Sales Account Manager - Automotive

Jtekt-North-America-; Plymouth Charter Township (MI); On-site; USD 65,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

JTEKT North America is seeking an Automotive Sales Account Manager to grow sales with Ford and other Tier 1 customers. The role focuses on profitable account management, coordinating with engineering and manufacturing, and achieving annual plan goals.

The ideal candidate has 1+ year in account management, automotive exposure, and strong communication skills. A technical background in engineering is preferred, with MS Office proficiency and willingness to travel.

Qualifications

• Account management experience (minimum 1 year), automotive experience preferred.
• Strong communication and cross‑department collaboration required.
• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering preferred; business degree or equivalent considered.
• Proficiency in MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook).
• Willingness to travel as needed.

Responsibilities

• Manage Ford and other customer accounts and grow sales per plan.
• Forecast and achieve annual business plan targets.
• Prepare quotes and respond to inquiries for all products.
• Coordinate with internal teams to meet customer requirements and approvals.
• Develop relationships with customers and act as a JTEKT ambassador.

Skills

Account Management

Automotive experience

Communication skills

Cross-functional communication

Self-starter

MS Office

Education

B.S. Engineering

Business or related field

Tools

Word

Excel

PowerPoint

Outlook

Job description

Summary/Purpose:

The Automotive Sales Account Manager will be responsible for managing and growing JTEKT’S sales with Ford Motor Company as well as additional Tier 1 customer accounts as required. This position will need to promote profitably and sustainability of accounts while helping to grow market shares in support of JTEKT’S overall short‑term and long‑term strategic sales goals through an Annual Plan.

Essential Duties and Accountabilities:

• Responsible for commercial/technical account management for Ford account and other customer accounts as assigned.
• Achieve/exceed annual business plan forecast.
• Generate and follow up on customer inquiries/quotes for all products.
• Prospect for opportunities early in the customers advanced development process through receipt of RFQ, negotiation resolution, and production.
• Assure quotations are presented to customers in a timely manner while meeting Business Unit profitability objectives.
• Act as a JTEKT ambassador to develop and maintain customer relationships.
• Effective communication through both internal and external channels on customer issues and customer requirements.
• Coordinate and remedy all contract adjustments internally and externally.
• Work to understand customer needs/requirements for process changes and work within the JTEKT organization to coordinate the assembly of required information to gain customer approval.
• Coordinate routine visits to JTEKT plants with customers as required.
• Identify opportunities for increased sales and profit improvement on maintenance business.
• Coordinate customer prototype requirements.
• Lead Tariff recovery collection efforts.
• Develop and maintain strong, positive relationships with peers in the sales organization, business unit, engineering, and manufacturing.

Supervisor Responsibilities:

• None

Job Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Account Management experience (minimum of 1 year). Automotive experience is preferred.
• General knowledge and understanding of mechanical, electrical, and technical components.

• Excellent communication, and language skills both through verbal and written communication.
• Experience in cross department communication as well as external communication with customers, sales team, business management, engineering, and customer service representatives on a daily basis.
• Self-starter, self-motivated and results driven
• Computer skills needed but not limited to Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.
• Ability to work unsupervised and prioritize workload.
• Ability to work in a team-based, participative environment working towards a group goal.
• Travel may be required.

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering preferred. Bachelor’s degree in business and/or equivalent work experience considered.
• Experience (minimum of 1 year) in Account Management.Experience selling to Automotive OEM or Tier 1 is strongly preferred.

Work Environment/Physical Demands:

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Work is mostly performed in a normal office setting with minimal exposure to health or safety hazards, and with substantial time spent working on a computer. Requires sufficient hand, arm, and finger dexterity to operate computer keyboard and other office equipment.
• The performance of this position requires exposure to manufacturing areas which require the use of prescribed PPE.