Director of Business Development

To support the continued growth of Hesai’s business in North America, we are looking for an experienced and commercially driven Business Development Director to lead business development and sales across Autonomous Mobility, Robotics, 3D Mapping, and Smart Infrastructure. This role will own regional business growth, develop strategic customers, build a strong new-business pipeline, and lead the North America business development team across these key markets. The role will also serve as an important bridge between customers and teams in North America and Hesai’s headquarters in Shanghai. The successful candidate will be a hands-on commercial leader who combines strong individual business development capabilities with effective team leadership. We are looking for someone with a strong hunter mindset, a proven track record of creating and winning new business, and the ability to build senior-level customer relationships while driving the team toward ambitious growth and revenue targets. This is a player-coach role. The successful candidate will be expected to personally engage in strategic accounts and complex opportunities while also coaching, developing, and holding the broader team accountable for results. Key Responsibilities 1. Own North America Business Growth Own business development, pipeline, and revenue growth across Autonomous Mobility, Robotics, 3D Mapping, and Smart Infrastructure in North America. Develop and execute regional growth strategies across priority markets, applications, and customer segments. Define market priorities, strategic accounts, sales targets, and resource allocation to support sustainable growth. Identify emerging applications and market opportunities where LiDAR and 3D sensing can create meaningful customer value. 2. Win Strategic Customers and New Business Identify, develop, and convert high-value new business opportunities and strategic accounts. Build strong multi-level relationships across engineering, product, procurement, business leadership, and executive stakeholders. Lead complex sales cycles from initial customer engagement and technical evaluation through proof of concept, pilot deployment, commercial negotiation, and production business. Personally lead strategic pursuits, key customer engagements, and major commercial negotiations. Expand existing strategic accounts while continuously developing new customers, applications, and revenue opportunities. Position Hesai early in customer development cycles to influence product selection, system architecture, technical requirements, and sourcing decisions. 3. Lead and Develop the North America Team Lead, coach, and develop the North America business development and sales team. Establish clear account ownership, performance expectations, sales goals, and accountability. Conduct regular pipeline, account, and opportunity reviews to improve prioritization, execution, and deal progression. Support team members in navigating complex customer situations, technical evaluations, and commercial negotiations. Build a high-performance, customer-focused culture with strong ownership, urgency, and execution discipline. 4. Build and Manage a High-Quality Pipeline Build a strong pipeline through direct prospecting, strategic networking, industry relationships, channel partners, inbound opportunities, conferences, tradeshows, and marketing activities. Establish disciplined opportunity qualification and prioritize resources toward the highest-potential customers and programs. Develop clear account strategies, stakeholder maps, pursuit plans, and next-step ownership for strategic opportunities. Own regional pipeline management, revenue forecasting, and short- and long-term business projections. 5. Drive Cross-Functional Execution Partner closely with Product Management, Engineering, Application Engineering, Sales Operations, Marketing, and global business teams, including teams at Hesai’s China headquarters, to support customer evaluations and commercial opportunities. Coordinate internal resources for customer demonstrations, system integrations, proof-of-concept projects, pilot deployments, and production programs. Translate customer requirements, competitive intelligence, and market trends into actionable input for product and business strategy. Ensure critical customer commitments, technical requirements, and commercial priorities are clearly communicated and executed across internal teams. Act as an effective bridge between North American customers and internal teams in China, ensuring alignment on customer priorities, business opportunities, and execution. 6. Strengthen Market Presence and Strategy Build and maintain a strong network across the Autonomous Mobility, Robotics, 3D Mapping, and Smart Infrastructure ecosystems. Represent Hesai at key industry conferences, tradeshows, customer events, and strategic meetings. Monitor market trends, technology developments, competitor activities, customer investment priorities, and emerging applications. Identify new market segments, use cases, partnerships, and business models that can drive future growth. 7. Drive Commercial and Operational Discipline Lead strategic pricing, commercial terms, and contract negotiations. Apply strong commercial judgment to pricing, business models, customer investment decisions, and long-term account potential. Ensure opportunities, customer activities, forecasts, and key next steps are accurately maintained in Hesai’s CRM. Maintain strong reporting and forecasting discipline to support business planning, operations, and finance. Desired Qualifications 12+ years of experience in business development, sales, strategic accounts, or related customer-facing commercial roles within advanced technology markets, including significant experience as an individual contributor with direct quota and revenue ownership. 3+ years of experience leading and developing a business development or sales team, with demonstrated success in setting goals, driving accountability, and improving team performance. Proven track record of achieving or exceeding revenue, pipeline, and business growth targets. Demonstrated ability to build new business from the ground up, open strategic accounts, and personally lead complex, high-value commercial opportunities. Strong customer network and relevant experience within one or more of the following areas: Autonomous Mobility, including autonomous vehicles, robotaxis, autonomous shuttles, delivery vehicles, and off-road autonomous platforms Robotics and Automation, including warehouse, logistics, manufacturing, service, and mobile robotics 3D Mapping and Geospatial Technologies, including mobile mapping, surveying, digital twins, and spatial intelligence Smart Infrastructure, including intelligent transportation, airports, traffic systems, security, and infrastructure automation Experience selling LiDAR, cameras, 3D sensing systems, sensors, robotics components, opto-mechatronic products, semiconductors, or other technically complex B2B technologies strongly preferred. Strong understanding of complex technical sales cycles, including product evaluation, proof of concept, pilot deployment, commercial negotiation, and production ramp. Strong leadership skills with the ability to operate effectively as a player‑coach, developing the team while remaining personally involved in strategic accounts and key deals. Strong hunter mentality with high energy, initiative, persistence, urgency, and personal ownership. Excellent communication, presentation, negotiation, and executive relationship-building skills. Highly proactive, organized, and disciplined in pipeline management, forecasting, prioritization, and customer follow-up. Strong commercial judgment and analytical skills, with the ability to understand customer requirements, identify barriers, and develop commercially viable solutions. Ability to understand complex technical products and communicate effectively with both engineering teams and senior business decision-makers. Comfortable operating in a fast‑paced, international environment and collaborating effectively across teams in North America, Europe, and China. Experience working closely with China‑based headquarters or cross‑border teams is strongly preferred. Willingness and ability to travel approximately 30–50%, primarily across North America, with periodic international travel including visits to Hesai’s headquarters in China. Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Business, or a related field required; advanced degree preferred. What Success Looks Like Success in this role will be measured by the ability to: Build and maintain a strong pipeline across Autonomous Mobility, Robotics, 3D Mapping, and Smart Infrastructure. Open new strategic customer relationships and create meaningful new business opportunities. Convert customer engagement into design wins, production programs, and measurable revenue growth. Expand Hesai’s position within priority customers, applications, and markets. Build strong relationships with key technical, commercial, and executive decision-makers. Develop and lead a high‑performing North America business development team. Consistently drive opportunities forward with speed, ownership, and strong commercial discipline. #J-18808-Ljbffr Hesai Technology