AGV, AMR & Robotics leadership recruitment in Sheffield
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 Sheffield and across the wider Yorkshire agv, amr & robotics cluster.
Sheffield's industrial fabric is built on advanced manufacturing, steel and precision engineering, anchored by the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre and the Sheffield to Rotherham innovation corridor along the M1. That production base drives demand for intra-factory materials handling, lift trucks, mezzanine and storage systems, conveyors and the automation that links production to dispatch. The University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam together produce one of the largest engineering and commercial graduate pools in the North, which keeps technical and junior sales supply healthy.
Yorkshire's concentration of large distribution centres and fulfilment operations along the M62 and M1 makes it a natural market for warehouse robotics. The logistics clusters around Leeds, Wakefield, Doncaster and Sheffield host the kind of high-throughput operations that invest in automation, which supports demand for robotics commercial talent across the region.
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.
Strong rail links to Leeds (45 min), Manchester (60 min), Doncaster (25 min) and London (2hr direct). The Supertram links Meadowhall and the advanced manufacturing campus for site-based commercial roles.
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.
Yes, particularly for vendors selling into manufacturing. The advanced manufacturing cluster, the engineering heritage and the M1 logistics corridor create consistent demand for handling, storage and automation, supported by a strong technical talent pool.
Sales and application engineers, key account managers and area sales managers with manufacturing, capital-equipment or industrial-products experience, often with technical or apprenticeship roots and long tenures.
Email Rachel Lunn and the team. We will reply within one working day with a Sheffield-specific agv, amr & robotics market read for the role you have in mind.
Email Rachel Lunn/leadership-recruitment/sheffield/agv-amr-robotics
Specialist commercial search for the intralogistics industry. We reply within one working day.
Email Rachel Lunn