Job Description
Company: International Electronic Machines Corporation
Location: Troy, NY - Onsite
Role Type: Full-Time, Senior Business Development / Sales Leadership
International Electronic Machines Corporation is seeking a high-performing R&D Sales Rainmaker to lead the identification, pursuit, proposal development, and closing of new funded research and development contracts.
This is not a passive sales role. We are looking for a driven, technically curious, commercially aggressive professional who can create opportunity pipelines, build agency and customer relationships, shape R&D opportunities around IEM’s core technical strengths, and close funded contracts that support company growth.
The successful candidate will help position IEM for sustained growth by building a structured, marketing-driven R&D sales process rather than simply reacting to incoming opportunities. The role requires a blend of business development, government contracting awareness, technical sales judgment, proposal leadership, customer relationship management, and high-level contract/project follow-through.
Primary Performance Objectives
The R&D Sales Rainmaker will be expected to:
- Build a Marketing-Driven R&D Sales Pipeline
Identify opportunity clusters that align with IEM’s technical capabilities, strategic priorities, and existing work. Develop a proactive sales approach based on targeted customers, agencies, programs, and technical domains.
The goal is to generate synergistic R&D contract opportunities where the technical and business value strengthen IEM’s long-term position.
- Achieve New R&D Contract Sales Goals
Lead The Full R&D Sales Cycle, Including
- Lead generation through agency outreach, industry contacts, PR, advertising, cold and warm calls, conferences, and direct customer engagement
- Opportunity qualification and prioritization
- Development of customer relationships
- Coordination of proposal responses with engineering, management, and other internal departments
- Customer visits, presentations, technical discussions, and site visits
- Proposal preparation, submission, and follow-up
- Closing funded R&D contracts
The target objective is to help achieve approximately $4 million in new funded R&D contract awards over the annual performance period, reviewed on a six-month basis.
- Maintain Strong Sales Metrics and Management Communication
Create And Maintain a Disciplined Reporting Routine For
- Sales forecasts
- Active opportunity pipeline
- Proposal status
- Purchase order and contract status
- Customer follow-ups
- Win/loss debriefs
- Strategic opportunity tracking
The successful candidate must keep management informed through routine, scheduled updates and clear performance metrics.
- Serve as a Strong Customer Interface
Represent IEM professionally with government agencies, commercial R&D customers, strategic partners, and external collaborators.
This includes responding to customer issues, communicating IEM’s position clearly, recommending practical solutions, and maintaining productive customer relationships before and after contract award.
- Support R&D Contract and Project Management
Provide High-level Contract And Project Follow-through After Award, Including
- Contract review support
- Proposal-to-contract transition
- Contract modifications and extensions
- Customer follow-up after project start
- Coordination with internal project execution teams
- Occasional support for payment or accounts receivable follow-up when needed
The role is sales-led, but the ideal candidate understands that R&D contract success depends on strong handoff, customer confidence, and continued relationship management after the sale.
- Position R&D Sales for Long-Term Growth
Develop new channels, agency relationships, customer contacts, alliances, and technical opportunity areas consistent with IEM’s growth plan.
Expected Activities Include
- Establishing at least two new agency or customer contacts per month
- Improving proposal hit rate
- Reusing prior work and technical assets where appropriate
- Identifying opportunities that can produce reusable prototypes or platform technologies
- Supporting IEM’s long-term growth through strategic, synergistic R&D sales
Ideal Candidate Profile
The Ideal Candidate Will Have
- Proven success in selling or capturing funded R&D contracts
- Experience with government agencies, federal/state R&D programs, SBIR/STTR-style opportunities, or technology development contracts
- Strong ability to find, shape, and close opportunities rather than simply respond to published solicitations
- Ability to understand technical products, engineering concepts, prototypes, and development programs
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Proposal development experience
- Strong customer-facing presence
- Ability to work with engineers, executives, customers, and contracting personnel
- Disciplined use of CRM, pipeline tracking, forecasting, and sales metrics
- Persistence, creativity, and strong follow-through
Preferred Background
Experience in one or more of the following areas is highly desirable:
- Transportation technology
- Railroad systems
- Machine vision
- Sensors and instrumentation
- Wireless monitoring systems
- Defense, infrastructure, or industrial automation
- Government-funded technology development
- Applied research commercialization
- Technical proposal development
- Contract capture management
Success Measures
Success In This Role Will Be Measured By
- Funded contracts signed and awarded
- Total new R&D contract value
- Quality and strategic fit of new opportunities
- Proposal volume and proposal success ratio
- Customer relationship growth
- Number of new agency/customer contacts developed
- Strength and accuracy of the opportunity pipeline
- Regularity and usefulness of management reporting
- Contribution to IEM’s long-term technical and business growth
Compensation
Compensation will be competitive and may include a base salary plus performance-based incentives tied to funded R&D contract awards, strategic customer development, and achievement of sales objectives.
How To Apply
Qualified candidates (only US Citizens or Green Card holders) should submit a resume and a brief cover letter describing:
- Prior experience selling, capturing, or developing funded R&D contracts
- Examples of customers, agencies, or technical markets previously served
- Experience with proposal development and contract closing
- Demonstrated ability to generate new opportunities from the ground up
This is a senior growth role for a true R&D sales rainmaker — someone who can create opportunities, build relationships, and convert technical capability into funded contracts.
$95,000 - $115,000 a year based on experience
Competitive Benefit package offered
IEM is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
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