Business Development Associate - Founder's Office

About CRA Energy

CRA Energy (Combustion Research Associates) is a manufacturer of custom-engineered process equipment, serving oil & gas, chemicals, biogas, wastewater treatment, and industrial sectors across India and internationally. Our product portfolio includes gas flaring systems, thermal oxidizers, biogas upgrading and compression equipment, and gas processing skids. We work with EPC firms, consultants, and end users across Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and Latin America.

The Role

We are hiring a Business Development Associate to join the Founder’s Office, working directly with the COO. This is a generalist, high-ownership role focused on building a systematic, data-driven international business development engine for CRA.

You will research target markets, identify and map EPCs, consultants, and end users, and execute structured outreach through LinkedIn, email, and other channels. You will track every interaction in our CRM, measure engagement through open rates, click-throughs, and response metrics, and continuously refine what works. Once prospects engage meaningfully, you will escalate those conversations to the COO and senior leadership.

You will also represent CRA at international trade shows and industry events, travel to meet prospects and partners, and help build long-term relationships in priority geographies.

Given the nature of the Founder’s Office, the scope and priorities of this role will evolve over time. You should be comfortable with a generalist mandate that spans research, strategy, business development, and operations.

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct deep research on target markets, industries, and geographies. Analyze market structure, regulatory environments, project pipelines, competitive landscape, and vendor registration requirements.
  
• Map customer ecosystems across priority markets—EPC firms, international consultants, utilities, industrial operators, and government agencies.
  
• Identify and profile key decision-makers.
  
• Execute systematic outbound outreach via LinkedIn, email, and professional networks. Maintain consistent daily volume and track all activity in the CRM.
  
• Monitor engagement metrics—open rates, click-through rates, response rates—and iterate on messaging, timing, and targeting to continuously improve effectiveness.
  
• Create and maintain high-quality sales collateral including case studies, technical product overviews, and customized presentations tailored to specific industries and customers.
  
• Leverage AI tools to accelerate research, analysis, content creation, and market intelligence. Continuously experiment with new tools and workflows to improve productivity and output quality.
  
• Manage the international sales pipeline in the CRM with discipline. Provide regular reporting on outreach activity, engagement metrics, pipeline health, and market insights.
  
• Support market sizing, competitive benchmarking, and strategic analysis for leadership decision-making.
  
• Navigate vendor registration and pre-qualification processes across different countries and customers. Understand what certifications, documentation, and credentials are required to become an approved supplier.
  
• Represent CRA at international trade shows, exhibitions, and industry events. Travel internationally to meet prospects, partners, and customers as needed.
  
• Build and manage relationships with local agents, consultants, and channel partners in priority geographies.
  
• Take on ad-hoc projects across strategy, research, and operations as priorities evolve.
  

Qualifications

• One to three years of work experience in business development, market research, strategy, consulting, or a related field. Strong recent graduates will also be considered.
  
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.
  
• Strong analytical and research capabilities. Ability to synthesize information from diverse sources—tender documents, industry reports,
  
• LinkedIn, local-language sources—into clear, actionable insights.
  
• Proficiency with AI tools (such as ChatGPT, Claude, or equivalent) for research, writing, analysis, and productivity. Genuine interest in leveraging AI to work smarter and faster.
  
• Proficiency in creating professional presentations and well-structured documents.
  
• Comfort with quantitative analysis, including market sizing, competitive analysis, and pipeline metrics.
  
• Engineering or technical background is a plus but not required. Technical curiosity and willingness to learn about industrial equipment is essential.
  
• Strong professional presence, polished LinkedIn profile, and demonstrated ability to build relationships with senior stakeholders.
  
• Self-starter with strong organizational skills and discipline to manage a systematic outreach process.
  
• Comfort with ambiguity and a generalist mindset. This role will evolve, and the ideal candidate is someone who thrives on variety, experimentation, and new challenges.
  
• Willingness and ability to travel internationally for trade shows and customer meetings.
  

• Direct exposure to senior leadership and meaningful involvement in shaping CRA’s international growth strategy.
  
• Competitive compensation with performance incentives.
  
• Access to industry-standard tools and resources, including LinkedIn Sales Navigator, AI subscriptions, CRM and analytics platforms, and international travel budget.
  
• Clear path for growth into senior business development, sales, or strategy roles as the international business scales.