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Salary: USD 120,000 - 160,000 / annual
Knit is an AI-native research agency that helps iconic brands like Amazon, Mars, T-Mobile, Paramount, McCormick, and Nestle make confident decisions through deep customer understanding. The company pairs AI-native tooling with world-class researchers to deliver quant and qual insights at scale. Knit recently closed Series B with $60M+ raised and operates a team of ~80 from NYC headquarters with US remote flexibility.
The Client Partner – Food & Beverage, QSR & Auto will drive Knit's growth in these verticals by managing and expanding enterprise partnerships while building relationships with new high-potential accounts. You will own a portfolio of 10–20 enterprise accounts across food & beverage, quick-service restaurants (QSR), and automotive, with the mandate to retain, grow, and strategically expand them across brands, business units, and markets. Acting as the commercial quarterback, you'll lead renewals, upsells, and cross-sells while prospecting into new divisions and organizations.
Key responsibilities include: owning and growing a portfolio of 10–20 enterprise accounts in Food & Beverage, QSR & Auto (both existing and net-new); driving renewals and expansion to ensure partnerships grow in scope and value year over year; uncovering new opportunities within existing and prospective accounts (concept testing, menu testing, flavor innovation, LTO evaluation, brand tracking, pricing, vehicle feature prioritization, path-to-purchase research); acting as a strategic advisor to senior Consumer & Shopper Insights, Innovation, Menu Strategy, Brand, Customer Experience, and Product Planning leaders; developing and executing account plans that identify whitespace and drive revenue growth; leading commercial negotiations for renewals, upsells, and cross-sells; collaborating deeply with Customer Success, Research, and Product to ensure clients realize full value; representing Knit externally at industry conferences and client summits; and maintaining high standards for pipeline integrity, forecasting accuracy, and documentation.
Success is measured by net-new revenue, net revenue retention (NRR) through renewals and upsells, renewal rate, and sales excellence in account planning and forecasting.
This is a high-impact, consultative sales role that blends strategic relationship management with commercial ownership. The ideal start date is February 1, 2027. The role involves travel as needed for in-person customer meetings and industry conferences, plus 2x per year in-person company all-hands events.
**Requirements:**
- 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 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; specifically seeking individuals who have supported clients at Fortune 500 companies with Insights titles (Chief Research/Insights Officers, VP, director-level and above)
- Experience selling $100K+ contracts to 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
- Builder's mindset; comfortable navigating ambiguity and energized by shaping processes as the company scales
**Nice to Haves:**
- 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
