Strategic Early Engagement Manager (m/f/d)

A Career at HARMAN

As a technology leader that is rapidly on the move, HARMAN is filled with people who are focused on making life better. Innovation, inclusivity and teamwork are a part of our DNA. When you add that to the challenges we take on and solve together, you’ll discover that at HARMAN you can grow, make a difference and be proud of the work you do every day.

About The Role
As an Early Engagement Manager embedded in a CAM Pursuit management team, you drive pre‑RFI customer engagement to build trusted partnerships with OEM stakeholders and shape customer needs early. You work with CAM, Pursuit, SBU Product Management and Div Tech to translate VOC, competitive and market insights into clear business opportunities and customer-ready value propositions. You help validate new offerings with customers and support early proof points through demos/showcases. You also help teams follow standard ways of working by applying agreed methods and tools pipeline, documentation, playbooks), keeping engagement data current and consistent.

What You Will Do

• Drive pre‑RFI customer engagement activities with OEM decision-makers to shape needs, requirements and architecture early.
• Build and nurture customer partnerships by expanding engagement beyond engineering/procurement to include planning, pre-development, tech-scouting, marketing and business leadership.
• Identify, qualify and shape new opportunities based on market trends, customer context and portfolio value propositions.
• Translate VOC, market and competitive insights into clear internal input for product positioning and roadmap discussions with SBU and Div Tech.
• Validate new product offerings from SBU and Div Tech with customers (problem fit, value, differentiators, adoption barriers) and capture actionable feedback.
• Support early opportunity enablement (e.g., demo cars, showcases, proof points) to mature concepts and validate feasibility.
• Co-create customer-facing narratives (storytelling, value proposition, content) that support early engagement and downstream pursuits.
• Contribute to innovative go‑to‑market models by working with OEM business teams and internal stakeholders on partnership and commercialization concepts.
• Apply and promote standard methods and tools for early engagement execution (common templates, pipeline tracking, documentation discipline).
• Maintain accurate pipeline and engagement documentation in the defined tools/repositories; ensure transparency for CAM and pursuit planning.
• Lead project work impacting the sub-function (P4 expectation) and coordinate external vendors supporting showcases/events as needed.
  

What You Need

• Automotive experience in early engagement / pre-sales / business development, with confidence working with OEM stakeholders.
• Min. 10 years of working experience in Automotive (OEM, Tier-1 or Tier2)
• Strong relationship-building skills and ability to earn access and engagement with cross-functional customer influencers.
• Ability to turn VOC and market/competitive data into clear opportunity strategies and internal actions.
• Strong execution discipline: planning, prioritization, and delivery across multiple parallel initiatives in a matrix setup.
• Comfortable applying and reinforcing standard methods and tools (pipeline hygiene, documentation, playbooks).
• Specialized depth/breadth in the field; works independently with guidance only in complex situations; leads others to solve complex problems; leads projects impacting the sub-function; manages external vendors with accountability.

What We Offer

• Access to employee discounts on world-class Harman and Samsung products (JBL, HARMAN Kardon, AKG, etc.)

• Extensive training opportunities through our own HARMAN University

• Competitive wellness benefits

• Tuition Reimbursement

• Access to HARMAN Campus Fitness Center and Cafeteria

• An inclusive and diverse work environment that fosters and encourages professional and personal development

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HARMAN is proud to be an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard torace, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.