Technical Sales Development Representative (SDR)

Responsibilities

• Build a steady cadence of qualified discovery meetings and plant walkthroughs for the Regional Sales Manager, Business Development Managers (BDMs) and Global Account Managers (GAMs) by identifying manufacturers with meaningful automation opportunities.
• Run multi-channel outreach sequences (phone, email, LinkedIn), continuously testing messaging and targeting based on conversion data and customer feedback.
• Book and host the first customer introduction call, where you will:
• Introduce Apera and its vision-guided robotics technology
• Understand the customer's process and operational challenges
• Ask structured discovery questions about automation needs
• Identify whether the opportunity is worth deeper technical exploration.
• Conduct early technical discovery conversations with manufacturing and operations leaders, gathering key details such as:
• Current picking or handling process
• Product variation and complexity
• Facility environment
• Existing automation
• Potential constraints
• Evaluate whether the opportunity represents a strong technical and business fit for Apera before routing it to the Sales Team.
• Prepare a clear opportunity brief for the Regional Sales Manager or BDM including:
• Customer context
• Operational challenge
• Early feasibility indicators
• Stakeholders involved
• Next steps
• Partner with the Sales Team on account-based prospecting, identifying plants, facilities, and key stakeholders within target manufacturing companies.
• Source contacts in ZoomInfo (and other systems) and maintain accurate plant, facility, and account structures in HubSpot CRM.
• Build and maintain segmented prospect lists by industry, manufacturing process, and automation use case.
• Rapidly learn industrial automation workflows, robotics applications, and machine vision use cases to build credibility with technical buyers.
• Partner with SDRs and the VP of Marketing to develop high-performing outreach sequences, including adapting messaging for Spanish-speaking manufacturing teams.
• Supporting BDMs on Active Opportunities
• Partner closely with Regional Sales Managers and BDMs on key accounts and active opportunities
• Assist with quote coordination and follow-up, ensuring proposals are reviewed and progressing
• Track proposal status and help schedule quote review meetings and technical follow-ups
• Maintain visibility on deal progress, customer questions, and next steps
• Support accoun t expansion by identifying new plants, departments, or contacts within existing customers
• Help maintain pipeline accuracy and opportunity documentation in CRM
• What "good" looks like
• A typical day includes a mix of outreach and customer conversations, such as:
• 50+ phone dials
• 10-25 connects
• 5-15 discovery conversations
• 50+ emails sent (mix of automated and personalized)
• 2-4 qualified intro meetings or discovery calls completed
• Meeting quality matters more than volume, success is measured by opportunities that move into deeper technical discovery with the Sales Team.
• Outreach, reply, and meeting conversion rates improve because you test messaging tied to real manufacturing problems, not generic automation outreach.
• The Sales Team regularly confirms that the meetings you qualify involve real automation opportunities and the right stakeholders.
• Example feedback

Benefits

Additional Information

We are an innovative, Vancouver-based startup at the forefront of robotics, AI, and machine vision technologies. Backed by VC funding and we've been recognized with the 2025 Frost & Sullivan Technology Innovation Leadership Award, the AAM Supplier Excellence Innovation Award, and the 2024 BC Tech "Company of the Year - Growth", we are on a mission to redefine the future of AI-driven robotic vision systems. Apera AI helps manufacturers make their factories more flexible and productive. Robots enhanced with Apera's software have 4D Vision - the ability to see and handle objects with human-like capability. Challenging applications such as bin picking, sorting, packaging, and assembly are now open to fast, precise, and reliable automation. Apera is led by an experienced team from high-growth companies focused on robotics, artificial intelligence, and advanced manufacturing. Role Summary: The Technical Sales Development Representative plays a critical role in identifying and qualifying new automation opportunities within manufacturing environments. This role sits at the intersection of sales development and early technical discovery, helping connect manufacturers facing operational challenges with vision-guided robotics solutions. You will engage manufacturing leaders, operations managers, and automation engineers to understand their processes, identify automation opportunities, and determine whether those opportunities are worth deeper technical exploration with the Sales Team. Through a combination of structured outreach, discovery conversations, and early qualification, you will help generate high-quality opportunities that move into the technical sales pipeline.

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