Business Development Manager - Automation & Technical Solutions

BONNER; Dublin; Hybrid; EUR 70,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension contributions

Hybrid work model

Job summary

BONNER is seeking a Business Development Manager - Automation & Technical Solutions to drive growth in industrial automation and technical solutions for manufacturing clients across Ireland. The role blends field-facing work with in-office collaboration in Dublin or Cork, with travel to international events.

The candidate will work with Automation and Technical Solutions departments to design, propose, and deliver control system projects, smart manufacturing initiatives, and AI/IIoT-enabled

Qualifications

• Experience in external sales or account management within industrial automation or manufacturing.
• Ability to scope automation projects on site and translate requirements into a technical brief.
• Knowledge of PLC/HMI, SCADA, DCS architectures and plant data integration.

Responsibilities

• Identify opportunities in PLC/HMI, SCADA, DCS and control panels within Ireland.
• Build relationships with engineering, project and operations teams at manufacturing sites.
• Develop functional specs, estimates and proposals with the automation team.
• Advise on upgrade paths for legacy control platforms and migration strategies.
• Support project lifecycle from concept to handover.

Skills

Industrial automation

Account development

Stakeholder management

Technical sales

Communication skills

Education

BA in Sales or Management

Engineering background beneficial

Instrumentation/Automation training

Tools

ABB platforms

Siemens

AVEVA

Rockwell

OPC UA

MQTT

Job description

We are looking to recruit a Business Development Manager -Automation & Technical Solutions to join our expert industrial automation and instrumentation team to focus on industrial automation and application solutions for the manufacturing industry from a range of partners and systems. This is a hybrid role with some time in office weekly but is predominantly external facing within Ireland with use of a base in Dublin or Cork. There will be some travel to international events throughout the year.

The role will work predominantly between two departments - our Automation department designs, builds and commissions control systems including PLC/HMI applications, SCADA, DCS, MES and control panels. We work as a long-term automation partner to our clients to deliver modern, efficient and safe systems. We have a focus on developing Smart Manufacturing solutions with projects we deliver for clients.Our Technical solutions department incorporates exclusive distributorships as a technical distributor and also provides off-the-shelf packages for various factory applications (AI, CyberSecurity, OEE, Monitoring) that add value to client manufacturing sites.

Responsibilities

• Identify opportunities in PLC and HMI application development, SCADA, DCS, MES and Control Panels
• Build and maintain relationships with engineering, project and operations teams at manufacturing sites across Ireland
• Understand each client's installed control systems, standards and capital plans, and advise on suitable options.
• Carry out technical discovery on site, define project scope and produce the brief for our engineering team
• Work with our Automation Manager and engineers to develop functional specifications, estimates and proposals
• Advise clients on upgrade and migration paths for legacy and end-of-life control platforms
• Develop smart manufacturing projects for plant connectivity, data collection, production reporting and performance monitoring
• Support clients through the project process, from early concept through to award and handover
• Our technical solutions distributor product ranges and factory application systems form a secondary part of the role
• Identify key accounts for control and monitoring products and applications working with internal sales team.
• Extend existing instrumentation and calibration relationships into automation
• Register Bonner on approved vendor lists, framework agreements and tender lists
• Maintain pipeline and forecast records in our CRM and report on them monthly

What we look for

As the ideal candidate, you’ll have exceptional communication skills and the natural ability to build and expand relationships, both with clients and internal teams.

Previous experience in external sales, account management, or a technical service environment, in the industrial or manufacturing sector is a significant advantage.

• Proven record in consultative technical sales or business development in industrial automation, control systems or system integration
• Working knowledge of PLC, HMI, SCADA and DCS architecture, and how these systems are specified and delivered
• Ability to scope an automation system project on site and translate plant requirements into a technical brief
• Established relationships with manufacturers in Ireland, in one or more of pharma, food & Beverage, dairy or general manufacturing
• Experience managing long sales cycles and capital project timelines
• Full clean driving licence
• Experience or knowledge of ABB, B&R, Ignition, Siemens, AVEVA or Rockwell platforms
• Familiarity with industrial networking, OPC UA, MQTT and plant-to-enterprise data
• Have a good understanding of new and emerging technologies such as AI, Machine Learning, Edge, IoT, Industry 4.0
• Experience of GMP, GAMP 5 validation or other regulated manufacturing environments
• Understanding of ISA-88 batch control or ISA-95 system architecture

Person

• Instrumentation, Mechanical, Automation or Control Experience is required
• Strong communication skills (both verbal and written) with the ability to explain technical services to non-technical stakeholders
• Organised
• Self Motivated with good presentation skills
• Commercially aware and demonstrable success with achieving targets.

Education & Experience

• Experience in a similar business development role; if not directly automation, a role where engineering or technical knowledge was required.
• From a technical side, any level course in Instrumentation, Control, Automation or Engineering related course would be of benefit
• From a commercial side, BA in Sales or Management would be an advantage
• Pension Contributions
• Training and certification with our automation technology partners
• Support and opportunities in Community Involvement / Wellness and ESG activities.