Technical Account Manager, OE Account Management, Global Japanese OE Customers

Position Description:

This position is responsible to provide technical expertise and act as a primary customer-facing interface for the design and release of automotive, motorcycle and heavy duty’s batteries for our global or regional OE business, in addition to hands-on activities of teardown analysis support for wasted batteries returned from customers or market, in order to drive continuous quality improvement.

Technical Account Manager will report directly to Senior Director of Japan OE(Original Equipment, Customer Center) and provide functional global support for customer activities within Japan focusing on Japanese OEs’ business development and maintenance.

He/She will operate as the primary technical contact and product/program advocate for the sales and business development activities and meet the customers’ individualized needs.  He/She is expected to partner and support the commercial organizations by understanding the technology, the challenges and product requirements, and the value proposition that Clarios brings to our customers.  He/She will collaborate in monitoring emerging technology trends & translating them into business opportunities, working closely with other technical functions across the organization (such as Customer Center, Business Unit, Technical Account Management, Product Management, Product Engineering and Program Management).  The incumbent will function across the product life cycle from new business opportunity through current production activities. 

Functional objectives:

• Technical Account Manager partners and supports Business Unit to understand the OE customer's technology, current challenges and product requirements and drives these requests through the Clarios network.
• As a technical expert, Technical Account Manager is a technical liaison between the customer and Clarios, delivering both messages to ensure a positive relationship between the customer and Clarios; as well as the coordinator and contributor in ensuring both Clarios’s and the customer’s messages are being clearly understood. This position is also a key interface from Japanese OE customers to Clarios internal technical groups including Product Engineering, Program Management, Product Management, Manufacturing and Quality.
• Manage customer technical relationship as first contact to customers' engineering departments in Japan, while serving as a primary contact for Technical Account Management (TAM) activities in the global Clarios network.
• Articulate technology and product positioning to technical customers and within Clarios organization.
• Often uses negotiation to reach out to an agreement on acceptance of complete proposals and programs with both internal and external parties where there may be little interest in cooperating or participating.
• Manage execution and communications between Clarios functional activities to assure timely resolution to customer engineering needs and concerns.
• Advise Product Line, Design Engineering and Business Unit regarding technical activities from Japanese OEM & OES customers.
• Collaborate with Business Unit leader, as well as Technical Account Management, Product Management, Product Engineering and Strategy to identify emerging technology trends and translate them into business opportunities.
• Conceive, develop, and evaluate plans for solving complex engineering challenges collaborating with global development teams as an advanced level individual contributor with strong engineering expertise.

Primary Duties:

• Act as a technical sales contact to Japanese OEM & OES customers.
• Manage and support the organization in providing timely technical information to the customer to assure customer satisfaction.
• Support Business Unit, Technical Account Management, Product Management, and Product Engineering to gain firsthand knowledge about new technology trends.
• Actively engage in discussions between the respective Clarios Subject Matter Experts and the customer to influence customer on product and technology direction.
• Oversee, manage and/or prepare for customer relevant deliverables within technical swim-lanes.
• Provide technical interface to the Global Product Line and Global Design Engineering teams.
• Plan and execute regular open issue customer meetings to address technical concerns/inquiries with Clarios internal teams
• Manage customer specific release processes and deliverables through appropriate customer channels including electronic portals.
• Provide technical and application expertise to specific customers on existing and future products. Act as a go-to person for customers' contacts needing product knowledge and technical support for the assigned customers within Japan.
• Work with Product Engineering and Product Management on competitive offerings and opportunities. Fully understand and clearly articulate the benefits of Clarios products to all levels
• Set engagement priorities for global or regional Clarios teams to ensure that customer issues and complaints are being addressed.
• Provide pre-sales technical assistance and product education to ensure timely responses to RFIs/RFQs and various customer documents.
• Interface with external Customer Engineering and Purchasing. Develop and maintain positive and proactive relationships with customer decision-makers to ensure that Clarios products and services are selected and specified by customers to the maximum possible extent. 
• Analyze marketplace information in area of assigned accountabilities to assist in defining future product sales levels, potential customers, and competitor threats.
• Validate technical fit to prospective requirements, determine scope of work, and contribute to overall pricing and proposal creation for the assigned customers in Japan.
• Develop and deliver customized demonstrations; prepare for technical communication
• Support identifying internal product portfolio opportunities with short and midterm outlook
• As an expert on the customer thought process and business practices, educate colleagues including Directors and VPs regarding customer processes and launch documents to ensure and drive "One voice," "One team," and "Transparent" communication manner with internal partners and external customers.
• Mentor other TAM and Engineering members about lead-acid battery design, testing, manufacturing process and quality control, industry standards, and common customer requirements as needed basis.
• Keep close attention to accuracy of any day-to-day communication going out of Clarios to customer as embodiment of detail-oriented working style, including but not limited to figures in customer drawing, test report, sample cost quote, etc. Also, early detect major gap of thought, expectation, and internal business process between Clarios and customer to identify potential opportunity to promote “Customer Centric” culture.
• Visit a battery lab at a distant location (Atsugi-city, Kanagawa) to participate in and support monthly warranty teardown of returned / rejected batteries made by Clarios Korea and share key findings with Korea team to drive continuous quality improvement.
• Coordinate post-launch technical activities initiated by either customer or internal team, including resolution to quality issue, design change proposal and customer approval process, confirmation of regional regulation compliance, performing non-spec testing as per special request from customer, etc. Proactively find and assemble appropriate persons from multiple functions and regions to facilitate activities case by case.

