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Aptiv

Automotive electronics and software platform provider

Business Development Manager: Industrial Robotics & Defense

Full-TimeUpdated on 10/23/2026
No salary listed
Expert
Bachelor's
Villepinte, France
In PersonBased in Villepinte; international travel may be required for customer visits.
Sales & Account ManagementAccount Executive

About the job

Requirements
  • At least 12 years of aerospace, government, drone, or defense technology sales experience, including substantial experience with hardware-centric solutions and demonstrated ability to sell integrated hardware, software, and services.
  • A proven record of selling to Product Management, Engineering, Operations, and/or IT organizations, consistently exceeding annual quotas and winning large, complex programs.
  • Demonstrated ability to enter new markets, build a sales pipeline from scratch, and close new business with established enterprises and early-stage customers.
  • Understanding of cloud, edge computing, embedded systems, safety-critical environments, and mission-critical environments.
  • Ability to explain technical concepts to technical and non-technical stakeholders, from founders to senior executives.
  • Bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.
  • Willingness to travel as required for customer visits, trade shows, and industry events.
Responsibilities
  • Accurately forecast, manage, and exceed annual revenue quotas across robotics and drone customers.
  • Build new pipeline in untapped or underdeveloped markets, identify whitespace opportunities, and acquire new customers across industrial robotics, commercial, defense, and emerging technology sectors.
  • Sell to large industrial original equipment manufacturers, mid-sized technology firms, and early-stage or scaling robotics and drone companies.
  • Identify upsell and expansion opportunities within existing accounts in collaboration with delivery, engineering, and customer success teams.
  • Engage and influence senior executives, founders, and technical leaders, coordinating with internal executive sponsors.
  • Lead with a full-portfolio approach spanning hardware, software, and services to create differentiated value for robotic and unmanned-systems use cases.
  • Develop actionable territory and account plans to drive sustainable growth across new and existing customers.
  • Understand customer organizational structures, decision-making paths, budget owners, and key influencers in government, enterprise, and startup environments.
  • Maintain account ownership after closing and manage renewal and expansion opportunities.
  • Provide weekly forecasts, account plans, pipeline reviews, opportunity reviews, close plans, and risk assessments.
  • Build customer relationships through industry insight, technical understanding, and alignment with business outcomes.
  • Identify and assess business opportunities, emerging markets, and strategic partnerships in aerospace, government, and defense; analyze public information and industry trends to anticipate customer needs and competitive dynamics.
  • Coordinate cross-functional engineering, product, services, legal, and partner teams to mobilize resources at the appropriate sales-cycle stages.
  • Represent Aptiv at robotics, drone, autonomy, defense, and industrial trade shows and conferences to identify prospects, generate pipeline, gather competitive intelligence, and strengthen brand presence.
  • Prospect consistently and create a substantial volume of new outbound pipeline weekly across robotics and drone markets.
  • Identify, qualify, and advance new-customer and existing-account expansion opportunities; initially focus entirely on new-customer acquisition.
  • Manage the full sales cycle from early pipeline development through quarterly forecasting and deal closure.
  • Maintain accurate, real-time information in Salesforce to support operational rigor and transparency.
  • Collaborate with marketing, inside sales, SDR, Aptiv-Wind River and Winchester sales, customer success, engineering, delivery, and product teams to build pipeline and identify customer needs.
  • Partner with internal stakeholders to identify emerging opportunities, validate customer requirements, and develop winning strategies; align internal teams throughout the sales cycle.
  • Execute sales strategies to progress opportunities through the sales cycle and win large, complex robotics or drone-based autonomy programs.
  • Support Aptiv’s entry into new sectors and emerging robotics, drone, and unmanned-systems segments.
Desired Qualifications
  • Expertise in robotics, drones, autonomy, or unmanned systems is strongly preferred.
  • Experience selling to government organizations, aerospace companies, or drone original equipment manufacturers is a strong plus.
  • An advanced degree is a plus.

About the company

Aptiv provides the electronic brain and nervous system for modern vehicles, powering features from active safety to software-defined vehicle architecture. Its products sit in the car’s electronics stack, enabling connectivity, advanced safety, electrification, and autonomous capabilities through computer modules, software, and embedded systems. Unlike traditional auto parts suppliers, Aptiv focused its business on high-tech automotive electronics and software, after spinning off its legacy powertrain unit in 2017 and rebranding from Delphi. It expands its capabilities through strategic acquisitions such as nuTonomy (self-driving tech) in 2017 and Wind River (edge software) in 2022, and created Motional, a joint venture with Hyundai to commercialize autonomous driving. Aptiv’s goal is to be a leading technology partner for automakers by delivering the core intelligence for next-generation vehicles, including safety, connectivity, electrification, and autonomous driving.

