Business Development Manager, Fire Suppression, East Coast

Johnson Controls International; Virginia; On-site; USD 101,000 - 157,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Sales incentive plan

Benefits package

Job summary

Johnson Controls, Inc. is seeking a senior fire suppression sales professional to drive demand and specifications across the Eastern United States.

You will build trusted relationships with consultants, architects, engineers, end users, and contractors, translating fire suppression knowledge into code-compliant, practical solutions. The role emphasizes strategic territory planning, early engagement in projects, and collaboration with regional sales, engineering, and product teams to influence

Qualifications

• 7+ years in fire suppression, special hazards suppression, sprinkler systems, life safety systems, or related technical sales/business development roles.
• Bachelor's degree preferred; equivalent industry experience considered.
• Strong knowledge of fire suppression systems, suppression technologies, and applicable codes/standards.
• Experience influencing specifications with consultants, architects, engineers, contractors, and end users.
• Proven success in business development, demand creation, and strategic account management.
• Excellent presentation, communication, and relationship-building skills across engineering to executive levels.
• Ability to travel extensively throughout the Eastern United States territory.

Responsibilities

• Drive demand and specification activity for Johnson Controls Fire Suppression solutions across the Eastern United States region.
• Serve as a primary subject matter expert for fire suppression solutions with consultants, architects, engineers, developers, and strategic end users.
• Identify, develop, and track large project opportunities from early specification through project award.
• Develop and execute territory strategies to expand specification influence and grow market share across targeted vertical markets.
• Deliver technical seminars, lunch-and-learns, product demonstrations, and industry presentations that build brand awareness and customer engagement.
• Build and maintain relationships with consulting engineers, fire protection engineers, AHJs, and other industry influencers.
• Influence project design by providing application guidance, code-compliant solutions, and fire suppression expertise.
• Support key end-user initiatives by promoting integrated fire and life safety solutions.
• Partner with product management, engineering, training, and technical support to address customer needs and communicate market trends.
• Collaborate with regional sales teams to develop account strategies, secure specifications, and improve project conversion.
• Maintain opportunity pipelines, project tracking, forecasting, and customer engagement activity in CRM.
• Represent Johnson Controls at industry associations, conferences, and trade events to strengthen visibility and influence.
• Own your territory with accountability, integrity, and a focus on project outcomes from first conversation to final award.
• Stay close to the work by engaging consultants, AHJs, end users, and contractors early to remove obstacles.
• Use market feedback and disciplined follow-through to improve specification strategies daily.
• Win as one team by aligning with regional sales, engineering, product management, training, and support.
• Translate technical fire suppression knowledge into clear recommendations for code-compliant, practical solutions.
• Track activity in CRM so forecasting and pipeline management stay current.
• Use presentations and demonstrations to create demand and drive stakeholders toward specifications.
• Bring a proactive, customer-focused approach balancing territory planning with responsive support.

Skills

Fire suppression systems

Special hazards suppression

Sprinkler systems

Life safety systems

Technical sales

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Job description

About us

Johnson Controls, a global leader in thermal management, mission-critical building systems, energy efficiency, and decarbonization, helps customers use energy more productively, reduce carbon emissions, and operate with the precision and resilience required in rapidly expanding industries such as data centers, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, advanced manufacturing, and higher education.

For more than 140 years, Johnson Controls has delivered performance where it really matters. Backed by advanced technology, lifecycle services and an industry-leading field organization, we elevate customer performance, turn goals into real-world results and help move society forward.

What You Will Do

Johnson Controls helps create smarter, healthier, and more sustainable buildings through fire protection, life safety, and integrated building technologies that support customer outcome and safer environments.

In this role, you will drive demand and specification activity for Johnson Controls Fire Suppression solutions across the Eastern United States. You will build trusted relationships with consultants, architects, engineers, end users, contractors, developers, and strategic partners to influence design decisions, grow market presence, and support major project opportunities across key vertical markets.

This is a strategic, consultative sales role focused on creating demand at the design and specification stage. You will combine technical fire suppression expertise with strong relationship management to position Johnson Controls solutions early in the project lifecycle and help move qualified opportunities from specification through award.

