Global Key Account Manager

KUKA; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

KUKA USA is seeking an Account Manager to lead the Apple relationship from our San Francisco base. You will manage sales, product alignment, and strategic engagement across Asia and Cupertino, translating Apple requirements into actionable plans while driving global account growth.

You will build senior-level relationships, influence roadmaps, and coordinate multi-functional teams to deliver automation solutions. Willingness to travel globally and liaise with executive leadership is required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering or related field with 3 years B2B sales experience.
• Experience selling capital equipment to consumer electronics or similar industries.
• Strong relationships with senior management and key stakeholders.
• Ability to travel globally and manage complex, multi-site accounts.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the global interface between Apple's engineering/procurement and KUKA’s Asia sales.
• Develop understanding of Apple roadmaps to identify automation opportunities.
• Translate Apple requirements into actionable regional engagement plans for Asia.
• Build trusted relationships with stakeholders within Apple and KUKA.
• Drive global Apple account strategy and align with decision-makers.
• Influence technology decisions by positioning KUKA solutions early.
• Coordinate cross-functional engagement across sales, engineering, and product teams.
• Support opportunity development with executive access and intelligence.
• Lead executive business reviews and strategic planning with Apple stakeholders.
• Align on global commercial frameworks and supplier engagement models.
• Represent Apple’s voice within KUKA and influence roadmaps.
• Collaborate with product/engineering to shape technology roadmaps.
• Maintain visibility into opportunities, investments, and deployment plans.
• Monitor industry and competitive developments relevant to Apple.
• Ensure clear communication between Apple stakeholders and KUKA teams.
• Support contract negotiations in partnership with regional leadership.
• Travel globally as required, with focus on Cupertino and key locations.
• Adhere to company standards, quality systems, and safety regulations.
• Mandarin speaking is a plus.

Skills

Account management

Sales strategy

Cross-functional collaboration

Business development

Customer relationship

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering or related field

Tools

CRM Salesforce

MS Excel

Job description

Under the direction of KUKA’s U.S.A. VP of Sales and Marketing and with dotted line responsibility to KUKA Roboter GmbH’s Division VP, Electronics for sales account mamagement assignments, sales strategies, product management, the incumbent represents the company’s products and services to select electronic/3C accounts. Manages assigned accounts and develops new accounts to generate increased sales, profitability, and market share. The Account Manager will be assigned to accounts by industry (Consumer Electronics Manufacturing).

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

• Serve as the primary global interface between Apple’s engineering and procurement teams in Cupertino and KUKA's regional sales organizations across Asia.
• Develop a deep understanding of Apple's product roadmaps, manufacturing strategies, supplier requirements, and operational priorities to identify automation opportunities and support long-term account growth.
• Enable and support regional sales teams in Asia by translating Apple’s global technical, commercial, and strategic requirements into actionable customer engagement plans.
• Build and maintain trusted relationships with key stakeholders across engineering, procurement, operations, manufacturing, and executive leadership within Apple.
• Develop and drive the global Apple account strategy, ensuring alignment between Cupertino decision-makers, Asia manufacturing sites, and KUKA business objectives.
• Influence specification and technology decisions by positioning KUKA solutions early in Apple's design, manufacturing, and capital planning processes.
• Coordinate cross-functional engagement between Apple and KUKA teams, including sales, application engineering, product management, service, and executive leadership.
• Support regional opportunity development by providing customer intelligence, executive access, technical guidance, and commercial alignment to local sales organizations.
• Lead executive business reviews, strategic planning sessions, and governance processes with Apple stakeholders to strengthen long-term partnerships.
• Facilitate alignment on global commercial frameworks, sourcing strategies, and supplier engagement models that support deployment across Asia.
• Represent Apple’s voice within KUKA, ensuring customer requirements, market trends, and strategic priorities are incorporated into business planning, product strategy, and investment decisions.
• Collaborate with product management and engineering teams to influence technology roadmaps based on Apple’s emerging manufacturing and automation needs.
• Maintain visibility into account opportunities, strategic initiatives, capital investment plans, and deployment pipelines to support accurate business forecasting.
• Monitor industry, technology, and competitive developments relevant to Apple and the consumer electronics manufacturing ecosystem.
• Ensure effective communication and coordination between Apple’s global stakeholders and KUKA’s regional organizations to deliver a consistent customer experience worldwide.
• Support contract negotiations, framework agreements, and commercial discussions in partnership with regional sales and business leadership teams.
• Travel globally as required, with particular focus on Cupertino and key Apple manufacturing locations worldwide.
• Adhere to company standards, quality systems, compliance requirements, and safety regulations.
• Mandarin speaking is a plus!

Education and/or Experience

• Bachelor's degree or the foreign equivalent in Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Computer Science, or another closely related field plus 3 years of experience in a Business-to-Business Sales occupation.
• Experience selling Capital Equipment to customers in the Consumer Electronics industries.
• Preferred: Strong relationship with customer senior management, management and working-level contacts, their supplier base and the accounts’ integrators.

KUKA is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to building an inclusive and diverse workforce. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, age, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other factor protected by applicable federal, state or local laws.