Technical Sales Account Manager

Are you ready to move your career forward and help shape our company’s and customers’ futures? If you aspire to challenge yourself, work with the best in the industry and join a successful team where you can make a meaningful contribution, then we invite you to join us at Ketjen Corporation, a provider of advanced catalyst solutions to leading producers in the petrochemical, refining, and specialty chemicals industries.

Together, we can create a legacy marked by innovation, excitement, and energy.

Ketjen Corporation is seeking a Sales Account Manager. The position will be based out of the Clear Lake Office located in Houston, Texas.

In this position, the Account Manager is the primary contact for technical, procurement and key decision makers within selected customer accounts. You will be responsible for setting the sales strategy and gaining internal support to successfully execute the strategy. You must be able to build and maintain professional relationships with key stakeholders built on routine interactions and trust to be able to bridge both the customer’s and Ketjen’s needs.

As an Account Manager, you must possess the technical acumen to develop and deliver insights that will both support and challenge the customer’s operation and catalyst buying behavior in a way that is beneficial to both organizations. You must be able to work with a team of highly effective technical and commercial experts to efficiently resolve issues and meet customer requests as they align with the account strategy and within the capabilities of Ketjen’s resources.

You will identify inefficiencies in resources and gaps that prevent growth of business and guide Ketjen stakeholders to continual improvement with the account.

• Take ownership as Ketjen’s interface with the customer. Perform and/or manage commercial activities deemed appropriate to serve customers’ needs thereby developing strong credibility for Ketjen that leads to sales of our products.
• Guide internal teams to meet customer’s technical and commercial requests and continually provide feedback to internal stakeholders on the cost/benefit of supporting the key account.
• Build and maintain relationships with Leadership and Decision Makers within accounts. Manage relationship by representing Ketjen in multiple engagements and meetings, as required. Know when to draw in Ketjen Leadership Team, as needed.
• Prepare and execute account plans.
• Prepare, present, negotiate, and discuss Commercial proposals with customers.
• Track and maintain accurate forecasting of customer usage rates.
• Provide market intelligence and industry trends for strategic purpose.
• Meet or exceed group and individual annual and quarterly targets (volume/profit) as set by division management in the Annual Operating Plan.
• Successfully negotiate and secure long‑term supply agreements as per business requirements.
• Provide factual and timely internal reporting using company‑appropriate tools.
• Document and update all customer interfaces and contact points in the CRM system.
• Support improvement of industry perception of Ketjen technical strength and value propositions.

• Bachelor’s degree in an engineering discipline preferred.
• Minimum 5+ years in the refining industry; preferably with experience in hydroprocessing and/or FCC unit operation. At least 3+ years in a sales‑related role.
• Strong communication skills to present and explain commercial offers, technical offers, and unit optimization reports to customers.
• Negotiation skills and experience.
• Ability to build connections, credibility and exert influence internally and externally.
• Perseverance, persuasiveness, and confidence.
• Professionalism, passion, and commitment.
• Organizational skills.
• Willingness to travel up to 40%.
• Proficiency in the Microsoft Office suite.
• Experience with CRM tools.

Benefits of Joining Ketjen

• Competitive compensation.
• Comprehensive benefits package.
• A diverse array of resources to support you professionally and personally.