Manager, Technical Sales Trim Systems

CVG Trim Systems & Components is seeking a Manager, Technical Sales & Applications to drive technical and commercial growth across our injection‑molded trim portfolio. This is a hybrid role for an experienced plastics professional who can sit across the table from a customer's engineering team in the morning, work through a DFM challenge on a complex molded part, and then shift gears in the afternoon to lead RFQ strategy, quote positioning, and account expansion.

Roughly 60% of the role is hands‑on applications engineering: material selection, tooling strategy, manufacturability analysis, and real‑time technical problem‑solving in front of customers. The remaining 40% is commercial: building relationships across engineering, sourcing, and operations leadership at target accounts, identifying whitespace, and converting technical credibility into booked business.

• Act as the primary technical point of contact in customer meetings on injection‑molded trim applications, including material selection, tooling, tolerances, and DFM
• Lead working sessions with customer engineering teams to diagnose design constraints, cost drivers, and manufacturability issues, and propose solutions on the spot
• Translate customer application requirements into manufacturable, commercially viable solutions in partnership with internal Engineering, Tooling, and Operations teams
• Drive DFM/DFA recommendations that improve part cost, cycle time, quality, and tooling longevity
• Support prototype reviews, PPAP discussions, and production readiness assessments
• Represent the Voice of the Customer in internal product development, capability planning, and capital investment discussions

• Build and expand relationships across engineering, purchasing, program management, and executive levels at strategic customer accounts
• Identify whitespace within existing accounts and pursue new target accounts in automotive, commercial vehicle, and adjacent industrial markets
• Lead RFQ strategy, solution positioning, and proposal development in coordination with Sales, Engineering, and Program Management
• Quantify and communicate value (cost‑out, performance, total landed cost, supply continuity) to technical and commercial buyers
• Contribute to annual revenue forecasting, pipeline reviews, and margin targets for the trim portfolio
• Represent CVG Trim Systems at trade shows, technical conferences, and customer engineering events
• Monitor competitor activity, material trends, and OEM platform changes to protect and grow share

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Plastics Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related technical discipline
• Minimum 7 years of combined experience in injection molding, plastics manufacturing, tooling, applications engineering, or technical sales within the plastics or molded components industry
• Demonstrated experience in a customer‑facing role (applications engineering, sales engineering, or technical account management)
• Experience supporting or leading RFQ and quoting processes for engineered plastic components
• Ability to travel up to 50% within North America
• Authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship

• Experience selling or supporting injection‑molded components into automotive, commercial vehicle, heavy truck, agricultural, or construction equipment OEMs and Tier 1s
• Prior P&L exposure or experience owning a book of business with revenue targets
• Experience with Moldflow, GD&T, APQP/PPAP, and IATF 16949 environments
• Master's degree in Engineering, Plastics, or Business Administration

• Comfortable as the senior technical voice in the room — confident answering material, tooling, and process questions in real time without retreating to "I'll get back to you"
• Commercially minded engineer or technically grounded sales professional — equally credible discussing gate design and discussing margin
• Consultative seller who builds trust through technical depth rather than relationship‑only selling
• Strong executive presence across…