Job Specifications:

• BS in Engineering, Electronics, Chemistry, or Electrochemistry required
• MS in Engineering discipline preferred
• 8+ years of relevant industry experience required
• Experience in battery, automotive, electrochemistry, engineering development and product launch in manufacturing industry (of which 2 are in automotive manufacturing environment, preferably with Clarios, an automotive Tier 1 supplier and/or OE automaker) preferred
• Experience in engineering management, project management, product management a plus
• Knowledge of design and development launch process a plus
• Advanced skills in MS Project and MS Office (MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint)
• Strong problem solving and analytical skills a plus
• Ability to develop, maintain and manage customer relationships required.
• Advanced English and native Japanese communication skills in both verbal and writing required
• Excellent comprehension and communication skills in both Japanese and English required
• Excellent interpersonal communication and good negotiation skills required
• Excellent presentation skill required to articulate his/her understanding straightforwardly to let others understand correctly and smoothly, considering what others are expecting to his/her communication
• Assertive and energetic, able to work spontaneously under pressure
• Teamwork oriented and Basic business skills (time management and prioritization, efficient learning, etc.)
• Travel expectation is between 15-30% between Clarios sites and customer sites for business meetings

This job description indicates the general nature and level of work expected of the incumbent. It is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities required of the incumbent. Incumbent may be required to perform other related duties.

Clarios is the global leader in advanced, low-voltage battery technologies for mobility. We power progress through ever-smarter solutions for virtually every kind of vehicle. With 16,000 employees in over 140 countries, we bring deep expertise to our Aftermarket and OEM partners, and reliability, safety and comfort to everyday lives. We answer to the planet with a rigorous ESG focus – advancing best-in-class sustainability practices and advocating for them across our industry. Learn more about us at www.clarios.com.

Clarios is the creator behind VARTA vehicle batteries, which are designed to deliver the optimal level of power and longevity for every kind of vehicle. Whether you need batteries for your heavy-duty commercial vehicle, your highly equipped car with Start-Stop, or any kind of electric vehicle – VARTA always offers the right technology for every energy demand.

We recognize that people come with a wealth of experience and talent beyond just the technical requirements of a job. If your experience is close to what you see listed here, please apply. Diversity of experience and skills combined with passion is key to challenging the status quo. Therefore, we encourage people from all backgrounds to apply to our positions. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and value diversity in our teams in terms of work experience, area of expertise, gender, ethnicity, and all other characteristics protected by laws in the countries where we operate. For more information on our commitment to sustainability, diversity, and equal opportunity, please read our latest report.

To all recruitment agencies: Clarios does not accept unsolicited agency resumes/CVs. Please do not forward resumes/CVs to our careers email addresses, Clarios employees or any other company location. Clarios is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes/CVs.