Outside Sales / Metal Fabrication Business Development

About Pen Manufacturing

Pen Manufacturing is a Southern California metal fabrication company specializing in custom sheet metal, machining, welding, and assemblies. We serve customers across aerospace, defense, space, data centers, industrial manufacturing, infrastructure, OEM, construction, and other demanding markets.

We are looking for an experienced outside sales hunter who already has relevant customer relationships and can leverage them immediately to generate RFQs and new business for Pen.

Important: Existing Industry Relationships Are Required

This is not an entry level business development role and it is not a role for someone looking to build an industry network from scratch.

Candidates must already have meaningful relationships with customers, engineers, procurement teams, program managers, contractors, OEMs, or other decision makers in one or more of the following markets:

• Aerospace
• Defense
• Space
• Data centers
• Industrial manufacturing
• OEM manufacturing
• Infrastructure and engineered construction

You should be able to identify companies and contacts in your existing network that you can begin approaching immediately after joining Pen Manufacturing.

We are open to different industry backgrounds, but we are specifically looking for candidates whose relationships can realistically generate opportunities for custom metal fabrication, machining, welding, assemblies, or related manufacturing services.

What You'll Do

• Leverage your existing relationships to immediately generate introductions, RFQs, and new customer opportunities.
• Prospect aggressively for additional customers through cold calling, referrals, networking, industry events, and in person meetings.
• Open new markets and develop relationships with OEMs, engineers, contractors, procurement teams, program managers, and other decision makers.
• Own opportunities from initial contact through RFQ, quoting, negotiation, and purchase order.
• Visit customers and prospects throughout Southern California.
• Understand customer requirements and work closely with Engineering and Estimating to develop competitive solutions and quotes.
• Work closely with Production and Operations to ensure customer requirements and delivery expectations can be met.
• Follow up relentlessly on open quotes and understand exactly what is preventing each opportunity from converting.
• Reengage former customers and lost opportunities to win business back.
• Maintain a clean and accurate CRM with opportunities, next steps, expected close dates, customer feedback, and lost reasons.
• Build and maintain a measurable pipeline of profitable new business.
• Identify attractive new customers, applications, and markets where Pen's capabilities can win.
• Bring market and competitive intelligence back to leadership.

Who We're Looking For

We care much more about who you know, what you have sold, and what business you have personally won than titles or years of experience.

The strongest candidates will have:

• Existing, active relationships in aerospace, defense, space, data centers, industrial manufacturing, OEM manufacturing, infrastructure, or related engineered markets.
• A network that can realistically be leveraged immediately to generate meetings, RFQs, and opportunities for Pen.
• Proven outside sales or business development experience in custom manufacturing, metal fabrication, machining, sheet metal, welding, engineered products, industrial equipment, or closely related markets.
• A track record of personally opening new accounts and generating meaningful new revenue.
• Experience selling technical or engineered solutions rather than purely commodity products.
• A genuine hunter mentality. You are comfortable cold calling and opening additional doors beyond your existing network.
• Strong commercial judgment and an understanding that profitable revenue matters more than revenue at any price.
• Enough technical aptitude to understand drawings, specifications, manufacturing capabilities, and customer applications.
• Strong CRM and pipeline discipline.
• The ability to work independently while collaborating closely with Engineering, Estimating, Production, and leadership.

We Pay a Premium for Real Relationships

We are willing to pay $100,000+ in base compensation for the right person, but the premium is for relevant, transferable relationships and demonstrated ability to generate business, not simply years of sales experience.

A candidate seeking a premium base should be able to clearly explain:

• Which relevant companies they have relationships with today.
• Who they know inside those organizations.
• What those companies buy.
• How recently they have worked with those contacts.
• Why those relationships could translate into opportunities for Pen.
• Examples of accounts they personally opened and revenue they generated.

If your background is primarily generic B2B sales, software sales, retail sales, customer success, or account management without an existing relevant industrial network, this is not the right role.

What Success Looks Like

Within your first several months, we expect to see:

• Meetings and RFQs generated from your existing network.
• New qualified opportunities entering the pipeline consistently.
• New customer accounts being opened.
• Pen gaining access to customers and markets we do not currently serve.
• A growing pipeline of profitable, technically appropriate manufacturing opportunities.
• Existing relationships turning into purchase orders and recurring revenue.
• Consistent prospecting beyond your existing network.
• Accurate CRM data and clear visibility into every meaningful opportunity.

Compensation

Base Salary: Approximately $80,000 to $120,000+, depending heavily on relevant experience and the strength of your existing customer relationships.

On Target Earnings (OTE): $200,000+

Candidates commanding $100,000+ base compensation should bring an established, relevant network that can be leveraged immediately.

Commission: Uncapped and designed to materially reward profitable new business.

Exceptional candidates with highly relevant relationships and a demonstrated book of business may be considered above the standard range.

Work Structure

This is a Southern California focused role. Candidates must already live locally and be able to regularly visit customers, prospects, and Pen Manufacturing.

Hybrid work is fine. We care about customer activity, qualified pipeline, RFQs, profitable wins, and revenue, not how many days you sit behind a desk.

To Apply

Along with your resume, please briefly answer the following:

1. Which of these markets do you currently have relationships in: aerospace, defense, space, data centers, industrial manufacturing, OEM manufacturing, or infrastructure?
2. What types of decision makers do you personally know within those markets?
3. Name several companies in your existing network that could potentially purchase services from Pen Manufacturing.
4. What new accounts have you personally opened in the last three years?
5. Approximately how much new revenue or gross profit have you personally generated?
6. Which market could you begin developing for Pen immediately, and why?

If you already know the customers we want to reach and have the ability to open those doors, we want to talk.