Member of the Growth Staff — GTM
Ironstead · Los Angeles · onsite
MEMBER OF THE GROWTH STAFF — GTM
ABOUT IRONSTEAD
American industry is facing a global capacity crisis: at first glance, defense and hard-tech companies are achieving record-setting momentum, software and AI are progressing at light speed, and investors are realizing the two are more powerful when put together.
Yet the current and emerging industry titans are bottlenecked by the fragmented foundation of American manufacturing. Nearly every notable hardware contract is delayed, programs are on hold due to overcomplicated engineering and a lack of supporting supply, and there is no relief in sight.
Ironstead is answering this call to arms; we are answering the call to make American industry the global standard once again. Our mission is to better serve the US industrial base, the warfighter, and the American people.
To achieve this, Ironstead is uniting the fragmented manufacturing base into a scalable engine, built atop our own AI intelligence layer to compound our efficiencies and capabilities. Our team hails from the busied halls of decade-defining companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Palantir. Our investors include Palmer Luckey (Anduril), the Dassault Family (SolidWorks), Sierra Nevada Corporation, as well as executive leadership at Palantir and a dozen more of hard tech's most prominent and momentous companies.
Our team is seeking team members who are leaders amidst ambiguity, champions in their craft, and emboldened by the vision and promise of a stronger future. The future of American industry will be built on the shoulders of Ironstead: every rocket, plane, defense system, nuclear reactor, and autonomous boat will need the parts we deliver. What will you do to support them?
THE ROLE
Reports to: Head of Growth
Owns: OEM customer pipeline and revenue for one industry segment
Location: El Segundo, CA or New York, NY (with regular travel)
Ironstead's acquisitions give us capacity. Customers decide what that capacity builds. This role exists to bring the right OEM customers onto the Ironstead platform: the ones whose work drives revenue, pushes our shops to grow, and generates the manufacturing data that makes our AI intelligence layer better with every job and every spindle.
You will be the face of Ironstead to some of the most critical hardware OEMs in the US: the one who understands their programs, knows where their supply chain is breaking, and brings them work Ironstead can win and deliver. Because you know machine shops from the inside, you can promise customers only what a shop can actually make, on time and to spec.
This is not a quota-carrying seat reselling a catalog of capabilities. It is a strategic role. You will choose customers and work deliberately, because the parts we make shape the data we collect. Some work is valuable because of its revenue. Some is valuable because it teaches the platform something new, such as a material, process, or part family we have never run. The best work does both. You will fill the gaps that acquisitions alone cannot, and your customer relationships will tell the Expansion team which capabilities Ironstead should acquire next.
WHAT YOU'LL OWN
- Building and running Ironstead's customer pipeline: identifying, prioritizing, and personally engaging the engineering, supply chain, and program leaders at OEMs who need what Ironstead makes
- Onboarding new OEM customers onto the Ironstead platform, from first conversation through first parts delivered and repeat orders
- Selecting work surgically: pursuing jobs that both drive revenue and expand Ironstead's training data, whether in breadth (new materials, processes, and part families) or in depth (higher volume on what we already run well)
- Bringing in work that fills the gaps acquisitions can't, and giving the Expansion team a clear read on customer demand so capacity growth follows real programs
- Growing accounts over time: more programs, more part numbers, and more spend per customer on the platform
- Working closely with Ironstead's operating companies and engineering team so every commitment made to a customer is one our shops can deliver on
- Representing Ironstead with integrity. Customers are trusting us with programs that matter to them and to the warfighter; this role protects that trust
- Keeping a disciplined, well-documented pipeline of accounts and opportunities. This role runs on follow-through, not one-off wins
WHAT YOU BRING
- 2-5 years of experience in machining or machined part sales, ideally selling to aerospace, defense, or hard tech customers.
- A strong grasp of engineering and data concepts. You can read a drawing, talk tolerances and materials with an engineer, and understand why the data behind a part matters
- An expert understanding of machine shop operations: quoting, scheduling, capacity, setups, cycle times, quality, and what makes a job run well or poorly on the floor
- The judgment to tell good work from merely available work, and the discipline to say no to jobs that don't serve Ironstead's goals
- A proven record of identifying and winning prominent customers, and of earning the trust of senior engineering and procurement leaders over months rather than a single call
- Self-direction. This role builds its own pipeline in its segment rather than working from someone else's list
- Willingness to travel to customer sites and Ironstead factories
NICE TO HAVE
- Existing relationships with engineering, supply chain, or procurement teams at hardware startups, neo-primes, or primes
- Hands-on time as a machinist, CNC programmer, or manufacturing engineer
- Familiarity with defense contracting, ITAR, AS9100, or government bidding processes
- An engineering degree, or experience in NPI or production environments
WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE
- Dollars spent on the Ironstead platform grow quarter over quarter
- The number of active annual customers in your segment grows
- Existing customers spend more with Ironstead each year
- Inbound work measurably increases the coverage and density of Ironstead's manufacturing data