Senior Account Manager - Defense & Major OEM Accounts

Senior Account Manager – Defense & Major OEM Accounts

Our client is a well-established manufacturer serving the defense and aerospace industries and is seeking an experienced

Senior Account Manager to lead and expand relationships with major defense OEMs and strategic accounts.

This is a high-impact opportunity for a strategic sales professional who understands the defense manufacturing ecosystem and can navigate complex, long-cycle programs involving engineering, procurement, supply chain, program management, and executive leadership.

The successful candidate will own key strategic accounts, identify and capture new program opportunities, drive profitable revenue growth, and serve as a trusted advisor to major defense OEM customers. The ideal candidate will have a proven track record of winning and expanding large, complex defense and aerospace programs.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategic Account Management: Own, develop, and expand relationships with major defense OEM accounts. Create and execute strategic account plans aligned with customer programs, technology roadmaps, and business objectives.
• Revenue Growth: Achieve or exceed annual sales, bookings, and revenue targets through account expansion, new program wins, and long-term customer development.
• Business Development & Program Capture: Identify, qualify, and pursue new business opportunities within existing OEM accounts and adjacent markets. Support RFP/RFQ responses, proposal development, pricing strategies, and contract negotiations.
• Customer Relationship Management: Build and maintain strong, multi-level relationships with customer engineering, procurement, supply chain, program management, and executive leadership teams.
• Cross-Functional Leadership: Partner with Engineering, Program Management, Quality, Operations, and other internal teams to ensure customer requirements, technical specifications, certifications, quality standards, and delivery expectations are clearly understood and met.
• Contract & Commercial Negotiations: Lead negotiations involving pricing, long-term agreements, terms and conditions, volume commitments, and other commercial arrangements.
• Forecasting & CRM Management: Maintain accurate sales forecasts, pipeline activity, account plans, and program status within the company's CRM system. Provide leadership with regular updates on opportunities, risks, and account performance.
• Market Intelligence: Monitor defense industry trends, OEM program schedules, government budgets and appropriations, competitor activity, and emerging market opportunities to support strategic account planning.
• Industry Engagement: Represent the company at defense industry conferences, OEM supplier events, trade shows, and customer meetings to strengthen relationships and identify new business opportunities.
• Compliance: Ensure all sales and business development activities comply with applicable ITAR, EAR, DFARS, FAR, export control, and company compliance requirements.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, or a related field; equivalent industry experience may be considered.
• 10+ years of progressive sales, business development, or strategic account management experience within the defense and/or aerospace manufacturing industry.
• Proven experience working directly with major defense OEMs, prime contractors, or major subsystem manufacturers.
• Demonstrated success managing large, complex customer accounts and securing multi-year and/or multi-million-dollar contracts.
• Strong understanding of defense procurement processes, OEM supply chains, and FAR/DFARS requirements.
• Working knowledge of ITAR, EAR, and export control requirements.
• Strong negotiation, presentation, communication, and executive relationship-building skills.
• Experience using CRM systems and Microsoft Office, including Excel, for forecasting and reporting.
• Willingness and ability to travel approximately 30–40%, primarily domestically with occasional international travel.
• U.S. Citizenship required. No visa sponsorship is available.

Preferred Qualifications

• Established relationships with major defense OEMs, prime contractors, or Tier 1 defense suppliers.
• Technical understanding of manufacturing processes such as machining, composites, castings, forgings, or other precision manufacturing processes.
• Experience managing RFP/RFQ responses, proposal development, program capture, and long-term agreement negotiations.
• MBA or advanced technical degree.
• Experience selling into complex, highly regulated defense and aerospace supply chains.

Key Competencies

• Strategic account planning and consultative selling
• Defense and aerospace business development
• Program capture and opportunity development
• Executive-level relationship management
• Cross-functional leadership and influence
• Commercial and financial acumen
• Pricing, margin, and contract negotiation
• Long-cycle sales management
• Strong communication and presentation skills
• High integrity and discretion when handling sensitive or controlled information

Compensation & Benefits

• $125,000–$150,000 base salary plus bonus/incentive compensation
• Medical, dental, and vision benefits
• 401(k) with company match
• Paid time off and company holidays
• Opportunity to support mission-critical defense and aerospace programs
• Career growth within an established and technically sophisticated organization
• Opportunity to build and manage high-value relationships with leading defense and aerospace customers

Work Environment

• Remote/Hybrid
• Approximately 30–40% travel required
• U.S. Citizenship required
• No visa sponsorship available

Keywords

Sales | Senior Account Manager | Senior Account Executive | Strategic Account Management | Business Development | Defense | Aerospace | OEM | Prime Contractor | Program Capture | RFP | RFQ | Defense Manufacturing | Account Growth | Sales Strategy | Customer Relationships | Contract Negotiation

To Apply

Email: ***email_hidden***

Call/Text: View phone number on workus.org

Connect with me on LinkedIn

#Sales #AccountManager #Defense #Aerospace #OEM #BusinessDevelopment #ProgramCapture