East Coast Sales Manager
East Coast
$100,000 - $150,000
CONFIDENTIAL OPPORTUNITY BRIEF
East Coast Sales Manager
Open Territory | Full-Stack Robotics | Backed by a Global Cobot Leader
Collaborative Robotics | End-of-Line Automation | U.S. Headquarters Expansion Underway
You can sell the robot. But when the customer asks, "can it do this?" — who actually controls the answer?
Most top automation reps aren't losing deals on price. They're losing them to a roadmap they don't control — stuck reselling one manufacturer's hardware, waiting on an R&D team overseas that doesn't take their call, explaining to a plant manager why the solution can't quite do what the line needs.
This is the opposite of that. Our client builds the robot, engineers the solution around it, installs it, and services it — backed by a direct line into the robot maker's R&D. You're not reselling someone else's box. You own the full stack. And the entire East Coast — plus Eastern Canada — is your open field.
THE ROLE AT A GLANCE
Title: East Coast Sales Manager
Territory: The full U.S. East Coast + Eastern Canada — wide open, yours to build
Reports To: Director of Sales — direct, no layers between you and the decision
Structure: Individual contributor — an expansion hire adding capacity, not backfilling
Travel: 25–50% — customer sites and trade shows across the region
Quota: $5M to 100% of plan — built on ~$200K average deals
Start: ASAP — the leads are stacking up faster than the team can work them
THE COMPANY
Our client spent years earning a reputation the hard way — by building complex automation machines and solving the technical problems no one else would touch. Then a global leader in collaborative robotics acquired them, and the whole equation changed. The result is something the market has been asking for and no competitor can match: one company that manufactures the robot, engineers the solution around it, installs it, starts it up, and services the entire system — down to repairing the robot itself.
That vertical integration is the story. When most reps sell a cobot, the roadmap lives somewhere else — with a manufacturer overseas who decides what the robot will and won't do. Here, the applications team has a direct line into the robot maker's R&D. Customers tell them what the line needs; they tell the R&D team what the robot needs to become. Nobody else in this space can close that loop.
And the parent company is betting big. They've named our client their U.S. headquarters, and they're relocating and expanding into a building several times the size of the current one — with a robot repair center, a solutions support group, dedicated manufacturing lines, and a full R&D team to push AI-enabled robotics into industrial applications. Translation for a salesperson: great technology, an engaged customer base asking for novel solutions, and a fast-growing market segment that's critical to American manufacturing. The runway is real.
"We have great technology, clever people inventing ways to use it, and a customer base that wants us to solve their problems. That gives us a level of robotic integration no one else has." — Company Leadership
WHAT YOU'LL OWN
Your territory. The entire East Coast — every coastal state — plus Eastern Canada. A wide-open region with more qualified leads than the current team can work
The full sales cycle. From territory analysis and prospecting through solution design and close — on engineered end-of-line automation deals that average ~$200K and run about a 5-month cycle
A pipeline that already exists. You'll re-engage stale leads sitting in the territory and turn the flood of new inbound into pipeline the team hasn't had the capacity to chase
The technical conversation. Working shoulder-to-shoulder with applications engineering — translating what the customer needs into what the system does, and carrying the R&D story back to the customer
The decision-makers. Plant managers, VP of Production, and VP of Engineering across food & beverage, over-the-counter pharma, and plastics manufacturing — the people who sign off on replacing manual labor with automation
THE COMPENSATION PACKAGE
Base Salary: $100,000 – $150,000 (top of band for the right background)
Total OTE: $175,000 – $200,000 at plan — and the commission is not capped
How You Earn It: Individual commission on your own sales + a bonus tied to total company sales — you win when you win and when the team wins
Health / Dental / Vision: $0/month premium for individual coverage — $290/month for full family coverage
401(k): Company retirement plan with matching
Additional: Disability coverage + company cell phone
The bonus is structured so a strong closer wins twice — on their own deals and on the company's total number. Commission is not capped. Hit the $5M plan and the ceiling is yours to push.
WHO WE'RE LOOKING FOR
After four months in this exact role, the biggest thing isn't robotics experience — it's mindset. The cycles are long, and there are plenty of dead ends, so you have to be self-driven, tenacious, and able to keep building momentum without getting discouraged. The real differentiator is discovery — someone naturally curious who uncovers the actual manufacturing problem before ever talking solution. Product knowledge can be taught. That mindset is much harder to find. — A rep currently in this seat, four months in
That's the bar, straight from someone already doing the job. This role isn't for a commodity seller — it's for a self-driven closer who sells value. If that's you, you'll recognize yourself here.
The hunter mindset. Long cycles and dead ends don't discourage you — you keep building momentum when others stall. You'd rather walk the floor and uncover the real problem than open with a product pitch. Curiosity is your edge
The track record. 3–5+ years selling capital equipment or industrial automation. You know how to move a $200K, multi-month deal from first conversation to signature
Consultative by default. You sell solutions, not products. The customer doesn't have to automate — manual labor still works for them. Your job is to make them see the value they'd be leaving on the table. Price is how a commodity seller competes; it's not how you win
Technically fluent. You hold credibility with everyone on the floor — from maintenance and engineering to the plant manager and the CEO — and carry requirements back to applications engineering cleanly
The DNA that fits. Smart, humble, hard-working. The money is how you keep score, not why you do it. You build relationships, and you're relentless about maintaining them — prompt, detailed, dependable
Self-motivated. This team runs on autonomy. You set your own strategy, work the territory your way, and hold yourself accountable to the number without someone standing over you
Nice to have. An engineering background or degree is a plus — not a requirement. Documented results matter more than a diploma
Sound like you? Keep reading.
THE PATH FORWARD
You're getting in as the build-out starts — not after the org chart is full.
This is an expansion seat, added because the sales team is producing faster than it can follow up. Behind it sits a company standing up a new U.S. headquarters, dedicated manufacturing lines, a robot repair center, a solutions support group, and a full R&D team for AI-enabled robotics. Growth like that creates new roles — and the people who put up numbers early are the ones who shape what comes next.
Your wins won't disappear into a field-rep vacuum. You'll report directly to the Director of Sales and carry visibility all the way up to the parent company's Corporate CEO. Get ahead of the plan, and you help fund the long-term initiatives — and put yourself first in line for what the growth builds.
THE INTERVIEW PROCESS
Fast and structured — no black holes.
Step 1: 30-minute virtual screen with the HR Director — a fast read on who you are and how you sell
Step 2: 60-minute virtual interview with the Director of Sales — a more structured sales interview, and we'll prepare you for it the day before
Step 3: 60-minute virtual interview with the U.S. CEO
Step 4: TBD — virtual interview with the parent company's Corporate CEO — final perspective from the top
Close: They're moving ASAP. The right person hears "yes" fast — they don't want to lose six months waiting
READY TO HAVE THE CONVERSATION?
You don't have to be ready to leave. You just have to be curious enough to spend 20 minutes finding out whether this changes the math. The conversation is confidential — always.
Contact: Jay Veniard, CEO, VenTech Search Group
Phone: (602) 888-8188 | Email: jay@ventechsearch.com | ventechsearch.com
July 22, 2026