Sr. Business Manager

Challenge Manufacturing; Walker (MI); On-site; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

ESOP program

Employee ownership

Job summary

Challenge Manufacturing, a leading Tier 1 supplier, seeks a Sr. Business Manager to own the commercial performance of assigned OEM accounts.

You will drive profitability, nurture customer relationships, and shape long-range growth strategies across cross-functional teams in a fast-paced, employee-owned culture. You will lead negotiations, develop account strategies, and coordinate with Finance, Engineering, Quality, and Program Management to ensure successful launches and sustained

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; MBA or advanced degree preferred.
• 10+ years in automotive OEM Sales, Account Management, or Commercial Leadership.
• Proven experience leading Account Management and/or Business Development teams.
• Strong understanding of automotive manufacturing processes, program economics, and OEM sourcing models.
• Demonstrated success driving profitable growth and sustaining long-term customer relationships.
• Solid financial acumen including pricing strategy, margin management, and forecasting.
• Strong negotiation, communication, and relationship-building skills with OEM customers.
• Willingness to travel as needed.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary commercial interface to OEM customers and lead executive and working-level relationships across internal teams.
• Lead all customer negotiations, including piece price, tooling, recoveries, inflationary adjustments, and long-term agreements.
• Represent the company in customer reviews, sourcing discussions, and escalation forums with an executive presence.
• Own full commercial performance of assigned accounts, including revenue, margin, EBITDA contribution, and forecast accuracy.
• Develop and execute account strategies aligned with OEM platforms and future vehicle pipelines.
• Monitor cost performance with Finance and support budgeting and long-range planning activities.
• Identify, position, and secure new business opportunities, including takeaways and resourcing.
• Lead RFQ execution from receipt through submission, ensuring alignment on cost, capacity, and feasibility.
• Ensure seamless transition from award to launch by aligning commercial commitments with Program Management and Operations.

Skills

Account management

Negotiation

Communication

Relationship building

Strategic thinking

Cross-functional collaboration

Sales analytics

Education

Bachelor’s degree

MBA or advanced degree preferred

Tools

Microsoft Office

CRM platforms

Sales analytics tools

Job description

Who We Are: Challenge Manufacturing’s mission is to manufacture with operational excellence by empowering our employee-owners. As a leading tier 1 supplier of complex metal assemblies for the global automotive industry, we drive innovative solutions for future mobility. We believe the best ideas come from individual unique perspectives. These ideas combined with the teamwork of industry leaders allow us to accomplish any challenge. Our team members take pride in the work we do and embody our core values of safety, ownership, and teamwork every day; they are the true driving force in our operations.

Challenge is proud to be one of the largest employee-owned automotive companies in North America. One of the many benefits of joining the Challenge team is the ESOP program. This program allows Challenge to give shares of the Company to all employee-owners annually. These shares are an additional retirement benefit that will continue to grow during your time at Challenge. Being part of an ESOP means our employee-owners share in Challenge’s success!

Challenge is #QualityDriven and #PeoplePowered!

Who We Want

The Sr. Business Manager is accountable for the overall commercial performance, customer relationship leadership, and growth strategy of assigned OEM accounts. This role owns the full book of business—driving profitability, advancing new business opportunities, and ensuring seamless alignment between customer expectations and internal execution.

The ideal candidate brings deep automotive experience, strong commercial and financial acumen, and the ability to influence cross-functional teams. This individual serves as a trusted advisor to the customer while driving disciplined execution and sustainable growth across the organization.

What You’ll Do

• Serve as the primary commercial interface to OEM customers, leading both executive and working-level relationships across Purchasing, Engineering, Quality, and Program Management.
• Lead all customer negotiations, including piece price, tooling, recoveries, inflationary adjustments, and long-term agreements.
• Represent the company in customer reviews, sourcing discussions, and escalation forums with a strong executive presence.
• Act as the commercial escalation point for delivery, quality, and cost-related matters, ensuring timely resolution and customer satisfaction.
• Own full commercial performance of assigned accounts, including revenue, margin, EBITDA contribution, and forecast accuracy.
• Develop and execute account strategies aligned with OEM platforms, sourcing cycles, and future vehicle pipelines.
• Partner with Finance to monitor cost performance, margin expansion, and variance to quote.
• Support budget development, forecasting, and long-range planning activities.
• Identify, position, and secure new business opportunities, including takeaways, resourcing, and competitive displacement.
• Analyze OEM sourcing strategies, platform roadmaps, and market dynamics to inform growth strategy.
• Provide insights into key industry trends, including EV transition, material cost shifts, and regional demand changes.
• Support broader strategic initiatives such as customer segmentation, portfolio optimization, and diversification.
• Lead RFQ execution from receipt through submission, ensuring alignment on cost, capacity, and technical feasibility.
• Ensure a seamless transition from award to launch by aligning commercial commitments with Program Management and Operations.
• Support APQP milestones and ensure all commercial deliverables, pricing, tooling recovery, and scope alignment—are achieved.
• Monitor launch performance and proactively address commercial risks, including cost overruns and customer penalties.
• Drive coordination across Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, and Program Management to ensure customer expectations are met.
• Align commercial commitments with operational capabilities to enable sustainable execution.
• Maintain strong engagement with plant operations to understand constraints, risks, and improvement opportunities.
• Influence decision-making across the organization without direct authority, driving accountability and results.
• Establish and manage account scorecards and KPIs, including OTD, PPM, margin, and launch performance.
• Lead resolution of commercial open items, including pricing disputes, past dues, tooling, claims, and engineering changes.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives focused on cost reduction, efficiency, and customer satisfaction.
• Ensure compliance with internal commercial processes, quoting governance, and approval frameworks.

What You Need To Have

• Bachelor’s degree required, MBA or advanced degree in Business, Engineering, or related field preferred.
• 10+ years of progressive experience in automotive OEM Sales, Account Management, or Commercial Leadership.
• Proven experience leading Account Management and/or Business Development teams.
• Strong understanding of automotive manufacturing processes, program economics, and OEM sourcing models.
• Demonstrated success driving profitable growth and sustaining long-term customer relationships.
• Solid financial acumen including pricing strategy, margin management, and forecasting.
• Strong negotiation, communication, and relationship-building skills with OEM customers.
• Ability to balance strategic thinking with disciplined execution.
• Experience developing high-performing commercial teams.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, CRM platforms, and sales analytics tools.
• Willingness to travel as needed to support customer and business objectives.