Business Development Manager

TACTILIA robotics; München; On-site; EUR 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

TACTILIA is seeking a Business Development Manager to lead the commercial launch of our robotic hand solution. You will identify target customers across robotics OEMs, system integrators, AI labs, and industrial users, open doors, and convert early interest into signed deals.

You will work closely with engineering and product teams, run full sales cycles including demonstrations, feasibility discussions, and pilot scoping, and shape our go-to-market strategy through field feedback.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in business development or technical sales for complex industrial products.
• Solid robotics and AI knowledge to discuss integration credibly.
• Proven ability to win new accounts and close long sales cycles.
• Strong presentation and negotiation skills; engage engineers and executives.
• Ownership mentality; able to build pipeline without a ready-made playbook.
• Fluent English; German is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Identify target accounts across robotics OEMs and system integrators.
• Own full sales cycle from first contact to close.
• Lead pre-sales with engineering team: demos, workshops, feasibility discussions.
• Build relationships with technical and commercial decision-makers.
• Develop partnerships leveraging SCHUNG's network.
• Translate customer needs into clear value propositions for product roadmap.
• Represent TACTILIA at trade fairs and events.
• Provide market insights to inform pricing and priorities.

Skills

Business development

Technical sales

Robotics

Artificial intelligence

Presentation

Negotiation

Ownership mindset

English fluent

German a plus

Job description

About TACTILIA:

At TACTILIA, we are building the industry-ready robotic hand that closes one of the biggest gaps in Physical AI. Spun out of SCHUNG, the global market leader in gripping technology, we combine a decade of robotic-hand expertise and real industrial access with the speed and ambition of a deep-tech startup.

This isn't a research project waiting for its first customer. We already have a product, customers are ready to use it, and we are launching now. Your work will directly shape the electronics, actuators, and embedded systems that make that possible.

You will join at the moment when the hard engineering questions become real product decisions: how do we make a highly capable robotic hand reliable, manufacturable, serviceable, and simple enough to deploy on a real shop floor?

The Role:

As Business Development Manager, you will own TACTILIA's commercial launch: finding the right customers, opening doors, and turning early interest into signed deals. You will sell a technically demanding product to engineering and business decision-makers across robotics, AI, and industrial automation, acting as the bridge between our engineers and our customers. You will also help define which markets and partnerships we pursue first, and your feedback from the field will directly shape our product roadmap and go-to-market.

What you will do:

• Identify, prioritize, and win target accounts across humanoid and robotics OEMs, system integrators, AI and robot-learning companies, and industrial end users

• Own the full sales cycle, from first contact and qualification through technical evaluation, proposal, negotiation, and close

• Lead technical pre-sales together with our engineering team: product demos, use-case workshops, feasibility discussions, and pilot scoping

• Build relationships with decision-makers on both the technical side (R&D, engineering leads) and the commercial side (management, procurement)

• Develop strategic partnerships with ecosystem players, and leverage SCHUNG's industrial network where it opens doors

• Translate customer requirements, from grasping and manipulation to integration with robot platforms and AI stacks, into clear value propositions

• Represent TACTILIA at trade fairs, conferences, and customer events

• Bring structured market and customer insight back to the team to inform pricing, positioning, and product priorities
  

What you bring:

• 5+ years in business development, technical sales, or pre-sales, ideally selling complex technical products or solutions to industrial or engineering customers

• A solid technical foundation in robotics and AI, through your studies or hands-on work, so you can discuss robot integration and AI-driven manipulation credibly with engineers

• A track record of winning new accounts and closing complex deals with long sales cycles

• Strong presentation and negotiation skills, with the ability to build trust at both the engineering and executive level

• Ownership mentality: you're comfortable building structure and pipeline without a ready-made playbook

• Fluent English; German is a plus

Bonus:

• Experience in robotics, humanoids, dexterous manipulation, automation, or industrial hardware

• Existing network among robotics companies, integrators, AI labs, or industrial automation buyers

• Experience in a startup or scale-up where you helped build the sales function

The next chapter of robotics won't be built in a lab. It will be built by people who care about what happens when technology meets the real world.

At TACTILIA, you'll work on one of the hardest open problems in robotics: giving machines the dexterity, reliability and robustness to interact with the physical world at industrial scale.

The technology is taking shape, the team is being built, and the standards around robotic hands and their skills are still open. That means your decisions will have a lasting impact - not just on a product, but on what comes next for Physical AI.

Build the hand. Define the standard. Shape what comes next.