Company Size

10,001+

Company Stage

IPO

Headquarters

Dublin, Ireland

Founded

1994

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What believers are saying

  • Q2 2026 brought $5 billion new awards, including radar, robotics perception, and NVIDIA programs.
  • September 2026 mass production started for Aptiv’s next-generation ADAS camera in Europe-bound Chinese EVs.
  • Non-automotive revenue rose 12% in Q2 2026, reducing dependence on traditional vehicle platforms.

What critics are saying

  • August 2026 guidance cut triggered a 17% stock drop after missing revenue expectations.
  • Aptiv keeps closing European sites and cutting staff, with $40 million restructuring charges in 2026.
  • Winning design wins matters; delayed program launches would crush 2026-2027 revenue from new awards.

What makes Aptiv unique

  • Aptiv owns edge AI, sensors, software, and systems integration after Versigent’s April 2026 spin-off.
  • Its Gen 8 radar and IFV800 camera platform target L2+ across highways, urban, and commercial vehicles.
  • June 2026 NVIDIA collaboration extends Aptiv beyond cars into robotics, aerospace, and industrial automation.

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Benefits

  • Health Insurance
  • Life Insurance
  • Unlimited Paid Time Off
  • Tuition Reimbursement
  • Relocation Assistance
  • Professional Development Budget
  • Wellness Program
  • Mental Health Support
  • Employee Assistance Program
  • Access to fitness clubs
  • Paid Vacation
  • Parental Leave

Growth & Insights and Company News

6 month growth

9%

1 year growth

12%

2 year growth

12%
Yahoo Finance
Oct 2nd, 2026
Aptiv secures $5B in new commercial awards to drive future growth

Aptiv has secured roughly $5 billion in new commercial awards entering the second half of 2026, split between $2.4 billion in Intelligent Systems and $2.5 billion in Engineered Components. The awards include Aptiv's first commercial contract for Gen 8 automotive radar, an initial robotics perception-system award, and expanded collaboration with NVIDIA on Edge AI platforms. Second-quarter adjusted revenue growth accelerated to 2% sequentially, whilst Software & Services increased 10%. Non-automotive revenues grew 12%, indicating diversification beyond traditional vehicle programmes. Aptiv repurchased $250 million of shares during the quarter and plans to return approximately half of free cash flow through buybacks over the next several years. The company's margins continue expanding despite stranded costs, with EPS rising year over year. Future growth increasingly depends on converting awards into scaled programmes across sensing, software and automation categories.

Motorindia
Sep 29th, 2026
Aptiv showcases integrated safety tech for cvs.

Aptiv showcases integrated safety tech for cvs. Aptiv showcased a range of integrated sensor and safety technologies for commercial vehicles at IAA Transportation 2026. The goal is to help reduce accidents while also easing the shift toward software-defined vehicles. Commercial vehicles are big and heavy, which makes them risky on the road. Because of this, safety remains a top priority for OEMs. Many carmakers have committed to zero-fatality targets. "Aptiv positioned itself as a leader here, that no other supplier equips commercial vehicles with as many sensing capabilities. The company combines radar and camera technology, choosing the right mix based on cost and use case. This helps it serve different types of OEMs, from those who just want to meet basic safety rules to those aiming for full self-driving in the future," Mr. Ronald Jesorsky, Marketing Director, Aptiv, told this publication. A live demo truck at the show showed off this technology in action. It included a surround-view monitoring system that gives drivers a bird's-eye view around the vehicle. This is especially useful in busy, tight city streets, where manoeuvring a large truck safely is much harder than on open highways. Aptiv also showed driver-monitoring technology inside the cabin. Truck drivers often spend long hours on the road, which can lead to fatigue. Phones and infotainment systems can distract them further. Aptiv's camera-based system keeps watch on whether the driver stays alert. It can even detect small tricks, like tucking a seatbelt behind the back to disable an alert, and flags it right away, he explained. Another shift the company is addressing is the move from physical mirrors to digital ones. Many trucks now use camera-based e-mirrors instead of traditional side mirrors. Normally, this means installing a separate driver-monitoring camera and a separate mirror screen. Aptiv has combined both into a single unit. This saves space and makes vehicle design simpler. On software, more OEMs are shifting from older vehicle systems to newer software-defined ones. Many already have plans in place, but putting those plans into action is hard. To help, Aptiv offers computing solutions that centralise processing power, even onto a single chip. At the same time, it lets OEMs choose from different chip options instead of locking them into one. Aptiv also provides a software platform that helps speed up this shift. This includes built-in tools that quickly find the source of software bugs. In turn, this helps OEMs finish development faster and bring new vehicles to market sooner, he added.

