Regional Sales Manager - West Coast
Remote: AZ, CO, UT
CONFIDENTIAL OPPORTUNITY BRIEF
Regional Sales Manager — West Coast
Currently a $2M Region Being Managed From 2 Time Zones Away | Local Presence Needed | $10M Ceiling
Precision Motion Control | West Coast | $2B Global Parent
You weren't looking. Good.
The best candidates we reach are never actively looking. They're closing business, doing the work, and assuming they're in the right seat. Every once in a while, though, something comes along that makes even the most comfortable person stop and do the math.
This is a precision motion control company whose technology powers over 60% of all industrial robots operating on the planet. Most people in the industry have never heard their name. They have never had a dedicated rep on the West Coast — not once in 20 years of U.S. operations. That changes now. And the person who steps in first owns everything.
THE ROLE AT A GLANCE
Title: Regional Sales Manager — West Coast
Company: Confidential — U.S. subsidiary of a $2 billion global precision motion control manufacturer
Industry: Precision reduction gearboxes — the components inside industrial robots, semiconductor equipment, and advanced automation
Reporting To: North America Sales Manager (5 years in seat)
Structure: Remote-based, individual contributor, 100% exclusive territory ownership
Travel: ~35% — approximately 1–2 overnight trips per month, remainder local
Location Preference: California, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Colorado, Nevada, Arizona
Target Start Date: August 1st
THE TERRITORY
This is not a replacement search. There has never been a dedicated rep on the West Coast. The territory has been managed remotely out of the Midwest, which means it has not been managed at all. The accounts are real. The distributor relationships are active enough to start. The semiconductor vertical — companies like Applied Materials, Lam Research, KLA, Tokyo Electron, and their peers — has never been called on. The penetration is zero.
What that means for you: there is no shadow of a previous rep. No bad blood, no locked-out accounts, no quota built on someone else's ceiling. You walk in as the first person to ever show up, and everything that gets built from here is yours.
Current territory revenue: $2,000,000 annually
Revenue ceiling with the right person: $10,000,000
Active accounts inherited on day one: 30 accounts + full in-progress pipeline
Semiconductor market penetration: 0% — completely untouched
Total identified prospects in territory: ~250
States: CA, CO, AZ, NV, UT + strategic semiconductor accounts across the West
THE REAL OPPORTUNITY
Most precision motion control reps are selling a commodity into a market that already knows the product and picks on price. This is different.
The parent company is the undisputed world market leader in precision reduction gearboxes. Their technology is inside more than 60% of all industrial robots manufactured globally — right now, the robots building cars, assembling electronics, and handling semiconductor wafers are almost certainly running on their gearboxes. They are not a brand name. They are the components. And almost no one outside the engineering world knows who they are.
The U.S. subsidiary has grown 15–20% year over year. New leadership has arrived with a mandate: expand into semiconductor equipment, humanoid robotics, physical AI, and advanced automation. The West Coast is the epicenter of every one of those markets. The company is launching new products. They are entering new verticals. And the West Coast has never had a local rep.
Product wins on quality and engineering — not price. Customers who care about specs buy this
Full support structure: engineering team, application specialists, NA Sales Manager, the President, and Japan HQ for custom design and production support
Exclusive territory — no house accounts, no splits, no overlap
Pricing flexibility to win deals when it matters
Your voice matters beyond just sales — input on new products and marketing strategy is genuinely welcomed
No non-compete required
The hidden gem: This product is inside the machines that build the world. The company that makes it has virtually no consumer name recognition. That is not a weakness — that is a calling card. When you walk into an engineering team and show them what's already in their supply chain without them knowing it, the conversation changes.
THE CULTURE THAT MAKES IT REAL
Culture gets mentioned in every recruiting pitch. This is the version that's actually true.
The average employee tenure at this company is 10–15 years. That is not a talking point — it is a data point. People join and they do not leave. The internal description of the culture is "quality through autonomy and trust." The U.S. President has been with the company for 9 years. The NA Sales Manager for 5. This is not a revolving door. It is not a cut-throat sales environment where your manager is checking your activity log on a Friday afternoon.
The company is Japanese-owned, which means they take a long view on people. When a rep is struggling, the first question is "what do you need" — not "what's wrong with you." The groundwork gets laid properly. And when the company does well, the people who helped build it share in that.
"People don't leave once they're in." — How the President describes the company
THE NUMBERS THAT MATTER
Base Salary: $120,000 – $140,000
On-Target Earnings: $140,000 – $160,000
Year 1 Realistic W2: ~$130,000 (prorated bonus, starting August)
Year 2 Realistic W2: ~$145,000+
Bonus Structure: Annual — up to 2 months' salary; exceptional years can reach 3 months
Health Insurance: Medical, dental & vision — 100% company-paid, $0 out of pocket
401(k) Match: Up to 3% match; 4th–5th percent matched at 50%
Profit Sharing: Starts at ~1% of salary in Year 1, increases 1%/year, caps at 5 years
PTO: 2 weeks to start, then +1 day/year up to 17; 6 sick days + 3 personal days annually
Travel & Expenses: Mileage covered; ~1–2 overnight trips per month
Non-Compete: None required
The ceiling: A rep who grew a similar territory took a $75K base Year 1 earned a raise of $115K in Year 2 by doing exactly what they were supposed to do without being told. The West Coast ceiling is $10M. No one has ever pushed it…until now.
CAREER PATH — THIS IS A LAUNCH PAD
This is not a terminal role. As the West Coast territory grows toward its $10M ceiling, the company anticipates building out a regional team — and this person would lead it. Strong performers here have a clear path toward strategic account leadership, regional director responsibility, or senior business development.
RSM (where you start) → Strategic Account Manager (next step up) → Nat'l Sales Mgr / Director (leadership track)
WHO WE'RE LOOKING FOR
This is not a fit for everyone. The candidates who thrive in this role share a specific profile.
Background selling into semiconductor equipment OEMs, subsystem suppliers, automation, or advanced motion control. You know how to get in front of an application engineer, an OEM design team, and a procurement director — and move a deal through all three
Self-directed territory builder. This territory has never been worked. You see a blank map as an opportunity, not a problem
Relationship-first — the company can teach the technical side. What they cannot teach is the ability to get in front of a decision-maker and earn trust
Currently frustrated by: limited ownership, a capped comp plan, a company that doesn't want your ideas, or a product you can't differentiate on quality
Sound familiar? If you've been waiting for a role where you actually own something — this is it.
THE INTERVIEW PROCESS
Fast, structured, and respectful of your time. No black holes. Here's how it runs:
Step 1: Intro call with North America Sales Manager — they want to know who you are, not just what you've sold
Step 2: Conversation with the General Manager — culture fit, strategic vision, and where you see the opportunity
Step 3: Final interview with the President — the person who holds final decision authority
Close: Decision within 2–4 weeks of first conversation. They move fast when they find the right person
READY TO DO THE MATH?
If any of this landed, the next step is a 20-minute confidential call. No pressure, no pitch — just the information you need to decide if this makes sense.
Contact: Michael "Sully" Sullivan, VenTech Search Group
Email: sully@ventechsearch.com | ventechsearch.com
July 8, 2026