Director of Commercial Operations & Customer Strategy

Job DetailsJob Location: Equilibar - FLETCHER, NC 28732Position Type: Full TimeDirector of Commercial Operations & Customer Strategy – Equilibar

Location:              Fletcher, North Carolina

Reports to:          President, Equilibar

 

 

Company Profile

Richards Industrials, founded in 1961, is a manufacturer of pressure regulators, control valves, and other fluid control products, known by our customers for high-quality products, excellent customer service, and fast & reliable deliveries.  Our products are marketed under a series of distinct brands, each of which is used in unique applications that require precise technical attributes.  The company serves a range of end markets, including pharmaceuticals, food & beverage, chemicals, petrochemicals, and various industrial segments. 

The company has two locations, Cincinnati, OH, and Fletcher, NC, and a global headcount of 190. Equipped with an experienced, passionate team, our company focuses on driving profitable growth through operational excellence, opening new channels to market, and investing in new products.  

Equilibar, based in Fletcher, NC, manufactures specialized valves that enable pharmaceutical, green energy, and research organizations to solve complex fluid control challenges and bring innovative products to market.

Equilibar has four Core Values:


Empowerment – Employees are our most valuable asset
Collaboration – Together we achieve more
Pioneering Spirit – Curiosity and innovation are our driving forces
Service Mindset – Never stop advocating for the Customer


And our purpose is to solve tomorrow’s demanding fluid control problems, today. 

The Position:

This position will serve as a key member of the site leadership team and act as the primary strategic bridge between our technical sales, application engineering, and corporate leadership. This role is responsible for driving commercial growth, elevating technical sales capabilities, improving the execution and quality of project bids, and ensuring consistent, professional communication with the Richards Senior Leadership Team (SLT).

Leveraging extensive executive commercial experience, this leader will guide the Applications Engineering and Sales teams to sharpen customer engagement, investigate value propositions to improve bid competitiveness, and enhance operational discipline. This position will provide the commercial and technical leadership needed to support continued business stability, growth, and long-term development of internal talent.

This is a full-time, office-based position in Fletcher, NC.  This role would be a member of the four-person Equilibar Site Leadership Team, which includes President David Reed, Director of Operations Tony Tang, and Accounting Manager Janet Stiltner.  This team meets twice weekly to address issues and opportunities at the Fletcher site, including personnel, key clients, and financials.  Travel to clients, suppliers, partners, and Richards Cincinnati as required to meet financial goals is expected and anticipated to be 25% or less.

He or she will be responsible for the following:

Commercial Leadership & Technical Sales Development


Lead commercial strategy for the site, including customer engagement, market positioning, and bid development through the delegation of authority (DOA) process.
Establish clear processes for qualifying customer opportunities, determining value propositions, structuring quotations, and aligning engineering resources to maximize winning potential.
Mentor and develop junior technical staff to strengthen customer-facing technical capabilities.  Improve proactive outbound sales activities.
Build and manage key customer relationships to expand business opportunities in existing and emerging markets.
Provide executive-level interface in negotiations, pricing strategy, and contract discussions.


Application Engineering & Project Execution Management


Oversee the Application Engineering team with a focus on improving technical solution quality, bid accuracy, and on-time delivery of customer proposals.
Implement structured project review, risk assessment, and cross-functional handoff processes to improve downstream execution.
Ensure engineering specifications and customer requirements are translated accurately into deliverables for internal teams.
Improve collaboration between engineering, operations, and sales to streamline execution and reduce rework.


Strategic Planning & Business Development


Drive strategic initiatives that support site growth, operational effectiveness, and alignment with the broader corporate commercial strategy.  Specific examples include:


Negotiate strategic vendor buy/resale agreements.
Complex bid strategy and negotiations with key clients such as supplier master agreements.
Developing a living Product Roadmap for Equilibar by partnering with the Product Managers and