Strategic Account Manager - Automotive Adhesives

H.B. Fuller; Deutschland; Remote; EUR 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

H.B. Fuller is seeking a Strategic Account Manager to drive growth in the Automotive Adhesives market across Europe.

You will develop and manage relationships with Automotive OEMs and Tier suppliers, identify new business opportunities, and support qualification and commercialization of adhesive solutions for exterior automotive applications. The role requires strong business acumen, technical understanding, and experience navigating complex automotive organizations across procurement,

Qualifications

• Minimum 5-7 years of B2B sales, business development, or account management experience.
• Proven experience working with Automotive OEMs and/or Tier 1 suppliers.
• Experience managing technical sales cycles and product qualification processes.
• Experience negotiating commercial agreements and long-term supply arrangements.
• Willingness to travel extensively within Europe.
• Fluency in English.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute strategic account plans for assigned Automotive OEM and Tier customer accounts.
• Drive profitable sales growth and achieve annual revenue, volume, and margin objectives.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with key decision-makers across purchasing, engineering, product development, manufacturing, and quality functions.
• Identify and develop new business opportunities within automotive exterior applications, including lighting systems, trims, plastic components, tailgates, emblems, sensors, and related assemblies.
• Support customers through the complete product qualification and approval process, working closely with Technical Service, R&D, and Product Management teams.
• Lead commercial negotiations, contract discussions, and pricing activities using value-based selling principles.
• Collaborate cross-functionally to ensure successful customer trials, product launches, and ongoing business support.
• Develop a robust opportunity pipeline and maintain accurate account and opportunity information in Salesforce.
• Monitor automotive market trends, competitive developments, and emerging technologies to identify growth opportunities.

Skills

B2B sales

Relationship building

Negotiation

Strategic selling

English fluency

Travel willingness

Education

Degree in Engineering, Chemistry, Materials Science, Business, or related field

Tools

Salesforce

Job description

As the largest pureplay adhesives company in the world, H.B. Fuller’s (NYSE: FUL) innovative, functional coatings, adhesives and sealants enhance the quality, safety and performance of products people use every day. Founded in 1887, with 2024 revenue of $3.6 billion, our mission to Connect What Matters is brought to life by more than 7,500 global team members who collaborate with customers across more than 30 market segments in over 140 countries to develop highly specified solutions that enable customers to bring world-changing innovations to their end markets. Learn more at www.hbfuller.com.

Job title:

Strategic Account Manager - Automotive Adhesives

Location:

Europe Remote

Position Overview

H.B. Fuller is seeking an experienced Strategic Account Manager to drive growth within the Automotive market across Europe. This role will focus on developing and managing relationships with Automotive OEMs and Tier suppliers, identifying new business opportunities, and supporting the successful qualification and commercialization of adhesive solutions used in automotive exterior applications.

The ideal candidate combines strong commercial acumen with technical understanding and has experience navigating complex automotive customer organizations, including procurement, engineering, product development, manufacturing, and quality teams.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and execute strategic account plans for assigned Automotive OEM and Tier customer accounts.
• Drive profitable sales growth and achieve annual revenue, volume, and margin objectives.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with key decision-makers across purchasing, engineering, product development, manufacturing, and quality functions.
• Identify and develop new business opportunities within automotive exterior applications, including lighting systems, trims, plastic components, tailgates, emblems, sensors, and related assemblies.
• Support customers through the complete product qualification and approval process, working closely with Technical Service, R&D, and Product Management teams.
• Lead commercial negotiations, contract discussions, and pricing activities using value-based selling principles.
• Collaborate cross-functionally to ensure successful customer trials, product launches, and ongoing business support.
• Develop a robust opportunity pipeline and maintain accurate account and opportunity information in Salesforce.
• Monitor automotive market trends, competitive developments, and emerging technologies to identify growth opportunities.

Required Qualifications

• Degree in Engineering, Chemistry, Materials Science, Business, or a related field.
• Minimum 5-7 years of B2B sales, business development, or account management experience.
• Proven experience working with Automotive OEMs and/or Tier 1 suppliers.
• Demonstrated experience managing technical sales cycles and product qualification processes.
• Strong track record of developing strategic customer relationships and winning new business.
• Experience negotiating commercial agreements and long-term supply arrangements.
• Experience supporting applications involving exterior trim, lighting systems, plastic assemblies, tailgates, spoilers, emblems, sensors, or similar automotive components.
• Knowledge of automotive manufacturing processes and product development cycles.
• Understanding of automotive quality and qualification requirements.
• Willingness to travel extensively within Europe.
• Valid driver's license and authorization to work in the country of employment.
• Fluency in English

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience within adhesives, sealants, tapes, specialty chemicals, plastics, coatings, or related automotive materials.
• Experience working within a matrix organization and collaborating with R&D, Technical Service, Operations, and Supply Chain teams.
• German or any additional European languages such as French or Italian are advantageous.

H.B. Fuller is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and proud to have created a collaborative culture where employees around the world are seen, heard, and respected. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, disability, or marital status or status as a protected veteran, or any other legally protected classification.

H.B. Fuller does not accept unsolicited resumes from recruiters, employment agencies, or staffing firms. To conduct business with H.B. Fuller, a written service agreement must be executed by Human Resources prior to submitting any information relating to a potential candidate. Without a signed service agreement, H.B. Fuller shall not be obligated for payment of any fee or compensation.