Academic & Research Sales Manager

Universities and research agencies are already one of SPH Engineering's top-performing customer segments, purchasing our UgCS, magnetometry, GPR, and echo sounder/bathymetry systems for research and teaching. We are looking for an Academic & Research Sales Manager to take ownership of this segment and grow it further: deepening our footprint in existing accounts, expanding into new institutions and research agencies globally, and launching a dedicated training course to introduce students to our technologies, building a long-term adoption and talent pipeline.

Key Responsibilities

• Grow an established segment: Own and expand SPH's existing base of university and research-agency customers; identify upsell/cross-sell opportunities across our product portfolio.
• New account acquisition: Identify and prioritize new target universities, research labs, and government research agencies (geophysics, remote sensing, geomatics, environmental science, UAS/robotics programs).
• Relationship management: Build and maintain relationships with faculty, lab directors, procurement offices, and research consortia; represent SPH at academic conferences, symposia, and research events.
• Sales execution: Manage the full sales cycle (demos, quoting, tender/grant-cycle-aware negotiation, closing) with fluency in academic procurement processes (tenders, framework agreements, grant funding timelines).
• Curriculum & training program: Design and launch a course/certification program for students on SPH's technologies, partnering with product and training teams on structure, delivery format, and certification.
• Partnership building: Develop relationships for co-branded content, guest lectures, internships, and joint research/pilot programs.
• Pipeline & reporting: Maintain accurate CRM records, forecast segment revenue, and track adoption metrics for both sales and the training program.

Qualifications

• Proven track record selling to universities and/or research institutions is required. Candidates should be able to demonstrate specific deals closed, quota attainment, or account growth within this segment.
• Existing personal network within university research departments, procurement offices, or research funding bodies.
• 3+ years in B2B sales or business development, ideally with geospatial, UAS/drone, geophysical, or survey/scientific instrumentation products.
• Deep familiarity with academic/institutional procurement (tenders, grants, framework contracts, university purchasing cycles).
• Comfortable designing training content or curricula, or working closely with technical trainers to build one.
• Excellent written and verbal communication in English.

Nice to Have

• Additional languages (Spanish, German, French) is a plus given SPH's international partner base;
• Background in geophysics, remote sensing, geomatics, or a related academic discipline.

We Offer

• This role is remote or hybrid (our offices are in Latvia, Serbia, Hungary).
• Influence on strategy and idea testing.
• Direct communication with the COO and team.
• Medical insurance after the 3-month probation period.