Remote Operations Research Analyst Jobs in Waterloo, IA

The Sales Manager - OEM owns Viking Pump's most strategically important OEM accounts - the top-priority customers that represent the highest concentration of revenue and long-term growth potential. Reporting to the Business Line Director of Direct Sales, this is a remote, field-facing individual contributor role that carries significant commercial responsibility. You will be Viking's primary face with these accounts: orchestrating account strategy, navigating complex buying processes, aligning Viking's product capabilities to OEM specifications, and delivering profitable growth quarter over quarter. Proactively identify and generate new sales leads through research, networking, and developing market maps to maximize new and existing OEM orders and sales.

PRIMARY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Strategic Account Ownership

• Own a defined portfolio of top-priority OEM accounts and execute structured, multi-level account plans that identify growth levers, competitive threats, and relationship gaps at each customer.

• Lead quarterly business reviews with key OEM stakeholders - engineering, procurement, and operations - presenting Viking's value proposition in terms of uptime, total cost of ownership, and application fit.

• Map the full decision-making landscape at each account (technical, commercial, executive) and build relationships at every relevant level to protect against single-point-of-failure exposure.

• Identify whitespace - new product lines, platforms, geographies, or subsidiaries - within existing OEM accounts and build expansion plans with clear timelines and revenue targets.

Revenue & Margin Growth

• Deliver year-over-year revenue growth across the OEM portfolio, with specific annual targets set in partnership with the Business Line Director.

• Protect and improve gross margin by anchoring pricing conversations to Viking's documented technical differentiation, application expertise, and total cost of ownership - not on commodity price comparison.

• Negotiate pricing, terms, and commercial agreements within approved frameworks; escalate exceptions with clear business justification and context.

• Coordinate with Viking's internal operations, product management, and finance teams to structure deals that are both commercially competitive and operationally deliverable.

Pipeline Development & Management

• Build and maintain a qualified, stage-appropriate pipeline in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, with 3x coverage ratio relative to annual quota at all times.

• Maintain accurate opportunity records in Microsoft Dynamics - including account activity, contact notes, deal stage, expected close date, and revenue forecast - with weekly updates.

• Develop and execute prospecting plans to expand relationships within existing OEM accounts, targeting new platforms, product families, or sites not currently purchasing Viking products.

• Deliver a monthly revenue forecast to the Business Line Director with 10% variance to actual results over a rolling 90-day window.

Customer Engagement & Coverage

• Maintain 90% scheduled coverage of priority OEM accounts, executing structured face-to-face or virtual touchpoints aligned to each customer's buying cycle and strategic planning calendar.

• Serve as the primary internal escalation point for your OEM accounts - coordinate across Viking's customer service, engineering, and operations teams to resolve issues and close service gaps within agreed SLAs.

• Conduct annual customer satisfaction assessments at each key account and drive internal action plans in response to scores below target thresholds.

• Represent Viking at customer facilities, trade shows, and OEM industry events as required to maintain visibility, gather competitive intelligence, and advance strategic relationships.

Application & Specification Alignment

• Engage Viking's OEM customers at the engineering and specification level, translating Viking's product portfolio into specific application recommendations that solve real design challenges.

• Influence OEM equipment specifications early in the product development cycle to embed Viking Pump as the preferred or sole-source supplier before competitive alternatives are evaluated.

• Partner with Viking's internal application engineering and product management teams to match customer technical requirements to existing product lines or identify gaps warranting new product development.

• Provide structured field feedback on product performance, competitive positioning, and unmet customer needs to support Viking's product roadmap.

Intranet & Internal Systems Administration

• Maintain complete, accurate, and current account data in Microsoft Dynamics CRM - contacts, account hierarchy, opportunity pipeline, and activity history - as the foundation for Viking's commercial intelligence on your accounts.

• Leverage Viking's quoting tools and OEM customer portals to manage pricing, track orders, and coordinate delivery expectations across your account portfolio.

• Use Microsoft 365 tools (Teams, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) to prepare business reviews, account plans, forecasts, and internal stakeholder communications that are sharp, data-driven, and decision-ready.

EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS:

• 5+ years of direct B2B sales experience, with at least 3 years managing complex OEM or industrial accounts in a manufactured goods environment (pumps, fluid handling, rotating equipment, or adjacent industrial categories preferred).

• Demonstrated track record of managing multi-stakeholder OEM accounts - including engineering, procurement, and executive contacts - through full sales cycles from specification influence to purchase order.

• Experience using a CRM platform (Microsoft Dynamics or Salesforce) as a primary sales tool - pipeline management, forecasting, and opportunity documentation are second nature.

• Familiarity with OEM commercial structures: consignment, blanket orders, preferred supplier agreements, and specification lock-in strategies (ideal but not required).

• Experience selling a technical product requiring application-level knowledge and the ability to credibly engage with engineering audiences (ideal but not required).

OTHER SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Certain positions with IDEX Corporation and its business units require access to controlled goods and technologies subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations or the Export Administration Regulations. Applicants for these positions may need to be "U.S. Persons," as defined in these regulations. Generally, a "U.S. Person" is a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, lawful permanent resident, or an individual who has been granted refugee or asylum status.

• Commercially driven - you understand the difference between activity and revenue, and you consistently prioritize the actions most likely to close business or protect margin.

• Technically credible - you can engage with an OEM engineer on application requirements, translate that back to a product recommendation, and defend that recommendation under scrutiny without relying on engineering support for every customer conversation.

• Relationship builder - you invest in relationships at multiple levels within a customer organization, and you maintain those relationships between active deals - not just when there's an opportunity to close.

• Disciplined operator - your CRM is current, your forecasts are grounded, your follow-throughs are reliable. You treat internal stakeholders as customers and deliver on commitments to them with the same urgency you bring to external accounts.

• Resilient traveler - you're comfortable spending approximately 50% of your time in the field, at customer sites, and at industry events, and you manage your schedule and energy accordingly.

• Strategic thinker - you can hold both a quarterly quota and a 3-year account strategy in your head simultaneously, and you make near-term decisions with long-term positioning in mind.

TOOLS & TECHNICAL SKILLS:

• Microsoft Dynamics CRM - required; must be able to manage pipeline, log activity, and generate forecasts without training.

• Microsoft 365 (Outlook, Teams, Excel, PowerPoint) - required; used daily for account plans, business reviews, and internal coordination.

• OEM customer portals - required; experience navigating procurement, forecasting, and order management portals common to large OEM customers.

• Viking Pump quoting tools - preferred; experience with Viking's internal quoting environment or comparable manufacturer CPQ tools is a plus.

• Familiarity with positive displacement pump principles, fluid handling systems, or comparable rotating equipment (ideal but not required - application training provided).

WORK ENVIRONMENT REQUIREMENTS:

• Ability to move within office and manufacturing complex, write by hand and keyboard, and perform general office functions.

• Ability to communicate by speech and hearing via phone and in person.

• Visual acuity needed for close detail work and computer use.

• General manufacturing, warehouse and office environment.