DIRECTOR, SALES AND OPERATIONS, AI ROBOTICS BUSINESS

Private Advertiser; Singapore; On-site; SGD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Private Advertiser in Singapore is seeking a Director, Sales and Operations to lead customer acquisition and ensure on-time delivery from order to after-sales support. You will work closely with the CEO and Head of Production to scale operations while preserving customer satisfaction and profitability.

The role requires excellent communication with customers and internal teams, strong execution, and the ability to translate customer feedback into R&D and factory actions.

Qualifications

• Degree in Business, Marketing, Supply Chain Management, Operations Management, Engineering, or a related discipline.
• Proven experience leading sales/customer management or operations in technology-driven businesses.
• Strong track record selling and delivering technology or hardware to business customers.

Responsibilities

• Oversee production status with Head of Production and align with orders and delivery commitments.
• Develop and manage customer relationships, proposals, quotations, and commercial terms; close sales.
• Own customer communication from order to delivery; provide regular status updates and manage payments milestones.
• Lead CRM/ERP adoption and ensure data integrity for customer, order and production records.
• Coordinate cross-functional resources to meet project milestones and delivery schedules.
• Set service and maintenance processes to support product reliability and customer satisfaction.
• Manage budgets, forecasts and commercial performance to drive growth.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic sales

Customer management

Negotiation

Project management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business/Engineering

Tools

CRM systems

ERP systems

Job description

Role Overview and Description

The Director, Sales and Operations is responsible for winning and managing customers and making sure customer commitments are delivered, with a primary focus on sales, customer management, order-to-delivery performance, production follow-up and close coordination across departments.

The role is the customer's main point of contact from order to delivery and after-sales support, and the link between customers, the factory and the internal teams. Working closely with the CEO, the Head of Production, and the R&D and engineering teams, the Director will oversee factory production status against delivery commitments, keep customers informed, keep a clear record of every prospect, customer and order, and build the processes needed to support business growth and ensure customer satisfaction.

The successful candidate must be commercially driven and execution-oriented, a confident communicator with customers and internal teams, disciplined in following up on orders and keeping customer records, and comfortable scaling a lean organisation in a dynamic and resource-constrained environment. A technical background is not essential, but the candidate must be able to explain robots’ technology to customers and relay customer comments clearly to the R&D team and the factory.

Reporting Line, Team and Location

• Reports to the Chairman & CEO.
• Direct reports: sales and customer management, and order and delivery coordination.
• Works closely with the Chairman & CEO and the Head of Production to oversee factory production status, and with the procurement, R&D and engineering, deployment and field service, finance and business development teams.
• Based in Singapore, with frequent international travel to customers, the factory, deployment sites and industry events across Asia, the United States and Europe.

Key Responsibilities

1. Production Follow-up & Supply Chain Coordination

• Oversee factory production status together with the Head of Production, following up with the factory and contract manufacturers on schedules and shipment dates, and keep customers, sales and management updated.
• Maintain working relationships with contract manufacturers, component suppliers, logistics providers and other strategic operational partners, and elevate production or supply issues early.
• Work with production and procurement to align production plans and capacity with confirmed orders, so products are manufactured and delivered in accordance with customer commitments.

2. Sales & Customer Management

• Develop and manage customer and distributor relationships, qualify leads, prepare proposals and quotations, negotiate commercial terms and close sales.
• Own customer communication from order to delivery: confirm delivery dates, give regular status updates, and follow up on payment milestones with Finance.
• Lead the team to keep a clear, up-to-date record of every prospect and customer met (contacts, requirements, interactions and next steps) in the company's CRM as it is introduced, and use it to build the sales pipeline, forecasts and account plans with the business development team.
• Follow up on every order placed through to delivery, tracking order status, delivery dates and customer queries, and report order status, slippage and sales performance to the CEO weekly.
• Explain robots capabilities and technology to customers, relay their requirements and comments to the R&D team, engineering and the factory, and track how they are addressed.

3. Deployment & Customer Delivery

• Coordinate with the engineering and deployment teams on installation, commissioning and field service to ensure timely and successful deployment.
• Confirm with the engineering and quality teams that robots meet the agreed specifications and quality standards before delivery and commissioning.
• Coordinate cross-functional resources to meet project milestones, delivery schedules and customer expectations.
• Work with the deployment and support teams to set service and maintenance processes that support product reliability and customer satisfaction.
• Monitor operational performance, service levels and customer feedback, driving corrective actions and continuous improvement.

4. Cross-functional Leadership & Execution

• Communicate and align closely with the production, procurement, engineering, deployment and finance teams, together with R&D, to keep customer commitments on track.
• Foster a high-performance, accountable and customer-focused culture through effective team leadership, resource planning and performance management.
• Oversee the progress and status of the CRM and ERP implementation, which is set up by the current team, report progress to the CEO, and make sure the systems are adopted and used for customer, order and production data.

5. Business and Financial Planning

• Develop and manage the annual sales and operations budget, sales forecasts and related expenditure.
• Partner with commercial leadership to align operational capacity and cost structures with sales forecasts, business growth and customer commitments, while maintaining product quality, reliability and delivery standards.
• Own sales targets and customer margins, and contribute to the business unit P&L, ensuring commercial and operational decisions support revenue growth, profitability and sustainable business performance.
• Work with Finance on customer invoicing, collections and receivables so that delivery and payment milestones are met.

6. Operational Scaling & Market Expansion

• Develop the operational business plan and scaling roadmap to support the company's commercialisation and growth strategy.
• Support new market entry with logistics, service arrangements and local partners, working with the technical teams on regulatory approvals and certifications.
• Evaluate and establish relationships with distributors, system integrators, joint-venture partners and local service providers to support regional expansion.

7. Compliance & Stakeholder Management

• Ensure contractual obligations, delivery commitments and customer service commitments are met, working with the technical teams on regulatory, certification and safety requirements.
• Monitor contractual deliverables, project milestones and service-level agreements, proactively identifying and managing delivery risks and operational issues, and escalating disputes to the CEO and, where required, external counsel.
• Represent the business with customers, partners and at industry events, and support investor engagements, where delivery commitments and production readiness are concerned, only when authorised by the CEO or CFO.

Job Requirements & Experience

• Degree in Business, Marketing, Supply Chain Management, Operations Management, Engineering, or a related discipline.
• At least 10 years of experience in sales, customer management or operations leadership, including at least 5 years in a senior role, preferably within robotics, automation, industrial technology, hardware or technology-driven businesses.
• Proven experience selling and delivering technology or hardware products to business customers, from pilot orders to commercial deployment.
• Demonstrated experience following up with contract manufacturers, international suppliers and logistics partners on production status and delivery dates.
• Working understanding of manufacturing processes, production planning and supply chain management; deep technical expertise is not required.
• Ability to understand and explain robots technology and applications to customers, and to communicate customer comments clearly to the R&D team and the factory; a technical background is helpful but not essential.
• Experience establishing operational processes, systems, performance metrics and controls in a growing business. Experience setting up CRM and ERP systems is an advantage, but not required.
• Experience building and maintaining customer and pipeline records (for example in a CRM) and following up on orders through to delivery.
• Demonstrated ability to manage sales and operational budgets, pricing, margins and commercial performance.
• Experience leading lean, cross-functional teams in a start-up or resource-constrained environment.
• Strong communication, project management, problem-solving, negotiation and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to balance strategic business planning with hands-on operational execution.
• Experience operating within a listed group, including its reporting and governance requirements.
• Fluency in English and Mandarin, given the role's regular communication with contract manufacturers in China; additional languages relevant to target markets are an advantage.