Position Overview

CCAM is seeking an experienced Business Development & Membership Growth Lead to drive the growth of our industry membership program, increasing engagement with manufacturing companies and aligning their R&D needs with our proof-of-concept research capabilities. This role will play a pivotal part in expanding our tiered membership model, which provides industry partners with varying levels of research collaboration, access to technology, and networking opportunities.

The ideal candidate is a strategic thinker with a consultative and solutions-focused approach, capable of identifying and engaging key decision-makers within potential member organizations, fostering long-term partnerships, and driving membership growth. This newly created position offers a unique opportunity to build out the business development function within a highly technical, research-driven organization.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a strategic business development plan to expand industry membership.
• Identify and engage target manufacturing companies, effectively communicating the value of membership and R&D collaboration.
• Conduct market research and competitive analysis to identify industry trends, potential partners, and opportunities for membership growth.
• Manage the full membership development lifecycle, from initial outreach and engagement to closing agreements and onboarding.
• Develop member value statements by aligning organizational capabilities with industry needs, ensuring a compelling value proposition for potential members.
• Work closely with Communications Committee to develop membership-related outreach materials, presentations, and campaigns.
• Identify, build, and maintain relationships with key industry stakeholders, including executives, R&D leaders, and decision-makers.
• Utilize a consultative approach to understand prospective members’ business challenges and position membership as a solution to their innovation needs.
• Identify and engage with coaches, champions, and key decision-makers at potential industry members, ensuring they understand the strategic benefits of membership.
• Foster strong relationships with existing members to assist Partner Success Manager with encouraging renewals, upgrades, and deeper collaboration. 
• Represent the organization at trade shows, conferences, symposiums, and networking events to build awareness and generate leads.
• Organize and participate in industry roundtables, webinars, and information sessions to showcase the organization’s research capabilities and membership benefits.
• Work collaboratively with internal teams to develop presentation materials, case studies, and success stories to demonstrate membership value.
• Utilize Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to track outreach efforts, manage the membership pipeline, and ensure timely follow-ups.
• Develop forecasting models and KPIs to assess business development effectiveness and membership conversion rates.
• Generate reports and insights on membership growth, industry trends, and engagement success.
• Collaborate with internal teams to optimize membership agreements, pricing structures, and tiered benefits based on data-driven insights.

CCAM is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. CCAM does not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or veteran status.

Company Overview:

CCAM is the center of an ecosystem of collaboration with industry, government, and academia that is focused on helping manufacturers solve real world problems. CCAM works with its partners to develop and deploy new technologies that advance manufacturing and deliver business value. For many companies, joining CCAM can be the difference between being in front of new technology or behind the curve.

Our research focuses on building intelligence in manufacturing processes and systems by bringing experienced, multi-disciplinary teams together with advanced digital systems and manufacturing process capabilities as well as new technology to solve industrial challenges. Whether through new process development, process improvement, new technology development and insertion, system integration and automation, or advanced analytics and AI development, our teams deliver real, usable results. Active research threads include flexible and distributed manufacturing, adaptive automation, cooperative processing, advanced coatings systems, and intelligent repair and replacement through new technologies. 

As an applied research center, CCAM has a very strong, multi-disciplinary resident staff that includes research scientists and engineers, skilled industrial technicians, university faculty, and engineering interns and graduate students. These teams work collaboratively with one another as well as with partner organizations to build new and effective approaches to challenges. Our teammates are highly skilled and innovative problem solvers that are focused on delivering value to our customers every day.

Benefits Overview:

• Health, Dental, Vision insurance plan options; eligible on first of month following date of hire.
• HRA – Health Reimbursement Account (employer funded, covers a portion of the medical deductible).
• FSA – Flexible spending Account (employee funded, pre-tax).
• 401k  Retirement Plan – Employer contributes 3% of base salary monthly; additional discretionary match up to 7.5% determined annually.
• Life, Accidental Death & Dismemberment, Short Term Disability, and Long-Term Disability insurance (employer funded).
• 3 weeks paid vacation.
• 2 weeks paid maternity/paternity/adoption leave. 
• Tuition Reimbursement up to $5250.00 per year.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a technical-related field (Engineering, Manufacturing, Industrial Technology, or a related discipline).
• 5-10 years of business development experience within the manufacturing industry, with a focus on engaging technical stakeholders.
• Strong experience in stakeholder engagement, including identifying, coaching, and influencing decision-makers.
• Ability to provide a consultative experience, effectively aligning industry challenges with the organization's capabilities.
• Entrepreneurial mindset, self-starter, and comfortable building out a new business development function.
• Proficiency with CRM tools (Salesforce, HubSpot, or similar) and lead generation software for tracking engagement.
• Experience with account and customer management in a B2B setting, with a track record of relationship cultivation and retention.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and presentation skills, with the ability to articulate complex technical concepts to diverse audiences.
• Ability to travel 25-50% as needed for industry events, member meetings, and conferences.
• This position requires access to technology or intellectual property that is subject to export control requirements. Candidates must be qualified for such access without an export control license.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Industrial Technology, or a related technical field or MBA
• 10+ years of business development experience in the manufacturing industry, particularly within R&D-focused organizations.
• Experience building out a business development function in a new or expanding organization.
• Knowledge of public-private partnerships, research collaborations, and federal funding mechanisms that support manufacturing R&D.
• Strong analytical skills and experience using data-driven insights to inform business development strategy.

Individual Traits Key to Success at CCAM:

• Approaches work with a collaborative, team-first mentality; positive, proactive, with a can-do attitude.
• Genuine enthusiasm for the application of research to manufacturing processes.
• Excels at problem definition; able to work effectively with open ended or ambiguous problems and/or applications.
• Self-driven and results-oriented, with a clear focus on high quality work performance.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, conveys ideas at both technical and non-technical levels; must be a good      listener.
• Responsible and accountable; able to manage time, cost, and quality to meet project goals.
• Eager to gain new experience and learn new skills.

Location: Remote-friendly within a 2–3-hour radius of CCAM Disputanta, VA facility

Reports To: Partner Success Manager