Albany International Corp.

Lead business development and sales strategy for advanced composite technologies in defense and commercial markets, managing customer relationships, technical proposals, and cross-functional teams. | 7+ years in B2B sales or business development, technical expertise in composite materials or aerospace/defense sectors, strategic planning, and stakeholder management. | Key Responsibilities Market Development & Sales Strategy The Director, Business Development - Technical Sales serves as the primary interface between Engineering, R&T, Business Development, Marketing, and Operations. This role drives the insertion of AEC's emerging composite material technologies into defense and commercial platforms, fuels profitable growth through strategic segment leadership, and ensures customer-centric execution from concept (TRL 4) through validation (TRL 7). Key Responsibilities • Strategic Segment & Technical Leadership • Define and execute a tailored business development strategy for assigned segments (defense, commercial, or other verticals), grounded in deep market and technical insight. • Act as the technical lead for composite structures, capturing new opportunities and guiding application developments with both new and existing customers. • Lead customer-facing and internal initiatives to accelerate adoption of AEC's technologies, including funded development projects (TRL 4-7). • Client Engagement & Relationship Development • Manage inbound and outbound interactions, qualify leads, and convert prospects into high-value pipeline opportunities. • Cultivate strong, lasting relationships with key customer stakeholders-engineering, procurement, and senior leadership-to surface needs where AEC's differentiating technology offers clear solutions. • Represent AEC at industry events, trade shows, and technical forums to elevate brand presence and thought leadership. • Technical Scoping, Proposals & Pricing • Develop detailed technical scopes of work and proposals that articulate AEC's value proposition and technical differentiation. • Establish directional production pricing targets and competitive pricing models to maximize margin without compromising win potential. • Provide hands-on technical guidance and mentorship to project engineers during execution, ensuring alignment to scope, schedule, and quality objectives. • Cross-Functional Enablement & Alignment • Partner with Marketing to craft segment-specific campaigns, collateral, and thought-leadership content. • Collaborate with Product Management and R&T to influence roadmap priorities based on customer insights and emerging market trends. • Coordinate with Operations and Delivery teams to ensure solution readiness, scalability, and customer success. • Business Development Capability Ownership Embed and mature the following capabilities within your segment to ensure repeatable, scalable growth: • Sales (Inbound & Outbound): Manage incoming inquiries and leads; run targeted outbound prospecting to build a robust pipeline. • Sales Enablement: Develop and maintain playbooks, collateral, training, and battle cards that equip sales teams for technical engagements. • Sales Operations: Optimize territory design, quota setting, and incentive plans; analyze performance and refine processes. • Pipeline & Lead Management: Implement CRM best practices for lead scoring, opportunity tracking, and timely follow-up to maximize conversion. • Pricing Strategy: Design segment-aligned pricing models and discount structures to balance competitiveness and profitability. • Business Segment Expertise: Champion deep segment knowledge-regulatory, procurement cycles, and competitive landscape-to inform all go-to-market efforts. • Performance Tracking & Reporting • Define segment KPIs-revenue attainment, pipeline velocity, win/loss rates, capability maturity-and build dashboards for real-time visibility. • Present regular executive briefings on segment health, project status, risks, and strategic recommendations. • Leadership, Culture & Safety • Model AEC's values: Albany Wins Together, Count on Each Other, Own Your Actions, Care About Each Other, Share Your Enthusiasm. • Prioritize safety at all times-ensuring every project decision upholds our "never compromise on safety" commitment. • Mentor peers and junior staff in both technical and business development disciplines, fostering a collaborative and high-performance culture. Qualifications • 7+ years of B2B business development or sales leadership, ideally within composite materials, advanced manufacturing, or aerospace/defense sectors. • Proven track record of driving technology adoption from concept through low-rate production (TRL 4-7). • Strong analytical and strategic planning skills, with hands-on experience in pricing strategy, pipeline analytics, and sales operations. • Exceptional communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management abilities-comfortable interacting with C-suite and technical audiences alike. • Bachelor's degree in Engineering or Business; advanced degree (MBA or Master's in materials/composites) preferred. Strategic Value to the Business This director-level role serves as a driving force behind segment growth, ensuring alignment with broader sales and marketing goals, and contributing to strategic decision-making through customer intelligence and market expertise. Location: Position can be fully remote, up to 50% travel required. #LI-JW1

