2025 Campus Recruitment - Technical Sales Development Program

at  Cognex Corporation

Job Description
The Company
Many of the largest and most sophisticated companies in the world rely on the machine vision solutions and products from Cognex. Cognex is one of the most respected and successful companies in factory automation with a track record of delivering continuous business growth and solid financial results over the 40+ years of company history. We spend about 15% of our revenue in R&D maintaining our leadership in related technologies. We are a financially strong international company with a culture that maintains the fast-paced, creative environment of a startup. Our employees, proudly called “Cognoids,” take their work seriously but don’t take themselves seriously. Our Work Hard, Play Hard, Move Fast culture recognizes our employees for their innovation, perseverance, and hard work in a fun and rewarding environment
The Program
This is a rare opportunity for graduating college students or recent graduates to develop industrial automation expertise and accelerate their career in technical sales. Program start date July 2025.

If you would like to:

• Start a sales career with a cutting-edge tech company
• Understand the manufacturing and automation industry
• Be rewarded for your hard work ethic
• Become a subject matter expert in the area of machine vision
• Build relationships with customers at fortune 500 companies
• Join a company with a unique “Work Hard, Play Hard, Move Fast” work culture

In this role you will interact with some of the brightest minds in the field and learn to sell AI-enabled state-of-the-art products.
Once admitted into this highly selective program, you will spend a significant portion of your first 6 months in intensive training in one of our training facilities. The training modules will include instructor-led lessons as well as in-field training.
Upon successfully completing the Technical Sales Development Program, you will join one of the regional sales teams as an Associate Territory Sales Engineer.

Essential Functions of Associate Territory Sales Engineer

• Responsible for achieving a defined sales quota for both current and prospective customers in the designated territory
• Achieve activities-based business objectives, including customer visits, new customer acquisition, and new product introduction
• Prospect for new sales opportunities via cold and warm leads, cultivate sales leads, schedule customer site visits with the goal of ultimately obtaining a purchase order
• Travel to customer manufacturing facilities to demonstrate Cognex products and review applications/issues in order to provide solutions to these applications
• Capture competitive data and continuously update other project details in CRM system
• Assist at trade shows and other marketing events to generate qualified leads
• Generate leads for other Cognex sales teams by collecting information on customer’s complex vision applications beyond the capabilities of assigned ID and Vision Sensor products

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Interested in a career in technical sales
• Action and result-oriented mindset
• Ability to solve technical problems and learn new automation technology
• Ability to work independently in a field sales environment with limited overnight travel (up to 20%)
• Willingness to relocate and pursue career ambition outside of familiar surroundings
• Good listening and communication skills
• Fit Cognex culture of Work Hard, Play Hard, and Move Fast
• PC literate with a working knowledge of MS Windows applications

Minimum Education and Work Experience Required

• 4 year college degree in Engineering, Business, Marketing or other related field from a reputable university
• Must be able to able to visit multiple accounts on the same day via own means of transport

• Responsible for achieving a defined sales quota for both current and prospective customers in the designated territory
• Achieve activities-based business objectives, including customer visits, new customer acquisition, and new product introduction
• Prospect for new sales opportunities via cold and warm leads, cultivate sales leads, schedule customer site visits with the goal of ultimately obtaining a purchase order
• Travel to customer manufacturing facilities to demonstrate Cognex products and review applications/issues in order to provide solutions to these applications
• Capture competitive data and continuously update other project details in CRM system
• Assist at trade shows and other marketing events to generate qualified leads
• Generate leads for other Cognex sales teams by collecting information on customer’s complex vision applications beyond the capabilities of assigned ID and Vision Sensor product