UPS Business Development Lead

Please note that we are unable to provide visa sponsorship for this position. About Proper Voltage Proper Voltage

is unlocking the next generation of battery technology across robotics, data centers, and defense.

We're building intelligent battery systems that make advanced chemistries (sodium-ion, lithium-titanate, lithium-silicon) work in products that were never designed for them. Humanoid robots can upgrade power systems without redesigning their entire platform. Data centers get safer, cheaper backup power. Drones and autonomous vehicles get higher energy density without lengthy integration cycles.

If you want to work on hard problems that matter this is the place.

Job Overview

We are looking for a UPS Business Development Lead to own end-to-end opportunity creation and commercial execution in the UPS and critical power market. This role is not about high-volume outbound sales or speculative evangelism. It is about identifying the right customers, qualifying opportunities rigorously, and advancing serious programs to technical diligence, commercial negotiation, and deployment.

You will work directly with company leadership and the technical team to move qualified opportunities toward contract and production. Founders will remain closely involved in late-stage closing and strategic decisions. This role exists to create focus, signal, and momentum in the one market where our architecture has clear pull today.

We have real, certified products in market. Success in this role is measured by disciplined pipeline creation, deal quality, and execution outcomes, not activity volume.

Who You Are

You have experience selling technically complex hardware or systems with long sales cycles, ideally in one or more of the following areas:

- UPS or critical power systems

- Data center infrastructure

- Industrial power electronics or energy systems

- Safety-critical or regulated hardware environments

You Are Comfortable

- Working with engineers and system architects

- Learning and explaining complex technical concepts

- Navigating procurement and legal processes

- Saying “no” to weak opportunities

You are not a transactional salesperson. You are methodical, skeptical, and persistent.

This Role Is Not a Fit If

This role will not be a good fit if you are looking for a purely exploratory or “technology evangelism” position. We have real, certified products in market today, and this role is accountable for advancing concrete opportunities tied to existing systems, not hypothetical future offerings.

It is also not a fit if you expect to be taught foundational concepts in batteries, power electronics, or energy systems on the job, or if you are uncomfortable selling products with defined specifications, constraints, and integration requirements.

You will struggle in this role if you avoid conflict, defer hard qualification decisions upward, or rely on optimism rather than rigor to move deals forward. We expect you to disqualify opportunities that do not align with current products or economics.

Finally, this role is not a fit if you are primarily motivated by individual deal commissions, prefer highly transactional sales motions, or are uncomfortable being held accountable for execution quality and outcomes rather than activity volume.

What You'll Do

- Own identification, qualification, and commercial execution of UPS opportunities across direct sales and distributor-led channels.

- Proactively source new opportunities with UPS OEMs, integrators, and operators in data center and critical power markets.

- Rigorously qualify opportunities and drive them through technical diligence, commercial negotiation, and legal review.

- Maintain pricing, quoting, and scope discipline, escalating only when deviations materially impact risk, margin, or delivery.

- Serve as the primary commercial interface for distributor partners, enforcing clarity, accountability, and follow-through.

- Translate incomplete or implicit customer requirements into clear commercial questions and internal alignment.

- Surface decisions and tradeoffs required from engineering and product teams to advance qualified opportunities.

- Decide which opportunities advance, pause, or stop based on product fit, production readiness, and strategic focus.

- Reduce executive involvement in routine deal management by owning qualification, pacing, and escalation thresholds.

- Work closely with technical solutions and engineering resources to support diligence and deployment.

- Maintain high standards for CRM hygiene, documentation, and cross-functional handoffs.

- Identify friction points in the commercial process and drive targeted improvements grounded in real deal experience.

Required Qualifications

- 7-12+ years of experience in business development, technical sales, or systems sales for hardware or infrastructure products

- Demonstrated experience selling real, shipping products with fixed specifications, certifications, and integration constraints

- Experience advancing complex opportunities through technical diligence, procurement, and legal negotiation

- Comfort working directly with engineers, architects, and operations teams, not just procurement or purchasing

- Ability to independently qualify and disqualify opportunities based on technical fit, economics, and deployment readiness

- Track record of operating effectively in long sales-cycle, risk-averse markets

- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to clearly document deal status, risks, and next steps

- Willingness to travel as required to support serious opportunities

Preferred Qualifications

- Direct experience selling or deploying UPS systems, critical power infrastructure, or industrial energy systems in uptime-sensitive environments.

- Experience operating within distributor-, representative-, or channel-led sales models while maintaining deal-level ownership and accountability.

- Background in hardware companies with real production, certification, and delivery constraints, not purely roadmap-driven sales.

- Demonstrated ability to operate at both system-level strategic thinking and hands-on deal execution, including technical diligence and procurement navigation.

- Experience adapting best practices from consumer or product-led companies to conservative, reliability-driven hardware markets without oversimplifying risk.

- Exposure to defense or government-adjacent energy programs is a plus, particularly where qualification cycles, second sourcing, and operational risk mattered.

Compensation & Benefits

- Base salary range: $120,000 - $150,000 depending on location, experience, and qualifications.

- Variable compensation tied to qualified pipeline progression and closed revenue

- Total on-target earnings: $220k–$300k

- Health, dental, vision insurance.

- Flexible PTO with a generous holiday policy.

- Remote-friendly work schedule, with travel as needed for vendor engagement.

Ready to work on power systems that matter? Let's talk.