Sales Manager - Advanced Materials and Composites

German American Chambers of Commerce

$100K — $120K *
Akron, OH 44312In-Person
Manufacturing & Automotive
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 5+ years of B2B customer development experience in engineered materials or similar fields.
  • Proven track record in territory sales and new market development.
  • Technical sales experience in manufacturing environments.
  • Ability to engage with technical stakeholders and comprehend application challenges.
  • Strong consultative selling and negotiation skills developed through hands-on experience.
  • Self-motivated with a proactive and organized approach to business development.
  • Willingness to travel frequently (50-70%) across North America.

Responsibilities

  • Identify and cultivate new relationships with OEMs and manufacturers across North America.
  • Establish a robust pipeline of new business opportunities and customers.
  • Lead opportunities from initial contact to commercial launch and follow-up.
  • Investigate customer challenges where high-performance materials can provide solutions.
  • Expand into new market segments and develop untapped territories.
  • Foster relationships across various organizational functions including engineering and procurement.
  • Represent the company at industry events, trade shows, and customer engagements.

Benefits

  • 100% employer-funded healthcare coverage for employees.
  • Comprehensive dental and vision options supported by the company.
  • Life insurance and disability coverage fully paid for by the employer.
  • Retirement savings plan with employer matching contributions.
  • Generous number of 12-14 paid holidays per year.
  • Increasing paid time-off benefits according to tenure.
  • Structured onboarding process, facilitated through local mentorship programs.
Full Job Description
Remote, United States | Mobility & Industrial Markets | 50-70% North American Travel

Build markets. Open accounts. Turn technical applications into new business.

A well-established international manufacturer of high-performance engineered materials is expanding its North American business and is seeking a Sales Manager - Advanced Materials and Composites.

This is a true new-business development role for someone who enjoys building business rather than simply inheriting and maintaining an established territory.

You will identify new customers and applications, open doors with manufacturers and OEMs, understand the technical and commercial challenges they are trying to solve, and develop those opportunities into sustainable business.

The company's portfolio includes electrical insulation materials, technical laminates, reinforced materials, composites, and other high-performance engineered material solutions used in demanding industrial and mobility applications.

The primary focus will be developing new business across mobility, automotive and commercial vehicles, industrial manufacturing, automation, rail, and other technically demanding markets throughout the United States and Canada.

This is a remote U.S.-based position. The listed location is for job-posting purposes only; relocation is not required. Candidates should have convenient access to a major commercial airport.
What You'll Do
  • Identify, prospect, and develop new OEM, manufacturer, fabricator, converter, and distributor relationships across North America.
  • Build a qualified pipeline of new customers, applications, and market opportunities.
  • Own opportunities from initial outreach and discovery through qualification, proposal development, pricing, negotiation, closing, and commercial launch.
  • Identify applications where high-performance materials can solve customer performance, manufacturing, cost, or supply-chain challenges.
  • Develop new territories and market segments rather than primarily maintaining an established book of business.
  • Build relationships across engineering, procurement, operations, product development, and executive leadership.
  • Work closely with engineering, product management, manufacturing, and commercial teams to advance technically complex opportunities.
  • Coordinate customer and business-development activities with colleagues across the United States, Mexico, and Europe.
  • Represent the company at customer visits, trade shows, conferences, and other industry events.
What You Bring
  • Demonstrated success developing new B2B customers, territories, applications, or market segments.
  • Experience in business development, territory sales, technical sales, market development, account development, or a comparable commercial role within engineered materials, composites, plastics, insulation, specialty materials, or industrial manufacturing.
  • Experience selling technical materials, components, or industrial solutions into manufacturing environments.
  • A strong new-business orientation and the ability to independently prospect, create, and develop opportunities.
  • Ability to understand technical applications and engage credibly with engineering, manufacturing, procurement, and commercial stakeholders.
  • Experience working with OEMs, manufacturers, fabricators, converters, distributors, or similar industrial customers.
  • Strong consultative selling, qualification, negotiation, and relationship-development skills.
  • A proactive, self-directed, and organized working style with strong commercial judgment.
  • Ability to operate effectively within a lean, international organization and collaborate across functions and countries.
  • Willingness to travel approximately 50-70% throughout North America.

Experience within composites, engineered plastics, electrical insulation, advanced materials, automotive, commercial vehicles, rail, industrial automation, or adjacent manufacturing markets is particularly valuable.
Benefits
  • 100% employer-paid medical coverage
  • Company-supported dental and vision coverage
  • Employer-paid life, short-term, and long-term disability insurance
  • Retirement savings participation with company match
  • 12-14 company-observed holidays annually
  • Progressive paid time-off structure that increases with tenure
  • Structured onboarding through local mentorship

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