Client Partner - Food & Beverage, QSR & Auto

Overview

Own and grow a portfolio of 10–20 enterprise accounts in Food & Beverage, QSR & Auto, managing existing partnerships and building relationships with new high-potential accounts. Act as the commercial quarterback for renewals, upsells, and cross-sells.

What you'll do

• Own and grow a portfolio of 10–20 enterprise accounts in Food & Beverage, QSR & Auto, including existing clients and targeted net-new logos.
• Drive renewals and expansion so every partnership grows in scope, scale, and value year over year.
• Uncover and pursue new opportunities within existing and prospective accounts, identifying new business units, teams, and use cases such as concept and menu testing, flavor and product innovation, limited-time-offer (LTO) evaluation, brand tracking, pricing, vehicle feature prioritization, and path-to-purchase research.
• Act as a strategic advisor to senior Consumer & Shopper Insights, Innovation, Menu Strategy, Brand, Customer Experience, and Product Planning leaders, helping them expand use of Knit's AI-native platform.
• Develop and execute account plans that identify whitespace, prioritize client goals, map key stakeholders, and drive consistent revenue growth.
• Lead commercial negotiations, owning renewals, upsells, and cross-sells in collaboration with Sales Leadership.
• Collaborate with Customer Success, Research, and Product to ensure clients realize full value from Knit and evolve alongside new platform capabilities.
• Represent Knit externally at Food & Beverage, QSR & Auto conferences, client summits, and industry events.
• Maintain high standards for pipeline integrity, forecasting accuracy, and documentation across every stage of the renewal and expansion process.

What you'll need

• 7+ years of experience in enterprise account management, client partnerships, or strategic sales in the research and insights industry.
• Direct experience selling into and growing accounts at food & beverage manufacturers, QSR/restaurant brands, and/or automotive OEMs, with a working understanding of how insights teams in these industries support Innovation, Brand, and Marketing.
• Experience autonomously owning and leading customer relationships and entering new buying centers within existing Enterprise accounts.
• Experience supporting clients at Fortune 500 companies, with Insights titles (including but not limited to Chief Research/Insights Officers, VP, director-level and above).
• Experience selling $100K+ contracts to clients at Fortune 500 companies and managing $1M+ Enterprise relationships.
• Proven success managing Fortune 500 clients with multi-business-unit complexity.
• Consistent track record of hitting or exceeding growth, renewal, or NRR targets.
• Experience leading commercial negotiations for six- and seven-figure contracts.
• Consultative, discovery-led approach with exceptional listening and problem-solving skills.
• Highly organized, with disciplined pipeline and account management.
• Strong collaboration skills, adept at leading cross-functional teams across Customer Success, Research, and Product.
• A builder's mindset, comfortable navigating ambiguity and energized by shaping processes as the company scales.

Nice to have

• Experience navigating franchise systems (corporate vs. franchisee stakeholders) or multi-brand food portfolios.
• Familiarity with automotive product planning cycles, dealer/OEM dynamics, or EV and mobility research.
• Background in SaaS, AI, or technology-enabled services that drive strategic business decisions.
• Experience managing global or multi-market client portfolios.
• History of success in high-growth or startup environments where playbooks are still being written.

Details

• Remote-first role; the company prioritizes candidates in New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, LA, Boston, Seattle, or Philadelphia given customer requirements, and has office spaces available in all hubs.
• Travel as needed for in-person customer meetings and industry conferences.
• Company holds US all-team, in-person events 2x per year.
• Ideal start date: February 1, 2027.
• Does not currently have direct reports.
• Salary range: $140K–$160K base (50% base / variable).