Key Account Manager

Build Strategic OEM Growth Across Japan

Hunter Davies is representing an established top S&P manufacturing organization. The business provides fluid and gas control components, modules, and subsystem solutions for technically demanding OEM applications.

As OEM Key Account Manager, you will take ownership of strategic customer growth across Japan, primarily within the Tokyo area. You will work with OEM customers in life science, advanced equipment, and other high-technology markets, helping them solve complex application challenges while developing new commercial opportunities.

This is a proactive, technically consultative role. You will build on existing customer relationships while identifying new projects, applications, and opportunities to influence customer specifications at an early stage. Working closely with engineering, R&D, procurement, and senior stakeholders, you will connect customer requirements with effective technical and commercial solutions.

You will also collaborate with international sales, engineering, product development, operations, and finance teams within a global matrix organisation.

Career Progression Timeline

• First 3 months:

Build product, account, and market knowledge while developing relationships with key customer and internal stakeholders across a global matrix organization.

• By 6 months:

Execute strategic account plans, improve forecast visibility, identify growth opportunities, and strengthen customer engagement.

• By 9 months:

Lead customer-focused initiatives, support complex commercial negotiations, and develop new product and application opportunities with internal technical teams.

• After 12 months and beyond:

Drive long-term OEM account growth, customer retention, market expansion, and strategic partnerships across Japan and the wider Asia-Pacific region.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and execute strategic account plans across OEM customers.
• Build trusted relationships with engineering, R&D, procurement, operations, and senior leadership.
• Proactively identify customer challenges, upcoming projects, and unmet application requirements.
• Engage early in customer design and development activities to influence specifications and secure new business.
• Use a consultative, solution-led approach to develop the right component, module, or subsystem solution.
• Identify new opportunities within existing accounts and develop relationships with prospective OEM customers.
• Translate technical customer requirements into commercially viable opportunities.
• Lead customer meetings, technical presentations, application reviews, and solution-development discussions.
• Drive profitable year-on-year sales growth across existing products, new applications, and new customer programmes.
• Manage forecasting, CRM activity, pipeline development, and account reviews.
• Lead or support multi-million-dollar contract, pricing, and commercial negotiations.
• Coordinate international teams to ensure customers receive responsive and technically credible solutions.
• Support customer retention, operational improvements, and long-term account planning.

What Success Looks Like

You will be successful when you have:

• Built strong, multi-level relationships within key OEM accounts.
• Developed a clear understanding of customer technology roadmaps and commercial priorities.
• Created new opportunities rather than relying solely on existing revenue.
• Influenced customer projects early enough to support design-in and specification activity.
• Converted technical discussions into qualified commercial opportunities.
• Expanded the company’s position across existing customers and applications.
• Built a reliable pipeline across Japan and the wider Asia-Pacific region.
• Delivered measurable year-on-year revenue growth.
• Become a trusted technical and commercial partner to both customers and internal teams in Japan.

Experience Required

• 3–10 years’ experience in OEM account management, technical sales, outside sales, or business development.
• Business fluency in Japanese and English is highly advantageous.
• Experience managing complex B2B customer relationships and multi-year commercial agreements.
• Experience working within a global or matrix organization.
• A proactive, consultative approach to identifying and developing new business.
• Ability to understand customer challenges and translate them into commercially relevant solutions.
• Experience selling into OEM engineering, R&D, procurement, or production environments.
• Knowledge of fluid or gas control technologies, such as valves, pumps, sensors, tubing, single-use fluid management, motion control, manifolds, related fluidic solutions or adjacent solutions.
• Strong commercial, analytical, presentation, negotiation, and stakeholder-management skills.
• Willingness to travel approximately 50% as required.

The Opportunity

This is an opportunity to join a well-established market leader in OEM fluid & gas solutions while taking meaningful ownership of growth in Japan. You will benefit from the scale, technical expertise, and international resources of a global business, alongside the autonomy to shape customer relationships and develop the entire Japanese market.

The role would suit someone who enjoys combining technical problem-solving with commercial development and who wants to influence OEM projects from the early design stage through to long-term partnership.

Compensation & Benefits

• Estimated total on target compensation: ~¥15 million–¥19 million, depending on experience and qualifications.
• Benefits aligned with local employment conditions.
• Flexible working arrangements i.e. remote work with travel support package.
• Company Vehicle Package.
• International career and development opportunities in a global market leader.
• Exposure to global OEM enterprise customers and cross-functional teams.
• Opportunity to own the market in Japan for a multi-billion-revenue Market Segment Business Unit whilst representing a top S&P manufacturing organization.

Hunter Davies is a global pioneered multi-service headhunting firm specialising in Industrial, Automation & Semiconductor industries. We draw from over a decade industry experience, specializing in Flow Control technology markets connecting A-player industry experts with leading public, private equity backed, employee and family owned organisations, worldwide.