Position Summary
We are seeking an experienced Business Development Manager to lead growth initiatives within the North American school transportation and commercial vehicle electrification markets. This individual will develop strategic relationships with school bus manufacturers, dealers, fleet operators, school districts, and key industry partners to support the adoption of battery systems, electric powertrain technologies, and integrated electrification solutions.
The ideal candidate will possess deep knowledge of the North American school bus industry, understand OEM purchasing and product planning processes, and have established relationships across the school transportation ecosystem.
Key Responsibilities
OEM & Strategic Partner Development
- Develop and maintain relationships with school bus manufacturers, dealers, body builders, and commercial vehicle partners across North America.
- Identify and pursue opportunities to introduce battery systems, electric powertrain solutions, and related electrification technologies into school bus platforms.
- Build relationships with engineering, purchasing, product planning, sales, executive leadership, and aftersales teams.
- Support commercial negotiations, pricing strategy, technical alignment, contract discussions, and long-term partnership development.
- Monitor OEM electrification initiatives, sourcing strategies, platform development plans, and competitive supplier activity.
Market Development
- Develop a comprehensive understanding of the U.S. school bus market, including Type A, Type C, and Type D vehicle segments.
- Identify opportunities with school districts, transportation contractors, fleet operators, state agencies, and clean transportation programs.
- Support initiatives that accelerate electric school bus adoption while improving affordability and long-term fleet economics.
- Analyze market trends, competitive offerings, pricing dynamics, procurement cycles, funding opportunities, and dealer networks.
- Contribute to go-to-market strategies for electrification technologies and vehicle solutions.
Customer & Partner Management
- Serve as a primary commercial contact for OEMs, dealers, fleet customers, and strategic partners.
- Collaborate with engineering, product management, legal, finance, manufacturing, and customer support teams to satisfy customer requirements.
- Develop proposals, presentations, RFQ responses, business cases, and executive-level briefing materials.
- Support customer visits, industry events, trade shows, technical workshops, and product demonstrations.
- Maintain accurate pipeline management, forecasting, contact records, and opportunity tracking.
Product & Strategic Support
- Provide market intelligence and customer feedback to guide product development and roadmap decisions.
- Work closely with technical teams to understand customer requirements related to battery performance, charging, thermal management, safety, integration, and warranty considerations.
- Support the development of commercial models including technology supply agreements, strategic partnerships, licensing opportunities, and joint development initiatives.
- Evaluate competitive solutions and identify differentiators related to cost, performance, safety, reliability, and serviceability.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, Transportation, Automotive, or a related field.
- 5+ years of experience in business development, sales, strategic partnerships, program management, or account management within commercial vehicles, transportation, electrification, automotive, batteries, or related industries.
- Experience working directly with vehicle manufacturers, dealers, fleet operators, or transportation organizations.
- Strong understanding of commercial vehicle electrification and OEM sourcing processes.
- Demonstrated ability to build and maintain executive-level customer relationships.
- Experience developing proposals, pricing strategies, business cases, and partnership agreements.
- Excellent communication, negotiation, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
- Ability and willingness to travel frequently throughout North America.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience supporting electric school buses, commercial EVs, battery systems, charging infrastructure, or powertrain technologies.
- Working knowledge of battery technologies, high-voltage systems, thermal management, charging systems, electric motors, inverters, and vehicle integration.
- Familiarity with school transportation procurement, dealer sales channels, fleet acquisition cycles, and public-sector purchasing processes.
- Existing relationships with school transportation manufacturers, dealers, fleet operators, or commercial vehicle OEMs.
- Experience working with government-funded transportation initiatives or public fleet programs.
- Understanding of domestic content requirements, transportation grants, and alternative fuel vehicle programs.