Key Account Manager, Business Development, Injection Molding

Thornley Corporate Solutions; Rochester Hills (MI); Hybrid; USD 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Structured product training

Formal sales training

Opportunity for international customer visits

Job summary

Thornley Corporate Solutions is seeking a Key Account Manager to manage a portfolio of automotive accounts in Rochester Hills, Michigan. This role involves proactive sales, relationship management, and working with engineering teams to drive growth. Candidates should have 5–10 years in B2B sales, particularly in automotive component manufacturing.

Preferred experience includes working with custom-tooled components such as injection molded products. The position offers a hybrid work setup, global exposure, and investment in training.

Qualifications

• 5–10+ years in B2B sales/account management in automotive or related manufacturing.
• Experience with custom-tooled components.
• Ability to manage and grow Tier 1/Tier 2 automotive accounts.

Responsibilities

• Own 10–15 key automotive accounts with a focus on growing revenue.
• Proactively drive RFQs and source decisions.
• Coordinate with internal technical support to qualify tools and parts.

Skills

B2B sales / account management

Technical selling

Consultative approach

Building relationships

Negotiation

Education

Technical degree or strong technical aptitude

Tools

Plastic injection molding

Rubber molding

Electromechanical components

Job description

About the job Key Account Manager, Business Development, Injection Molding

Hybrid - Farmington Hills

I'm hiring a Key Account Manager to take ownership of a defined portfolio of Tier 1 and key Tier 2 automotive accounts and grow them. This is a relationship‑driven, technical sales role with a small, profitable, privately held global manufacturer of custom-engineered components (compression-molded silicone rubber products and related electromechanical parts).

You'll be the person in front of the customer, hunting for new programs inside existing accounts, not just waiting for RFQs to show up.

What you'll do

• Own 10–15 key automotive accounts (Tier 1 / key Tier 2), with a focus on:
  • Growing revenue in existing business
  • Winning new design-ins and programs
• Work the full commercial lifecycle:
  • Proactively drive RFQs
  • Follow up on pricing feedback, competitive position, and sourcing timing
  • Be part of the sourcing decision, not a spectator
• Execute a 3 wide, 3 deep account strategy:
  • Build multiple relationships in purchasing and engineering
  • Know the buyer, colleagues around them, and their leadership
  • Reduce single-point-of-contact risk in every account
• Call on engineering and design teams:
  • Get our custom components specified and designed in
  • Coordinate with internal technical support to qualify tools and parts
• Understand and articulate customer pain:
  • Purchasing (cost, delivery, risk, supply continuity)
  • Engineering (design constraints, reliability, manufacturability)
  • Position our value accordingly, not just present a generic company deck
• Collaborate closely with inside sales support and engineering:
  • You're the field face; they help you execute
• Travel regularly to customers (primarily automotive in the US; some international possible)

What I'm looking for

Must-haves:

• 5–10+ years in B2B sales / account management in automotive or closely related manufacturing
• Background in custom-tooled components, for example:
  • Plastic injection molding
  • Rubber molding
  • Metal stampings
  • Fasteners or other engineered components where the customer buys a tool and then parts
• Managing and growing Tier 1 / Tier 2 automotive accounts
• Handling the full cycle: RFQ award SOP ongoing commercial support
• Comfort selling to both:
  • Purchasing (commercial negotiation)
  • Engineering / technical teams (design-in, qualification)
• A consultative approach:
  • You're comfortable asking questions, identifying pain points, and building value-based proposals

Nice-to-haves:

• Experience with electromechanical components, switches, keypads, or similar
• Prior Tier 2 / Tier 3 supplier background (vs. very large Tier 1 with big account teams)
• Technical degree or strong technical aptitude

What this role is not

• Not a catalog or line card sales job
• Not a role where you only process RFQs and hand everything off
• Not a big-company, 20-person account team environment
  • Here, you are the primary account owner (with inside and technical support)

You're likely a good fit if you:

• Proactively pick up the phone to get RFQ feedback and sourcing decisions
• Actively look for new programs and platforms within existing accounts
• Feel comfortable moving between buyer, engineer, and director-level conversations
• See sales as a professional craft and want to keep improving
• Stability & ownership mindset:
  • Privately held, family-owned, profitable global manufacturer (not private equity–owned)
• Small US team (you'll be employee #5 on the commercial/technical side here)
• You own your accounts and see the direct impact of your work
• Global exposure:
  • Work with colleagues across Europe, Asia, and North America
  • Opportunity for factory and international customer visits
• Investment in you:
  • Structured product training
  • Formal sales training (we treat sales as a professional discipline, not an afterthought)