Sales Director – Air & Water OEM - Remote - Remote Eligible

Sales Director - Air & Water OEM

The Sales Director - A&W OEM leads our go-to-market strategy and customer engagement for the Air & Water OEM microenterprise. This leader is accountable for building and growing OEM partnerships across HVAC, water heating, and water treatment categories. As part of A&W's Rendanheyi-inspired operating model, you'll operate with an ownership mindset—driving outcomes, strengthening zero-distance relationships, and creating win-win value for our OEM partners and the microenterprise. A unique aspect of this role is the direct collaboration with Haier engineering, manufacturing, and product management teams in China. You'll help bridge customer needs with Haier's global design and production capabilities to deliver differentiated solutions at scale. This role reports to the OEM Microenterprise Leader.

USA, Louisville, KY

How You'll Create Possibilities

Key Responsibilities

• OEM Sales Strategy & Growth
• Develop and own the OEM sales strategy aligned with A&W's microenterprise goals and Rendanheyi principles.
• Identify and prioritize OEM market opportunities across HVAC, water heating, and water treatment.
• Build multi-year growth plans and commercial models for strategic OEM accounts.
• Lead contract negotiations, pricing strategies, and long-term partnership agreements.
• Customer & Market Intelligence
• Maintain zero-distance to OEM customers—deeply understanding their product strategies, technology needs, and service models.
• Translate customer insights into product requirements, partnership proposals, and NPI recommendations.
• Monitor competitive activity, regulatory trends, and emerging technologies impacting OEM demand.
• Global Partner Collaboration
• Work directly with Haier engineering, manufacturing, product management, and supply chain teams in China to align OEM requirements with global capabilities.
• Participate in joint technical reviews, feasibility discussions, and production readiness activities.
• Serve as the customer-facing bridge between North American OEM needs and Haier's global product platforms.
• Travel to China periodically to support partnership development, product discussions, factory visits, and strategic planning sessions.
• Relationship Management & Pipeline Development
• Cultivate strong executive and technical relationships with existing and prospective OEM partners.
• Build a pipeline of OEM prospects across HVAC, water heating, and water treatment.
• Support seamless partner onboarding in collaboration with cross-functional A&W and Haier teams.
• Serve as the voice of the customer within the microenterprise.
• Sales Execution & Forecasting
• Develop reliable forecasting processes and revenue targets; track and adjust to meet business goals.
• Build scalable sales processes and account planning tools.
• Maintain accurate CRM data, pipeline visibility, and account documentation.
• Cross-Functional Alignment
• Partner with A&W Product Management and Engineering to advocate for OEM needs throughout NPI and lifecycle planning.
• Collaborate with Operations, Quality, Service, and Supply Chain to ensure OEM commitments are consistently met.
• Align with marketing on materials, co-branding opportunities, and OEM communications.

What You'll Bring to Our Team

Qualifications

10+ years of OEM or B2B technical sales experience in HVAC, water heating, water treatment, or related manufacturing industries.

Proven success building and scaling OEM partnerships, ideally with global manufacturing collaboration.

Strong understanding of product development cycles, commercial negotiation, and technical selling.

Ability to operate confidently across cultures and time zones; experience working with China-based engineering or manufacturing teams preferred.

Willingness to travel internationally, including periodic visits to Haier sites in China.

Entrepreneurial mindset with high ownership and comfort in a fast-growing microenterprise environment.

Preferred

Experience with cross-border product development or sourcing.

Background in engineering, product management, or operations.

Familiarity with the Rendanheyi model and customer-zero-distance principles.

Flexible within the U.S.; travel required to OEM partners, industry events, A&W locations, and Haier China sites.

Our Culture

Our work is centered on our People and Culture as reflected in our Zero Distance philosophy and we recognize the importance of reaffirming our commitment to inclusion and diversity (I&D). This underscores our commitment to fostering an environment where every individual feels valued, connected, and empowered to contribute, while positioning our organization to adapt seamlessly to the evolving needs of our workforce and communities.

This reflects our dedication to creating solutions that: Empower colleagues by fostering an environment where all voices are heard, valued, and encouraged to contribute. Strengthen communities where we live and work. Reinforce a culture of belonging, purpose, and engagement. Reflect the diversity of the communities we serve through our workforce, products, and practices.

By further embedding Zero Distance into our People and Culture framework, we will continue to build a deeply connected organization. We are cultivating a culture of engagement, belonging, and connection, because while attracting new talent remains a priority, retention is a cornerstone of our strategy.

GE Appliances is a trust-based organization. It is important we offer our employees the flexibility they need to do their best work while balancing the needs of the business and individuals. When you join GE Appliances, you will have the opportunity to work with your leader to create a flexible work arrangement that balances the needs of the individual, team, and organization.

GE Appliances is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by law.

GE Appliances participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S.

If you are an individual with a disability and need assistance or an accommodation to use our website or to apply, please send an e-mail to ask.recruiting@geappliances.com.