Lead supply chain analytics, optimize processes, manage supplier performance, and drive continuous improvement initiatives. | Minimum 10 years in supply chain or procurement, management experience, knowledge of SAP, and strong analytical and leadership skills. | This role is located in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Successful applicants will have the ability to work reliably in a remote setting prior to our selection of a physical working environment, but should be prepared to report in office full time once site selection has occurred. Job Purpose The Supply chain Business Operations Manager is responsible for supporting and leading a team for all AEC supply chain business analytics, process optimization, systems, standard work, and compliance activities. The support will include supplier analysis, supply chain metrics, optimizing supply chain processes, overall customer/supplier satisfaction, and contribute to successful project execution while meeting individual/ organizational goals. Job Responsibilities In performing their respective tasks and duties, all employees are expected to adhere to Albany's current values: Albany Wins Together, Count on Each Other, Own Your Actions, Care About Each Other, and Share Your Enthusiasm. Safety must always come first; we never compromise on safety for the sake of achieving another objective. Employees are also responsible for the health and safety of themselves and each other. • Direct the activities of all supply chain analysts, compliance, and training for the supply chain teams. • Create a business optimization strategy and multi-year roadmap with executable plan • Collect data on supply chain operations. • Analyze data to identify areas of supply chain operations to improve efficiency. • Develop and execute projects to enhance supply chain operations. • Assess supplier performance, and make recommendations for process improvement • Enable and enforce overall supply chain compliance • Measure supply chain performance and report to management. • Work with the procurement, logistics, planning, and IT departments to enhance service delivery. • Support the strategic sourcing team with project creation, and tool sets to identify risk in the supply base such as: on-time delivery, quality, cost, capacity, and cash conversion. • Support all SIOP activities and assess risk to changes to our production schedules. • Address Complex Challenges: Utilize extensive experience to solve intricate problems, successfully negotiating the best prices and terms in critical situations • Develop, manage, and implement performance measures and audit processes for new and current suppliers. • Monitor Technological Advancements: Track and assess the development of new technologies relevant to procurement, ensuring the organization remains competitive and innovative. • Communicate Effectively Across Levels: Utilize exceptional verbal and written communication skills to ensure timely and effective interaction with AEC and supplier personnel at all levels. • Champion Continuous Improvement: Drive continuous improvement initiatives aimed at reducing costs and enhancing supply chain efficiencies across operations. • Bridge R+T with the PDC for supply chain activities to ensure smooth transitions between the two. (MRL/TRL) • Nothing in this document restricts management's right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time. Supervisory responsibility: Yes Supervisors are responsible for overseeing their work group including but not limited to: formal evaluations/performance management as set out by the organization, recruitment and developing Qualifications/Characteristics • Educational Qualifications: Minimum of a Bachelor's degree in Science or Arts; MBA is preferred. • 10 years of increasing responsibility in purchasing, supply chain, and/or supply chain business analytics including a minimum of 5 years in management. • International experience supplying manufacturing facilities and/or managing suppliers based in Americas, and Europe is preferred. • Proven ability to drive change and create rapid, measurable improvements in critical measures of Supply Chain Management performance. • Knowledge of SAP would be a significant competitive advantage to drive process and efficiencies within the procurement processes. • The position requires excellent attention to detail, in-depth understanding of the delivery process and exceptional analytics skills • Very good verbal and written communications skills with people at all levels of the organization and external contacts • Strong track record of continuously driving operational improvements to support the business strategy. • Able to manage procurement activities in a centralized environment with colleagues in multiple locations. • Strategic thinking, facilitation & influencing skills. Ability to lead, persuade and convince - cross cultural and cross functional • Must adapt well in a rapidly changing environment • 5+ years of experience in a leadership role within government contracting purchasing, demonstrating advanced expertise in procurement strategies. • Supervisory and Leadership Experience: Proven experience in supervising teams, including formal performance evaluations, recruitment, and professional development of direct reports. • Demonstrated track record in developing and executing sophisticated sets of tools to enhance business operations. • Ability to think strategically and cultivate long-term strategies within supply chain. • Capable of acting with urgency and purpose while maintaining a strong focus on long-term strategic goals. • Risk and Opportunity Management: Proficient in developing and executing risk and opportunity plans to achieve program objectives effectively. • Collaborative Work with Cross-Functional Teams: Collaborate closely with Engineering, Quality, and Operations • ERP System Expertise: Extensive transactional experience with SAP ERP Production System, leveraging its capabilities to optimize purchasing processes. • Ethical Leadership: Uphold high ethical standards while fostering a culture of interpersonal growth and collaboration within the team. • Communication and Presentation Skills: Demonstrate exceptional written and verbal communication skills, along with strong presentation abilities to convey complex information effectively. • Knowledge of Acquisition Regulations: Solid understanding of U.S. government acquisition laws and regulations (FAR, DFAR, ITAR, EAR, etc.), ensuring compliance in all purchasing activities. Working Conditions Office environment, duties performed indoors, moderate to quiet noise and comfortable temperatures. Not substantially exposed to adverse environmental conditions levels. Ability to work 24/7 schedule and be available as business situations require. Some may be able to do part of their work remotely. Travel may be required Physical requirements Occasionally positions self to move an office item >10 lbs. Frequently move about the production floor and office area to attend meetings or trainings Must be able to remain in a stationary position up to 75% of the time Frequently operates a computer, enters data into systems, verifies information, etc...