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Government Contracts R&D Sales Rainmaker

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:

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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:

1. Prior experience selling, capturing, or developing funded R&D contracts
2. Examples of customers, agencies, or technical markets previously served
3. Experience with proposal development and contract closing
4. 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.