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:

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.