Technical Account Manager

Job description

Verkor is a French industrial company aiming to pioneer low-carbon battery manufacturing in France. With the backing of prominent industrial companies such as Renault Group, Plastic Omnium and Schneider Electric, Verkor intends to electrify the future of European mobility. With over 1100 experts from 53 different countries, our endeavor is to unite exceptional global talent to bring this ambitious and innovative project to life. Our strong and agile international team continues to grow and adapt to new challenges. Based in Grenoble and Dunkirk (France), we have started operations our Verkor Innovation Centre (R&D centre and 4.0 pilot line) which is now fully running and operational. We now focus on enabling the successful start of production of our Gigafactory in Dunkirk (France). With this facility, our ambition is to ramp-up mass production of low carbon lithium ion batteries to facilitate the decarbonization of European mobility. Based in Munich or the surrounding area, serve as the commercial and technical liaison between German automakers and internal teams to build rapport with the automakers’ key stakeholders at the operational level, anticipate and understand customer needs, align technology roadmaps, and transform opportunities into differentiated, robust, and competitive proposals, through to their submission and presentation to the customer. If the contract is awarded, you will need to serve as the liaison between the program teams and the client during development and then during series production, ensuring client satisfaction in collaboration with internal stakeholders (plant, engineering department, etc.) while maintaining the account’s profitability. ### Main Responsibilities : - Develop close relationships with contacts in Engineering, Purchasing, Program Management, Innovation, Public Affairs, and Communications at German OEMs. - Understand, document, and prioritize the explicit and implicit business and technical needs of German OEM customers. - Share the company’s technology roadmap with OEMs and gather their product, system, and vehicle requirements. - Identify the technical and commercial requirements of future requests for quotation (RFQs) early on and assess their alignment with internal capabilities and priorities. - Work with the Engineering and Product/Program teams to define the technical and commercial response to RFQs. - Develop, finalize, and submit proposals to clients in accordance with internal approvals, deadlines, and quality requirements. - Present and defend proposals to clients, demonstrating a thorough understanding of their technical, commercial, and economic aspects. - Translate client expectations into documented requirements, assumptions, trade-offs, and convergence plans. - Prepare and lead technical and commercial presentations, client workshops, design reviews, and Q&A sessions. - Organize tech shows, demonstrations, and innovation events that highlight the company’s technologies and differentiators. - Conduct technology, commercial, competitive, and regulatory monitoring to support the positioning of proposals. - Leverage customer feedback and contribute to the development of product and technology roadmaps. - Track actions, risks, and decisions until they are resolved and ensure clear communication with stakeholders. - During the program phase, support the project team and facilitate communication between the client and the program team. - During the production phase, ensure the account’s profitability while guaranteeing client satisfaction (QCD). ### Project Management Related Duties : - Serves as the sales and technical point of contact for German OEMs within their assigned territory. - Manages the entire proposal cycle: qualifying opportunities, drafting responses, coordinating approvals, and submitting and presenting proposals to the client. - Ensures the consistency, quality, competitiveness, and defensibility of technical and commercial proposals. - Leads the preparation of client milestones and alerts the team to any deviations, risks, dependencies, or necessary decisions. - Represents the company in upstream commercial and technical discussions and safeguards confidentiality, intellectual property, and approved commitments. - Contributes to go/no-go decisions and development priorities by providing the customer’s perspective and market insights. ### Prerequisites : - Engineering degree or Master’s degree in electrical, mechanical, automotive, battery systems, electrochemistry, or a related field; a background supplemented by sales experience is preferred. - Significant experience in a role combining B2B sales and technical expertise: technical sales, customer engineering, technical pre-sales, business development, or product development in the automotive industry. - Ideally, experience working at an automotive battery company - In-depth knowledge of German OEMs, their organization, decision-making processes, and RFI/RFQ practices. - Proven ability to develop, submit, present, and defend a client proposal, covering technical, commercial, and economic aspects. - Native German speaker; fluent English enabling you to work and present with ease in an international environment. Proficiency in French is a plus. - Position based in Munich with regular travel to client sites and company locations. - Knowledge of the battery industry and/or automotive electrification is an asset. - Ability to explain complex topics in simple terms and to persuade technical staff, procurement professionals, and executives. - Frequent travel to Verkor sites in France - Must be able to demonstrate a track record of securing orders from German OEMs. - Able to thrive in a multicultural environment and within a dynamic organization - Entrepreneurial spirit, tenacity, a “hunter” mindset, and a positive attitude. - comfortable working in a scale-up company