How You Will Do It

• Drive business development activities that increase demand for Johnson Controls Fire Suppression solutions across the Eastern United States region.
• Serve as a primary subject matter expert for fire suppression solutions with consultants, architects, engineers, developers, and strategic end users.
• Identify, develop, and track large project opportunities from early specification through project award.
• Develop and execute territory strategies to expand specification influence and grow market share across targeted vertical markets.
• Deliver technical seminars, lunch-and-learns, product demonstrations, and industry presentations that build brand awareness and customer engagement.
• Build and maintain relationships with consulting engineers, fire protection engineers, authorities having jurisdiction (AHJs), and other industry influencers.
• Influence project design by providing application guidance, code-compliant solutions, and fire suppression expertise.
• Support key end-user initiatives by promoting integrated fire and life safety solutions, aligned with operational and business objectives.
• Partner with product management, engineering, training, and technical support to address customer needs and communicate market trends.
• Collaborate closely with regional sales teams to develop account strategies, secure specifications, and improve project conversion.
• Maintain opportunity pipelines, project tracking, forecasting, and customer engagement activity in company-approved CRM systems.
• Represent Johnson Controls at industry associations, conferences, and trade events to strengthen visibility and influence.
• Own your territory with accountability, integrity, and a clear focus on project outcomes from the first conversation to final award.
• Stay close to the work by engaging consultants, AHJs, end users, and contractors early, so you can remove obstacles and focus on what matters most in each project.
• Use candid market feedback, disciplined follow-through, and problem-solving to improve specification strategies and customer engagement every day.
• Win as one team by working in close alignment with regional sales, engineering, product management, training, and technical support.
• Translate technical fire suppression knowledge into clear recommendations that help project teams choose code-compliant, practical solutions.
• Track activity consistently in approved CRM tools so forecasting, pipeline management, and next-step actions remain current and reliable.
• Use presentations, seminars, and product demonstrations to create demand, strengthen trust, and move stakeholders toward specification.
• Bring a proactive, customer-focused approach to every interaction, balancing strategic territory planning with responsive support on active opportunities.

What We Look For

Required

• 7+ years of experience in fire suppression systems, special hazards suppression, sprinkler systems, clean agent systems, water mist systems, life safety systems, or related technical sales/business development roles.
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business, Marketing, Fire Protection Engineering, or a related field preferred. Equivalent industry experience will be considered.
• Strong knowledge of fire suppression systems, suppression technologies, and applicable industry codes and standards.
• Experience influencing specifications and working with consultants, architects, engineers, contractors, and end users.
• Proven success in business development, demand creation, and strategic account management.
• Excellent presentation, communication, and relationship-building skills with the ability to engage audiences from engineering teams to executive leadership.
• Strong technical aptitude and ability to represent Johnson Controls Fire Suppression technologies at a high level.
• Ability to travel extensively throughout the Eastern United States territory.

Preferred

• Knowledge of NFPA 13, NFPA 15, NFPA 16, NFPA 17, NFPA 17A, NFPA 20, NFPA 2001, and other applicable fire protection and life safety standards.
• Experience supporting critical infrastructure, healthcare, higher education, data centers, airports, manufacturing facilities, energy, or other complex vertical markets.
• Established network within the consulting engineer and fire protection engineering community.
• Experience with specification-driven sales processes and major project pursuits.

Salary Range: HIRING SALARY RANGE: $101,000- 157,000(Salary to be determined by the education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities of the applicant, internal equity, and alignment with market data.) This role also offers a competitive Sales Incentive Plan that will take into account volume and margin on a project, quarterly, and annual basis. This position includes a competitive benefits package. The posted salary range reflects the target compensation for this role. However, we recognize that exceptional candidates may bring unique skills and experiences that exceed the typical profile. If you believe your background warrants consideration beyond the stated range, we encourage you to apply. To support an efficient and fair hiring process, we may use technology assisted tools, including artificial intelligence (AI), to help identify and evaluate candidates. All hiring decisions are ultimately made by human reviewers. For details, please visit the About Us tab on the Johnson Controls Careers site at https://jobs.johnsoncontrols.com/about-us