Business Development Specialist

First Resonance; Rapid City (SD); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

In-office 3-4 days/week

Job summary

First Resonance is seeking a Senior Account Executive to close enterprise deals for its AI-native factory operating system. You will own the full sales cycle, hunting for new business and selling to technically minded buyers including engineers and manufacturing leaders.

Based in Los Angeles, this hybrid role requires being in the office 3–4 days per week and reporting to the COO. The ideal candidate has 5+ years of closing B2B sales in manufacturing software and a track record of large deals.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of closing experience in B2B sales.
• Direct experience selling MES, PLM, or ERP software — ideally in manufacturing.
• Comfortable in a startup environment (~50 people) with ambiguity and fast pace.
• Technically literate enough to hold conversations with engineers and manufacturing operators.
• Based in Los Angeles and open to being in-office 3-4 days per week.

Responsibilities

• Own the full sales cycle for enterprise deals ranging from $50K to hundreds of thousands in ACV.
• Hunt for new business — outbound focus with some inbound leads.
• Sell a technical, AI-native product to highly technical buyers (engineers, operators, and manufacturing leaders).
• Translate manufacturing software value (MES/PLM/ERP) into business outcomes for C-suite and engineering stakeholders.
• Provide market insights to product and engineering to influence the roadmap.

Skills

Closing experience

MES/PLM/ERP software

Technical conversations with engineers

Startup environment adaptability

Outbound sales proficiency

Tools

MES

PLM

ERP

Job description

First Resonance is a Series A-backed software company (founded 2019, $34M+ raised from investors including Craft Ventures, Emerson, Third Prime, Blue Bear Capital, and Fortitude Ventures) building the ION Factory OS — the leading operating system for modern manufacturers. ION gives hardware companies of every size a flexible, API-first platform to manage day-to-day factory operations, from production workflows and parts tracking to supply chain procurement and quality control. Their customers are building some of the most ambitious physical products on the planet: micro nuclear reactors, next-generation eVTOLs, space rockets, autonomous vehicles, robotic farms, and more — and collectively, those customers raised over $10 billion in the past year alone, a testament to the momentum in the advanced manufacturing space. First Resonance is on a mission to re-industrialize America by empowering engineers, operators, and managers with the tools they need to push the boundaries of the physical world.

The team (~50 people, headquartered in Los Angeles, CA) is AI-native in how they build software, and they're rapidly scaling their Forward Deployed Engineering function — growing from 1 to 6 FDEs in under a year and targeting 10+ — as a core driver of customer stickiness and revenue growth. The culture is startup-through-and-through: fast-paced, mission-driven, and deeply connected to the cutting-edge industries they serve.

We are looking for a Senior Account Executive with 5+ years of closing experience to join a small, high-impact sales team selling factory operating system software to the most ambitious hardware companies on the planet — think space rockets, micro nuclear reactors, eVTOLs, and defense tech. This is a hunting role with a $750K-$1M annual quota, reporting directly to the COO.

What will you be doing?

• Owning the full sales cycle for enterprise deals ranging from $50K to hundreds of thousands in ACV
• Hunting for new business — while inbound leads exist, this is primarily an outbound role
• Selling a technical, AI-native product to highly technical buyers (engineers, operators, and manufacturing leaders)
• Translating complex manufacturing software value (MES/PLM/ERP) into business outcomes for C-suite and engineering stakeholders
• Feeding market intelligence back to product and engineering teams to shape the roadmap

Key Requirements

• 5+ years of closing experience in B2B sales
• Direct experience selling MES, PLM, or ERP software — ideally in the manufacturing space
• Comfortable in a startup environment (~50 people) with ambiguity and fast pace
• Technically literate enough to hold conversations with engineers and manufacturing operators
• Based in Los Angeles and open to being in-office 3-4 days per week