Aptiv
Sep 25th, 2026
Solving a critical EV Safety challenge: post-crash door unlocking.

Solving a critical EV Safety challenge: post-crash door unlocking. Case Studies September 25, 2026 Electronic door systems look sleek and reduce wind drag. But if the electronics fail in a crash, there is often no obvious mechanical way for occupants to escape or any way for first responders to pull them free. The issues are not just theoretical. In the wake of several preventable deaths, governments around the world are putting new safety regulations in place. China is leading the way, with legal requirements taking effect on January 1, 2027. This, in turn, has put time and cost pressures on OEMs: How do they make electronic handles safer without having to redesign the entire electronics architecture? Engineering Redundancy for the Electric Era To address these challenges, Aptiv developed a unique solution called the Emergency Power Module (EPM), which provides both independent, reliable backup power and door unlocking without requiring that the electronics system be reworked. This product has since been launched with a leading Chinese OEM. In many vehicles, door unlocking depends on a single body controller and a single power source, often located at the front or rear of the vehicle. In a major crash, these components and their harnesses can be damaged, preventing the unlock command or the required power from reaching the doors. To reduce this risk, Aptiv designed the EPM as a compact module that works separately from the existing body controller. It continuously monitors for crash signals and messages from both the CAN FD (Controller Area Network with Flexible Data-Rate) bus and a direct hardware signal from the airbag system. If the vehicle integration unit (VIU) is disabled, it loses the ability to control the door-unlock motors. However, the EPM can independently trigger the unlock sequence based on the airbag crash signal, providing an alternate path for door unlocking. When a crash is detected, the EPM delivers a short burst of power to unlock the doors. The EPM uses ultracapacitors, also called electric double-layer capacitors (EDLC), as a temporary energy source. Compared with lithium-ion batteries, EDLC technology offers faster discharge, higher power density, better inherent safety and a longer lifespan, making it well suited for short, high-reliability events, such as powering door locks in the aftermath of a crash. Collaboration and Design Refinement Close collaboration between the Chinese OEM and Aptiv was essential to bringing the EPM concept into production. The two companies' engineering teams jointly defined how the EPM should behave in different crash scenarios, how it should interact with the existing VIU and how it could be packaged inside the passenger cabin. The compact module was designed to fit under a typical passenger seat to minimize the risk of it being damaged in a crash. To deploy the solution, the team had to balance several trade-offs. One challenge was coordinating the mechanisms' behavior when the VIU remains operational after a crash. If both the VIU and the EPM attempted to control doors at the same time, there was a risk of a short circuit or a voltage back surge. Aptiv and the OEM addressed this by introducing protection mechanisms and a delayed-unlock strategy that staggers how each system issues its commands. They later refined the architecture to improve energy efficiency, enabling more of the ultracapacitor's stored energy to be used for door unlocking without adding complexity for the OEM. Lessons for Future EV Safety Designs The EPM project showed that a dedicated redundancy solution for door unlocking can be added in a way that is both practical to integrate and meaningful for occupant safety. It also demonstrated how targeted backup modules can enhance crash-time functionality without requiring a complete rework of existing body electronics. While the true value of such a system is fully visible only in severe crash events, the absence of reported cases where doors could not be opened on the vehicle lines that now include EPMs is an encouraging sign. Both the OEM and Aptiv now see opportunities to extend the concept to additional functions that require emergency power, such as window lowering or emergency call activation, and to incorporate similar redundancy into future architectures. * Ensure that electric doors can reliably unlock after severe crashes, even when the main body controller or battery is damaged * Address emerging safety expectations and regulatory pressure in the Chinese EV market * Integrate the solution into existing platforms * Deploy the Emergency Power Module, which uses ultracapacitor-based energy storage for fast, safe and reliable backup power for existing and newly developed driving circuits * Provide redundancy for power and unlock control, with a compact module located under the passenger seat with harnesses routed inside the cabin * Codefine control strategy, protection mechanisms and validation plans through close collaboration between the OEM's and Aptiv's engineering teams * First EPM brought into series production with a leading Chinese EV OEM * Enhanced reliability of door unlocking in crash scenarios, without major changes to existing body electronics * A scalable concept that can be adapted for additional OEMs and extended to other safety-critical functions Share: Careers. Shape the future of mobility. Join its team to help create vehicles that are safer, greener and more connected.

