Business Development Engineer

The Role

This role is ideal for a technically strong engineer or physicist who enjoys customer interaction, problem‑solving, and shaping early‑stage product concepts. Extensive traditional sales experience is not a requirement and is a secondary consideration to strong technical depth and a willingness to adopt the Solsta Design & Manufacturing Division’s commercial approach.

This role is distinct from Solsta’s distribution sales roles and requires a technical, consultative, project‑driven approach rather than catalogue‑based selling.

Key Responsibilities

Market Engagement & Lead Generation

• Identify, plan, attend, and exhibit at relevant industry events across the UK and Europe
• Engage prospects with technical credibility as both attendee and exhibitor
• Generate and qualify leads aligned with Solsta’s design and manufacturing capabilities

.Opportunity Development

• Follow up on leads promptly and progress them to structured project initiation
• Understand customer applications, pain points, and technical requirements, translating them into clear internal briefs
• Take ownership of opportunities already generated and partially matured by the Commercial Manager

.Customer Interface & Project Progression

• Act as the primary point of contact for customers throughout feasibility, POC, design, validation, and NPI
• Coordinate with engineering and project management to scope and cost projects accurately
• Maintain structured communication with customers, ensuring clarity and expectation management

Commercial Structuring & Internal Collaboration

• Support the creation of costed proposals and commercial justifications
• Apply structured commercial discipline – Qualifying opportunities, managing expectations, and maintaining a clear, realistic pipeline
• Maintain accurate and timely CRM records to support forecasting and reporting
• Ensure smooth handover to account management once products transition to BAU

Performance & Outcomes

Success will be measured by

• Establishment and progression of a high‑quality project pipeline
• Conversion of opportunities into funded development programmes
• Delivery of projects into BAU production
• Revenue and gross‑margin generation, including an 18–36‑month BAU tail (TBD)

Key Skills & Experience

Essential

• Strong technical foundation in optoelectronics, photonics, biomedical instrumentation, diagnostics, or optical defence systems
• Broad technical literacy across optics, electronics, mechanics, and systems engineering, with the ability to learn quickly in unfamiliar domains
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to build rapport with technical and commercial stakeholders
• Curiosity, humility, and willingness to learn Solsta D&M’s commercial methodology
• Comfortable operating autonomously in a home‑based role, managing time, travel, and customer engagements with minimal supervision
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving abilities
• Ability to work in a fast‑paced environment and manage multiple concurrent opportunities
• Comfortable navigating ambiguity and influencing progress in situations where not everyone moves at the same pace. Able to maintain a constructive, solutions‑focused approach when faced with resistance or competing priorities

Desirable

• Experience in applications engineering, field service, systems engineering, or customer‑facing technical role
• Experience with NPD/NPI processes
• Familiarity with regulated or quality‑driven environments (ISO13485, defence standards, etc.
• Exposure to costing, scoping, or early‑stage product development
• Eligibility for UK security clearance (BPSS or higher) advantageous