maintain regular contact with customers to understand requirements, monitor satisfaction, identify risks, and develop growth opportunities.
- Manage & implement customer pricing; review pricing performance monthly and gross-margin performance; implement contractual price changes; and recommend adjustments to protect profitability. Negotiate pricing and other commercial terms within assigned authority and escalate exceptions or significant risk appropriately. Investigate raw material inventory position to ensure accurate pricing.
- Prepare quotations for existing and prospective business. Enter opportunities in CRM (Salesforce) for estimates and material requests. Evaluate information from estimates to develop cost-effective profitable solutions and initiate raw material requisitions upon receipt of new customer purchase order.
- Review customer demand and provide monthly, quarterly, and annual forecasts to support plant financial and operational planning.
- Monitor raw-material positions, customer-specific inventory, releases, forecasts, and commercial exposure to support accurate pricing and risk management.
- Maintain accurate and timely CRM records in Salesforce to support Sales Action Plans - including contacts, opportunities, quotations, customer health, meeting notes, quality concerns, action items.
- Participate in new product launch meetings and activities. Coordinate customer commitments with Engineering, Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, Finance, and other functions as needed.
- Visit customer and prospect locations, represent the company at business reviews and industry events, and maintain knowledge of customer markets and company capabilities.
- Identify and pursue opportunities for revenue growth, improved mix, and margin improvement within assigned accounts.
- Collaborate with internal and external business partners and sister companies to advance customer solutions and selling processes. Maintain inter-company relationships, technical information, and communications as liaison for the company and customer.
- Lead or support resolution of customer concerns involving pricing, delivery, quality, service, forecasts, contracts, or communication.
- Follow company quotation, contract-review, pricing, approval, documentation, and compliance requirements.
Account Manager I- Execute established pricing, quotation, forecasting, CRM, and follow-up processes accurately and on time.
- Research customer issues, coordinate responses, and escalate unusual contract, margin, quality, delivery, or relationship risks.
- Develop working knowledge of manufacturing processes, products, customer applications, and financial drivers.
Account Manager II - Independently manage established accounts.
- Lead routine pricing negotiations, business reviews, customer growth plans, forecast reconciliation, and cross-functional issue resolution.
- Analyze account performance and recommend actions to improve revenue, margin, customer retention, and operational alignment.
- Mentor or provide process guidance to Account Manager I employees and contribute to account-management best practices.
Account Manager III- Own larger, strategic, higher-revenue, more complex, or more demanding customers, which may include automotive-market accounts and customers with rigorous quality, launch, service, contractual, forecasting, or cost-recovery expectations.
- Participate in complex annual and program pricing negotiations, contract and commercial-risk discussions, cost-recovery actions, and executive-level customer reviews.
- Develop and execute multi-year account strategies covering growth, margin, capacity, technology, customer risk, competitive position, and relationship development.
- Coordinate senior-level and cross-plant responses to major launches, escalations, claims, recovery plans, forecast volatility, capacity constraints, and customer scorecard concerns.
- Exercise advanced judgment on non-standard commercial issues and provide recommendations to leadership regarding investment, pricing, contracts, inventory exposure, and account strategy.
- Serve as a senior resource to other account-management employees and help strengthen commercial processes, tools, and customer-management discipline.
What You BringExperience- 5-7 or more years of progressive account-management, sales, pricing, or manufacturing experience.
- Demonstrated success managing large, strategic, complex, or demanding customers; automotive account experience is strongly preferred when assigned to the automotive market.
- Advanced knowledge of manufacturing processes, metals or roll forming, commercial contracts, pricing, margin management, forecasting, launches, and customer escalation management preferred.
Education & Certifications- Bachelor's Degree in Business, Marketing, Engineering, Supply Chain, Finance, Sales or related field preferred. In lieu of degree a combination of education and relevant experience may be considered. Associate's degree and 5 years' experience or HS Diploma and at least 7 years' experience/training in a sales and business related field.
SKILLS & COMPETENCIES THAT ENABLE YOU TO SUCCEED
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills. Customer relationship management and consultative communication.
- Commercial judgment, pricing discipline, and gross-margin awareness
- Quotation, forecasting, and opportunity-management accuracy
- Negotiation, conflict resolution, and professional composure
- Cross-functional leadership and follow-through without direct authority
- Analytical problem-solving and sound decision-making
- Organization, attention to detail, prioritization, and timely documentation
- Microsoft Office proficiency and effective use of CRM and ERP/MRP systems
- Ability to read and interpret customer requirements, contracts, procedures, reports, and business data
- Ability to calculate percentages, price adjustments, margins, and other business measures
Additional Requirements- Ability to travel as needed. Must possess valid driver's license (insurable with good driving record).
- If remote, must have access to reliable internet and ability to travel as needed
- Must be able to adjust work hours occasionally to support customer meetings, travel, launches, or urgent business needs.
- Must comply with applicable export-control, confidentiality, customer, and site-access requirements. This includes meeting requirement of US Person as defined by ITAR/EAR
- This position is not eligible for employment visa sponsorship. Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States without current or future employer sponsorship. For some areas - may also need to meet applicable U.S.-person requirements under ITAR/EAR.
What We Offer You
- Several great benefit plans, including multiple health insurance options, vision, dental, life, short-term and long-term disability coverage, health-saving accounts, or flexible spending account
- Paid time off the first year including vacation, personal and sick time
- 401K or 401K Roth up to 6% Match
- Quarterly Profit-Sharing Bonus
- Leadership training opportunities
- TogetherWeCare, a philanthropic volunteer program that allows employees to support their community while on company time
- Countdown to Zero, a global environmental impact initiative that strives to make our work environment more efficient and environmentally friendly.
Learn more at www.rfcorp.com/careers/life-at-rfc
