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.