Senior Sales Manager, Software

Panasonic Automotive•Farmington Hills, MI

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Sales Manager leads business development and account growth for an assigned group of automotive and mobility customers. The role balances traditional hardware programs with software, cloud, and service solutions, while driving digital transformation and the adoption of AI tools across the sales process. The position leads technology presentations and demonstrations, coordinates global technology development with engineering and software teams, and coaches Senior Account Managers on new offerings and value-based selling. It develops global strategic and tactical plans, sales objectives, forecasts, budgets, and the divisional midterm plan, while aligning business, engineering, software, and program teams to deliver customer commitments. The role builds executive-level customer relationships, identifies hardware and software opportunities, leads pricing and commercial negotiations, and monitors profitability and account performance. It applies market intelligence and AI-enabled analytics to improve forecasting, customer responsiveness, and sales productivity, while ensuring responsible use of AI and customer data.

Requirements

High school diploma and 10 years of related experience; or two years of college or technical training in business, marketing, technology, or engineering and 9 years of related experience; or a bachelor's degree in a related field and 8 years of related experience.
At least 3 years of the required experience in the automotive parts, systems, or components industry.
Supervisory experience.
Working knowledge of artificial intelligence, machine learning, data analytics, and digital transformation concepts and their application to automotive products and the sales process.
Proven track record of developing new sales opportunities and closing negotiations for hardware and software/service solutions.
Excellent analytical and negotiation skills.
Automotive software sales experience, including setting license fees for proprietary software, negotiating software services with potential customers, and tailoring user experiences to customer preferences.
Experience promoting SaaS and licensing software through cloud platforms such as AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, or Oracle Cloud.
Clear understanding of commercial agreements and revenue generation associated with software services for automotive or mobility-focused customers.
Ability to build rapport and establish trust at all organizational levels.
Advanced proficiency with Microsoft 365 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams), CRM platforms, and AI productivity tools such as Microsoft Copilot.

Responsibilities

Lead development and delivery of technology presentations and live demonstrations, including digital, cloud-connected, and AI-enabled solutions.
Coordinate global technology development with Panasonic Automotive engineering and software teams across hardware, software platforms, and services.
Coach Senior Account Managers on new technology, software and service offerings, and value-based selling.
Work with planning teams to set and meet sales objectives across hardware, software, and service revenue streams, improving productivity, revenue, and profitability.
Translate customer and market needs into solution requirements for E-Cockpit, vSkipGen, and software-defined vehicle development teams.
Develop and implement global strategic and tactical business plans aligned with Panasonic Automotive strategy, balancing hardware programs with recurring software, cloud, and service revenue.
Integrate plans across business, engineering, and software teams to grow global market share and expand customer relationships.
Contribute to division and group policies and goals and execute them through customer engagement.
Direct sales forecasting and variance analysis using EDI/APV data, CRM, business intelligence tools, AI-driven analytics, and predictive models.
Prepare periodic sales reports and digital dashboards covering hardware sales, vehicle volume forecasts, customer production updates, and software, subscription, and service revenue.
Provide product, technology, and market direction to product planning, engineering, and software teams based on customer insight and market trends.
Build and maintain relationships with executives and staff at automotive OEM, commercial vehicle, recreational vehicle, and emerging mobility customers.
Identify prospects and opportunities for new or replacement hardware programs, software licensing, and services; determine customer business needs and communicate opportunity scope.
Assess customer expectations and competitor performance, and lead processes to deliver and exceed customer expectations.
Partner with program management, engineering, and software teams to support on-time hardware launches and delivery of software and service commitments.
Establish product and customer strategy and align internal resources to support it.
Use digital collaboration and project management tools to provide visibility into customer requirements, milestones, and risks.
Apply market and industry knowledge, including software-defined vehicles, connectivity, cybersecurity, and AI, to customer engineering and purchasing organizations.
Champion CRM, collaboration platforms, and business intelligence dashboards to improve sales efficiency, pipeline visibility, and responsiveness.
Apply AI and generative AI tools to account research, opportunity identification, proposals, presentations, pricing analysis, and forecasting.
Promote AI-enabled vehicle features and data-driven services, positioning Panasonic Automotive as a mobility technology partner.
Ensure responsible use of AI and customer data in accordance with company information security, privacy, and governance policies.
Lead quotation, pricing, and RFQ strategy for hardware programs and software licensing, subscription, and service models; support GPMP Business Review presentations.
Lead price negotiations and contract renewals, including software license and service agreements, while meeting minimum profit margin requirements.
Monitor the division's P/L statement and guide Account Managers on operational budgets.
Manage processes to minimize or eliminate chargebacks, collect accounts receivable on time, and meet business growth and profitability targets.
Lead development and implementation of the annual sales budget and divisional midterm plan, monitoring actual results against plan.
Lead the MTP planning process in coordination with each Panasonic Automotive business unit.