AGV, AMR & Robotics leadership recruitment in Manchester
Confidential search for robotics and automation sales leadership, including Heads of Sales, Sales Directors and Commercial Directors. We run these appointments discreetly given how small and visible the senior robotics commercial community is. On the ground in Manchester and across the wider North West agv, amr & robotics cluster.
Manchester sits at the centre of the North West's distribution economy, anchored by Trafford Park and a dense network of logistics parks along the M60, M62 and M6, plus significant air freight through Manchester Airport. That concentration of warehousing, fulfilment and manufacturing creates one of the deepest markets in the country for forklift dealers, racking and storage installers, conveyor and sortation suppliers, and warehouse automation integrators. The city's universities produce one of the largest engineering and commercial graduate pools in the UK, keeping commercial and technical supply strong.
The North West is a major fulfilment and distribution region, served by the M6 and M62 and the Port of Liverpool. Large warehousing operations around Manchester, Warrington and the wider motorway network are exactly the customers robotics businesses target, and the region offers a credible base of commercial and technical talent for automation roles.
Dematic
Warehouse automation and robotics
Provider of automation systems and mobile robotics, part of the KION Group.
AutoStore
Cube storage robotics
Manufacturer of cube-based automated storage and retrieval robotics.
Geekplus
Autonomous mobile robots
Provider of autonomous mobile robots and goods to person systems.
Exotec
Warehouse robotics
Manufacturer of the Skypod robotic goods to person system.
Locus Robotics
Autonomous mobile robots
Provider of autonomous mobile robots for warehouse fulfilment.
Mobile Industrial Robots
Autonomous mobile robots
Manufacturer of autonomous mobile robots for internal transport, part of Teradyne.
Swisslog
Warehouse automation and robotics
Provider of robotics and automation systems, part of the KUKA group.
Honeywell
Warehouse automation and robotics
Provider of warehouse automation and robotics through its intelligrated and automation business.
Daifuku
Warehouse automation
Global provider of automated material handling and automation systems.
Robotics commercial talent is scarce and highly sought after. The strongest people combine solution selling with genuine technical fluency, and they often move between automation OEMs, integrators and the more established materials handling businesses building out robotics propositions. Pre-sales and solutions consultants are an especially thin pool. Because the candidates are so visible and in demand, confidential, well-briefed approaches are essential, and many of the best hires come from passive talent rather than active applicants.
Pay in AGV, AMR and robotics is driven by deal size, the length and complexity of the sales cycle, and the technical depth required to win. Solution sellers and pre-sales consultants who can carry large, multi-stakeholder capital projects command more than transactional sellers. Reward typically reflects the long cycle, often with commission weighted to closed and delivered projects, and rises with the seniority of the stakeholders engaged and the scale of the solutions sold.
Manchester Piccadilly and Victoria provide direct national rail. The Metrolink tram network connects MediaCityUK, Spinningfields, the Northern Quarter and Trafford. Manchester Airport gives the city national and international reach unique among UK regions.
How we work
01
We start with the commercial mandate the leader must deliver: the growth plan, the team they inherit or build, the customers and channels, and the stakeholders they answer to. We design the seat before we search for the person.
02
We build a confidential map of the relevant leadership pool across competitors and adjacent intralogistics sub-sectors, protecting both the hiring business and the leaders we approach.
03
Senior people are approached with a sanitised, credible narrative. Named-employer messaging is held back until second-stage conversations, so a sensitive search stays sensitive.
04
Leadership assessment goes beyond track record to judgement, team building, change capability and the ability to operate at board level. We test the things that actually predict success in the seat.
05
A considered shortlist, then full support through offer, acceptance and a structured first-100-days plan agreed with the board. We are as comfortable advising on team design and succession as filling a single seat.
FAQs
Business development and solution sales managers, pre-sales and solutions consultants, application and sales engineers, key account managers, and sales leadership up to Commercial Director, for AGV, AMR, goods to person and robotic picking businesses.
The pool of people who can sell complex, high-value robotics solutions is small, and the candidates are highly visible and in demand. Winning the best of them needs confidential, well-briefed approaches rather than advertising.
Yes. Pre-sales and solutions consultants are central to winning robotics deals and are one of the scarcest parts of the market, so they are a core part of our work in this segment.
Manchester is anchored by Trafford Park, one of the largest industrial estates in Europe, with dense logistics parks along the M60, M62 and M6 and significant air freight. That concentration of end users makes it one of the deepest markets in the country for handling, storage and automation.
A typical senior commercial search runs 8 to 12 weeks. The market is competitive, the best candidates are passive, and counter-offers are common, which lengthens the close phase.
Email Rachel Lunn and the team. We will reply within one working day with a Manchester-specific agv, amr & robotics market read for the role you have in mind.
Email Rachel Lunn/leadership-recruitment/manchester/agv-amr-robotics
Specialist commercial search for the intralogistics industry. We reply within one working day.
Email Rachel Lunn