Sales Manager

Howmet; La Porte (IN); On-site; USD 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Howmet in Laporte, IN is seeking a Sales Manager to lead the Plant Sales Representatives and act as the primary customer contact for commercial activities.

You will drive growth through new business opportunities, coordinate multi-disciplinary teams, and ensure accurate quoting and cost control while supporting demand planning and process improvements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business, or related field with 5 years leadership experience.
• Strong MS Office, especially Excel and presentation skills.
• Knowledge of production planning concepts (MRP) and budget/P&L awareness.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; ability to influence and present.
• Legal eligibility to work in the United States; export-control compliance.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate activities of cross-functional teams for customer initiatives.
• Maintain action items with owners and deadlines from meetings.
• Prepare pre-visit requirements and host customer visits as hospitality lead.
• Oversee quoting, cost modeling, and standardization of customer-facing work products.
• Maintain customer contact and align with account managers and sister plants.
• Coordinate with Planning and Supply Chain for production updates and forecasts.

Skills

Production and Processing

Leadership

Team development

Negotiation

Financial literacy

Integrity

Stress tolerance

Execution discipline

Written & verbal communication

Active listening

Critical thinking

Planning & prioritizing

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering or Business

Tools

Excel

PowerPoint

MS Office

Job description

Job Info

• Job Identification 118653
• Job Category Commercial
• Posting Date 08/05/2026, 08:22 PM
• Locations 1110 East Lincoln Way, Laporte, IN, 46350-3954, US (On-site)
• Job Schedule Full time
• Export-Controlled Data This position entails access to export-controlled items and employment offers are conditioned upon an applicant's ability to lawfully obtain access to such items

Responsibilities

The Sales Manager will lead the team responsible for the coordination of all activities related to Plant Sales Representatives. This role is the primary point of contact for internal and external customers and commercial activities. Internally the Sales Manager will be an advocate and responsible to resolve customer issues in alignment with the company values while serving as a "Voice of the Customer". The Sales Manager will drive growth by pursuing incremental commercial opportunities such as new business development and non-recurring events / actions. The Sales Manager will establish robust processes which drive commercial success including but not limited to accurate quoting and cost modeling, seeking opportunities to reduce cost creep and margin erosion, and fully supporting customer demand planning processes.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities, not limited to:

• Coordinates the activities of multiple cross-functional teams including the creation and execution of customer presentations, meetings, and communications.
• Ensures meeting time investments result in rolling action item lists which include actions, owners and deadlines clearly established and monitored for completion.
• Coordinates pre-meeting preparation and meeting execution including all pre-visit requirements, forms, screening, and acts as the hospitality leader for customer visits.
• Manages all quote activity considering cost, price, market, competition, and establishes team standardization of customer-facing presentations and work product.
• Maintains contact with customers, account managers and sister plants to benchmark best practices and continuously improve the group and overall department.
• Coordinates with the Planning and Supply Chain Managers to present critical updates regarding production and delivery dates to customers on a regular basis.
• Coordinates with Commercial/Marketing teams concerning current and future demand and sales forecasts.
• Responsible for the timely booking of customer purchase orders and customer anticipated Oracle demand.
• Actively participates in development and renewal of business strategy.
• Assures compliance with contracting requirements.
• Prepares budgets and various sales / marketing reports.
• Responsible for import, export ASAT compliance and other financial audits as necessary.
• Follow policies and procedures as outlined in Employee Handbook.
• Perform all other job duties as assigned.
• Supervises an effective team; including planning and holding meetings, preparing and conducting performance appraisals as appropriate, managing staffing levels (including vacations, overtime and leaves of absences), assisting with career development (motivates, coaches and trains to acquire maximum quality, productivity, morale and cooperation), approving time and attendance, and prioritizing and making work assignments.

Skills and Abilities:

• Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• Leadership -willingness to lead, take charge, and offer fact-based opinions and direction.
• Demonstrated ability to train, develop, and motivate a team and influence others outside of their position's reporting structure.
• Negotiation - Experience in bringing two or more people with differing viewpoints together to meet a mutually beneficial outcome.
• Strong Financial Literacy -knowledge of financial principles and practices, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• Integrity - being honest and ethical.
• Stress Tolerance - ability to deal calmly and effectively with high stress situations.
• Disciplined Execution - ability to hold the team accountable through daily execution to the plan. When required, he/she will need to be able to dive into details to the plan. When required, he/she will need to be able to dive into details to the plan.
• Written and Verbal Expression - ability to communicate information and ideas verbally and in writing so others will understand.
• Active Listening - willingness to give full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Critical Thinking - able to use logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Organizing, planning, and prioritizing work - ability to develop specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish work results.

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree (B. A.) in Engineering, Business Administration or related field from four-year college or university; or five years related experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 5 years' minimum experience in a leadership position and/or an equivalent field.
• Excellent communication skills (presentations, verbal and written) including above average skills and abilities using Microsoft products such as Excel and PowerPoint.
• Highly knowledgeable with production planning concepts such as MRP.
• Understanding of Budget responsibility and Profit and Loss management
• Exceptional analytical and conceptional thinking skills.
• High level of competency in Microsoft Office applications, especially Excel
• Employees must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Verification of employment eligibility will be required at the time of hire. Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.
• This position entails access to export-controlled items and employment offers are conditioned upon an applicant's ability to lawfully obtain access to such items.

Preferred Qualifications:

Minimum of 5 years' experience in aerospace/defense manufacturing