Business Development Manager

Allient Inc. is a global publicly traded company with three product divisions: Motion, Power, and Controls. This role will work as part of our Allient Watertown business unit focused on motion control products, actuation systems, and technology for various markets and industries including agriculture, medical, defense, construction, and material handling.

About the role

The Manager of Business Development and Strategy will lead Allient Watertown’s domestic go-to-market initiatives, product strategy, and marketing operations. This role requires close collaboration with the Watertown Leadership Team, R&D, sales (including Regional Sales Managers and North American Solutions Center), engineering, and Allient's global marketing teams. The successful candidate will shape product development, drive marketing strategies, and provide leadership as a change agent to accelerate our go-to-market process for innovative new products and expand Allient Watertown’s presence in key domestic and global markets. Development of “sticky”, non-commodity type products and solutions is needed to support high growth and profitability plans.

Responsibilities

• Develop Go-To-Market (GTM) strategy plan and manage execution across direct, non-direct, and cross-organizational teams. Business management will include annual revenue plan, revenue (walk) of strategic GTM plans for growth, and revenue forecasting.
• Based on the GTM strategy formed in collaboration with internal stakeholders, define the products needed and develop a roadmap in 90 days.
• Define and execute Allient Watertown’s product roadmap and marketing strategy.
• Lead cross-functional teams to develop and launch new products.
• Ensure alignment with Allient’s domestic strategy while supporting global growth.
• Oversee the entire product lifecycle from concept to market launch.
• Collaborate with R&D, engineering, and sales to define product specifications and features.
• Lead market research and competitive analysis to identify trends and growth opportunities.
• Develop business cases and ROI analyses for new product initiatives.
• Create and execute integrated marketing campaigns across multiple channels.
• Develop compelling product messaging, positioning, and value propositions.
• Lead brand management and ensure consistent representation across all platforms.
• Manage Allient Watertown’s online presence, content creation, and trade show participation.
• Collaborate with sales teams to create marketing materials, training programs, and sales tools.
• Collaborate with Program Management/Operations/Manufacturing/Supply Chain and Intracompany Business Units to ensure products meet financial/profitability targets.
• Define key performance indicators (KPIs) and track marketing and product performance.
• Lead and directly contribute to opportunity development with the sales engineering team.
• Use a sales engineering approach to gain customers by providing expert-level product and application knowledge.
• Be a partner in the customer’s project success.
• Lead and support the customer in the initial engineering (e.g., component and system sizing) and then testing of products or demo systems.
• Work with customers to define product, application, and/or system into performance and functional specifications to guide the customers and internal teams.
• Internally provide a technical and commercial plan to win projects which can include business cases for investments in development.
• For system-level solutions, work with the internal engineering team to develop customer proposals to meet specifications, define scope of work, define factory acceptance testing, and quote engineering services.
• Identify, prospect, and pursue new business opportunities within OEMs, Aftermarket, and other Integrators across target market segments.
• Develop and execute strategic plans to grow revenue and meet profit objectives.
• Build and nurture strong client relationships by understanding their specific challenges and providing tailored solutions.
• Collaborate with engineering teams to design and propose custom solutions incorporating Allient products and other technologies as needed.
• Conduct cold and warm calls, lead generation, and follow-ups to convert leads and opportunities into secured projects.
• Prepare proposals, quotations, and bid packages in alignment with client requirements and project scope.
• Utilize CRM tools (e.g., MS Dynamics) to track leads, opportunities, and pipeline status.
• Monitor industry trends, competitive landscape, and emerging technologies to identify new opportunities.
• Partner with internal teams to ensure seamless handoff of projects post-award for successful execution.
• Provide regular updates to senior management on business development activities and results.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering or business, with a technical and/or an advanced degree preferred.
• Minimum 8 years of experience in motion control products, systems, and technology.
• As the defense industry is an area of planned growth, working knowledge of Defense industry budgets, customers, technology, and procurement/contractual processes is preferred.
• Located near a major airport in the Northeast and ability to travel at least 50% of the time. Periodically travel to Watertown for key strategic meetings. Close proximity, with a home base, between Buffalo and Watertown is preferred.
• Knowledge of CRM and MS Office.
• Applicants must have unrestricted authorization to work in the United States at the time of hire and throughout employment. No visa sponsorship is available for this position.

Skills

• Ability to develop strong, strategic relationships with key organizational stakeholders.
• Demonstrate the ability to learn other Allient products.
• Experience with diverse sales channels and proven leadership and ability to drive sales.
• Strong understanding of customer and market dynamics and requirements.
• Superior verbal and written communication skills.
• Excellent listening, negotiating, and presentation skills.