Manager, Business Development, Aerospace Electronics

3M; Maplewood (MN); On-site; USD 188,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

3M is seeking a Manager, Business Development for Aerospace Electronics to translate customer needs and market trends into growth opportunities across avionics, satellite, radar, and power systems. You’ll collaborate with engineering, labs, product teams, sales, and marketing to shape strategy and go-to-market plans.

The role requires a strong background in business development and cross-functional collaboration, with 7+ years in related fields.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering/Science (completed and verified prior to start).
• 7+ years in business development, segment or product marketing, product management, technical sales, strategic marketing or commercial strategy across sectors.

Responsibilities

• Understand aerospace and defense electronics market needs, trends, and growth opportunities.
• Synthesize voice-of-customer insights to inform portfolio decisions and commercialization plans.
• Frame new applications, cross-selling opportunities, and customer-backed growth opportunities.
• Support business case development and go-to-market strategies for relevant products and collaborations.
• Create product application heat maps with lead customers and priority accounts.
• Connect customer needs with 3M capabilities across labs, product, and sales teams.
• Support go-to-market readiness, demos, trade shows, and portfolio representation.
• Share market insights and competitive positioning with sales and marketing teams.
• Represent aerospace electronics priorities in portfolio reviews and collaboration initiatives.
• Track opportunity pipeline progress and commercialization milestones.

Skills

Business development

Customer orientation

Strategic market dev

Cross-functional collab

Value proposition

Executive comms

Go-to-market

Portfolio strategy

Education

Bachelor’s degree in STEM

MBA or advanced degree

Job description

Job Title: Manager, Business Development, Aerospace Electronics

Collaborate with Innovative 3Mers Around the World

Choosing where to start and grow your career has a major impact on your professional and personal life, so it’s equally important you know that the company that you choose to work at, and its leaders, will support and guide you. With a wide variety of people, global locations, technologies and products, 3M is a place where you can collaborate with other curious, creative 3Mers.

Impact You’ll Make in this Role

The 3M Manager, Business Development, Aerospace Electronics will translate customer needs, industry trends, and market opportunities into actionable growth, innovation, portfolio, and commercialization priorities for 3M’s aerospace and defense electronics business.

This role connects voice-of-customer insights with 3M capabilities across application engineering, Corporate Labs, product teams, platform teams, sales, marketing, and portfolio management. The position is responsible for identifying and advancing high-value opportunities, supporting business case development, enabling go-to-market execution, and helping drive growth in priority applications such as avionics, satellite electronics, radar and mission systems, electrified power systems, thermal management, EMI mitigation, bonding, insulation, and protection materials.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop a strong understanding of aerospace and defense electronics market needs, customer challenges, industry trends, priority applications, and growth opportunities.
• Gather and synthesize voice-of-customer insights to inform portfolio decisions, innovation priorities, new product introduction, and commercialization plans.
• Identify and frame new applications, cross-selling opportunities, technology gaps, and customer-backed growth opportunities.
• Support development and evaluation of business cases for relevant products, technologies, strategic customer opportunities, and external collaborations.
• Partner with application engineering to create product application heat maps for lead customers, priority accounts, and growth areas.
• Connect customer needs with 3M capabilities across Corporate Labs, product teams, platform teams, application engineering, sales, marketing, and partner divisions.
• Support go-to-market strategy, launch readiness, customer demos, trade shows, and customer-facing portfolio representation.
• Share market insights, customer needs, value propositions, product updates, and competitive positioning with sales, marketing, and commercial teams.
• Represent aerospace electronics priorities in portfolio reviews, innovation workshops, venture evaluation activities, planning forums, and collaboration initiatives.
• Track and measure opportunity pipeline progress, collaboration priorities, and commercialization milestones.

Your Skills and Expertise

To set you up for success in this role from day one, 3M requires (at a minimum) the following qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Business, Marketing, Materials Science, Electronics, Aerospace Engineering, or a science field(completed and verified prior to start).
• Seven (7) years of experience in business development, segment or product marketing, product management, technical sales, strategic marketing, or commercial strategy in a private, public, government or military environment.

Additional qualifications that could help you succeed even further in this role include:

• MBA or advanced degree in Business, Engineering, Materials Science, Aerospace, Electronics, or a related discipline.
• Experience in aerospace, defense, electronics, semiconductor, power electronics, advanced materials, or related technical markets.
• Experience with aerospace electronics applications such as thermal management, EMI shielding, conductive tapes, thermal interface materials, adhesives, films, bonding, insulation, or protection materials.
• Knowledge of aerospace qualification, certification, customer specifications, or defense procurement environments.
• Familiarity with NPI, stage-gate, business case development, go-to-market planning, and commercialization readiness processes.
• Demonstrated ability to translate customer needs, market trends, and unmet needs into business opportunities and growth priorities.
• Strong analytical, communication, presentation, and stakeholder influence skills.
• Ability to work effectively in a cross-functional, matrixed environment.
• Experience engaging customers and translating technical concepts into market-focused value propositions.
• Experience working with aerospace OEMs, defense contractors, avionics suppliers, satellite manufacturers, or electronics manufacturers.
• Understanding of application engineering, product application heat maps, customer solution mapping, and long-cycle design-in opportunities.

Key Skills

• Business development and opportunity framing
• Customer orientation and voice-of-customer synthesis
• Strategic market development
• Cross-functional collaboration and influence
• Business case development
• Portfolio and platform strategy awareness
• Go-to-market and commercialization planning
• NPI and stage-gate process understanding
• Customer application mapping
• Value proposition development
• Competitive and market trend interpretation
• Executive communication and storytelling

Work location:

• This role follows an on-site working model, requiring the employee to work at least four days a week at the 3M Center in Maplewood, MN .

Travel:

May include up to 25% domestic/international

Relocation:

May be authorized

Must be legally authorized to work in country of employment without sponsorship for employment visa status (e.g., H1B status).

Supporting Your Well‑being

3M offers many programs to help you live your best life – both physically and financially. To ensure competitive pay and benefits, 3M regularly benchmarks with other companies that are comparable in size and scope.

Applicable to US Applicants Only: The expected compensation range for this position is $188,251 - $230,084, which includes base pay plus variable incentive pay, if eligible. This range represents a good faith estimate for this position. The specific compensation offered to a candidate may vary based on factors including, but not limited to, the candidate’s relevant knowledge, training, skills, work location, and/or experience. In addition, this position may be eligible for a range of benefits (e.g., Medical, Dental & Vision, Health Savings Accounts, Health Care & Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts, Disability Benefits, Life Insurance, Voluntary Benefits, Paid Absences and Retirement Benefits, etc.). Additional information is available at: https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/careers-us/working-at-3m/benefits/.

3M does not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

3M does not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.