Senior Account Manager (Aerospace & Defense)

What we’re looking for

We’re expanding our customer-facing team with a Senior Account Manager to own and grow relationships with Vendra’s largest aerospace and defense customers. These key accounts represent $1M+ each in annual spend on precision manufactured parts sourced through Vendra.

What you’ll do

1. Own and grow large aerospace and defense accounts
   • Serve as the primary point of contact for a portfolio for high value A&D customers
   • Manage long term customer programs from prototyping, qualification, and production
   • Build strong relationships with engineers, supply chain, manufacturing, and procurement contacts
   • Develop a deep understanding of each customer’s internal workflows, pain points, and priorities
2. Drive revenue retention and expansion
   • Grow annual account revenue through repeat orders, new programs, and expand scope
   • Ensure customers see consistent and reliable speed, execution, and part quality
   • Identify opportunities to support additional parts, processes, or production ramps
3. Support complex, technical buying cycles
   • Help customers navigate RFQs, pricing tradeoffs, and manufacturability considerations
   • Understand and communicate requirements around documentation, traceability, and compliance (ITAR/EAR, material/process certs, etc.)
4. Coordinate execution across Vendra’s supplier network
   • Work closely with operations and supplier teams to ensure on-time delivery, quality, and communication
   • Proactively manage risks related to lead times, capacity, or technical complexity
   • Help resolve issues related to schedule, quality, documentation, or requirements changes

What success looks like (in order of importance)

• Customers see you as a trusted extension of their supply chain team
• Manufacturing programs run smoothly with minimal surprises, clear communication, and on-time + in-spec delivery
• Customers bring Vendra into earlier program discussions and continue to rely on us for critical parts
• Large aerospace and defense accounts grow year over year in both revenue and scope

What the ideal candidate looks like

• 3-7 years of experience in account management, customer success, or technical sales
• Experience supporting large, complex customers with long sales or delivery cycles
• Comfortable owning revenue, retention, and expansion for high-value accounts
• Ability to understand and discuss technical manufacturing concepts (CNC machining, tolerances, materials, finishes, etc.)

Nice to have (not required)

• Experience working with aerospace, defense, robotics, or advanced hardware companies
• Familiarity with regulated manufacturing environments (ITAR/EAR, AS9100, traceability, FAI reports, etc.)
• Background in mechanical engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, or industrial operations

Why should you join Vendra?

• You’ll be shaping the sales and customer trajectory to build a category-defining company in manufacturing
• You’ll work in an environment where your contributions will have immediate, tangible impact on revenue and success
• You will have tremendous growth opportunities because we want our early hires to lead future organizations

Compensation

• Base Salary: $80,000 - $100,000
• Variable Compensation: 50% of base at 100% quota attainment with uncapped earning potential and accelerators past 100%
• OTE: $120,000 - $150,000+
• Career growth: Clear path into Strategic Account Manager or broader GTM leadership role as you take on more ownership

Interview Process

1. Phone screen
2. 60min chat with CEO/CTO with some live challenges and practical exercises (ex: build a customer re-engagement strategy for a Tesla engineer)
3. Timed take home challenge (we’ll test your skills with AI tools and see how fast you can move)
4. Get an offer