PR Newswire
Sep 16th, 2026
Axera and Aptiv bring m57-powered driver assistance to europe-bound vehicles.

Axera and Aptiv bring m57-powered driver assistance to europe-bound vehicles. 16 Sep, 2026, 11:43 IST Aptiv's next-generation integrated front-view ADAS solution, powered by Axera's M57 SoC, enters mass production for a leading Chinese NEV automaker. SHANGHAI, Sept. 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - Axera (Stock Code: 0600.HK) announced that its automotive-grade ADAS SoC M57 now powers Aptiv's new-generation integrated front-view ADAS unit. The solution has entered mass production and begun deliveries for EU-bound models from a leading Chinese new-energy vehicle manufacturer. Led by Aptiv's China team, the driver-assistance system meets the requirements for a five-star rating under the 2026 Euro NCAP protocols. This milestone demonstrates the M57's readiness for Europe's stringent market requirements and provides Chinese automakers expanding overseas with a secure, domestically developed, and independently controlled computing foundation for intelligent driving. Aptiv's new unit is designed for Chinese automakers going global. With a single M57 SoC and integrated MCU, it cuts hardware size and power use by 20% each, balancing performance and cost. It incorporates an 8MP, 120° HD camera, leading vision perception algorithms, and Wind River Kaiwu RTOS. Jointly tuned by Aptiv teams in China and abroad for European road conditions and driving habits, it meets E-NCAP 2026 five-star requirements and helps Chinese automotive brands overcome Europe's demanding market-entry requirements. Designed for global L2+ driver assistance, M57 is a Chinese automotive-grade SoC built on Axera's full-stack, proprietary core IP. Its NPU delivers up to 10 TOPS of computing performance and natively supports BEV and Transformer architectures. It integrates an MCU and ASIL-D hardware safety island, and is certified to AEC-Q100 Grade 2, ISO 26262 ASIL-B, and ISO/SAE 21434. Its thermal design power remains below 3.5 W under high-temperature operating conditions of 125°C. Compatible with both internal-combustion and new-energy vehicles, the M57 enables a single chip platform to support regulatory requirements in China and overseas markets. Its open software and hardware toolchain helps Tier 1 suppliers port solutions quickly and shorten development cycles. Li Hao, Axera's GM of Automotive Business, said: "The mass-production launch of our joint project with Aptiv in the EU market marks a milestone for Chinese automotive chips developed in China and built to serve the world. As Chinese automakers expand internationally, they need a safe, reliable, regulation-compliant homegrown computing platform. M57 was built for the global market from day one, balancing performance, power consumption, safety, and cost. Axera will continue to deepen its collaboration with Aptiv and other global Tier 1 partners, create a seamless path from chips and solutions to vehicle mass production, and keep delivering globally competitive, China-developed computing solutions for intelligent driving and help more Chinese automotive brands succeed in overseas markets." To date, M57 has secured design wins from multiple automakers and Tier 1 suppliers in China and abroad. Its products span a diverse range of applications, including integrated front-view ADAS units, integrated driving-and-parking domain controllers, and in-cabin sensing systems. As deployments accelerate across China and Europe, the M57 is helping make L2 driver assistance more widely available and accessible to drivers worldwide.

PR Newswire
Sep 16th, 2026
Axera's M57 chip powers Aptiv ADAS system for Chinese EVs entering European market

Axera's M57 automotive chip now powers Aptiv's new integrated front-view driver assistance system, which has entered mass production for a Chinese electric vehicle maker's European-bound models. The system meets Euro NCAP 2026 five-star safety requirements. Developed by Aptiv's China team, the unit uses a single M57 chip and integrated microcontroller, reducing hardware size and power consumption by 20% each. It includes an 8-megapixel camera and advanced vision algorithms tuned for European driving conditions. The M57 chip features a neural processing unit delivering 10 TOPS of computing performance whilst maintaining thermal design power below 3.5 watts at 125°C. It's certified to AEC-Q100 Grade 2 and ISO 26262 ASIL-B standards. Axera has secured design wins from multiple automakers and suppliers across China and international markets for applications including driver assistance systems and cabin sensing.