Research & Business Development Associate (Market Discovery Operator)
Hybrid | San Diego, California (2 days onsite in-office)
Quartermaster California is a market-entry and growth consulting firm helping international companies expand and validate new opportunities in the United States. We work closely with global leaders in advanced manufacturing, logistics, and high-tech industries to identify where real market demand exists before scaling commercial teams or making large hiring investments.
We are currently supporting a confidential global industrial client that develops advanced packaging and logistics solutions for high-tech manufacturing industries, including semiconductors, aerospace, medical devices, and precision manufacturing. Their work sits at the intersection of engineering, logistics, and cleanroom-grade handling, supporting the safe transport of highly sensitive and high-value equipment across global supply chains.Rather than immediately scaling a traditional sales organization, the focus of this engagement is to validate and unlock high-potential growth opportunities across adjacent U.S. industries. This means understanding where the company’s capabilities translate into real commercial demand and where meaningful market pull exists before committing to expansion.
Quartermaster California is seeking a Research & Business Development Associate to join our team in a hybrid role based in San Diego, CA. In this role, you’ll spend two days per week in-office working closely with our team while operating in the field to engage industry stakeholders, conduct structured conversations, and help us map real-world demand across multiple technical sectors.
In this role, you’ll be at the front line of market discovery. You’ll be speaking directly with operators, technical experts, and decision-makers across industries such as biotech, defense, aerospace, medical devices, and advanced manufacturing. Your goal is to understand how companies think about packaging, logistics, risk, and supply chain complexity: and where new opportunities may exist.
This is not a traditional account management or sales role. There are no existing accounts, and no established pipeline to manage. Instead, you’ll be responsible for creating first contact in new industries, identifying the right people to speak with, and quickly testing where real demand exists.
You’ll work closely with the Quartermaster California team and help translate technical capabilities into clear, industry-specific opportunities. The insights you generate will directly inform strategic decisions around future hiring, market entry, and commercial investment.
This is a high-ownership, high-ambiguity role where success depends on your ability to move quickly, think independently, and generate meaningful signals from unstructured conversations. You’ll be operating as a “team of one” in the field, combining outreach, curiosity, and commercial instinct to help shape where the business goes next.
Key Attributes To Succeed
- Thriving in a Fast-Moving Environment: You’re energized by early-stage environments where priorities evolve quickly and there isn’t always a clear playbook. You’re comfortable moving forward even when not all the answers are defined.
- Proactive Market Builder: You don’t wait for leads or direction. You create conversations, open doors, and actively engage with people in new industries to understand how they think and what they need.
- Comfort with Zero-to-One Work: You enjoy building understanding from scratch. You’re not relying on existing accounts, pipelines, or established relationships—you’re creating them.
- Strong Commercial Curiosity: You naturally think in terms of how industries work, who makes decisions, and what problems create urgency or budget allocation.
- Speed of Learning Through Conversation: You prefer speaking to people in the market over long research cycles. You learn quickly by testing ideas in real conversations.
- Independent Operator Mindset: You’re comfortable working autonomously as a “team of one” in the field while staying aligned with a central team in San Diego.
Required
- 3–7+ years of experience in business development, consulting, venture building, market research, startup operations, or other external-facing commercial roles
- Experience independently initiating conversations with senior stakeholders in technical or complex industries
- Comfort working in environments where structure, targets, and processes are not fully defined
- Ability to engage and build credibility with operators, technical experts, and decision-makers
- Strong ability to translate complex technical or industrial concepts into clear, industry-specific messaging
- Demonstrated ability to work independently while staying aligned with a centralized team or leadership group
- Experience operating in B2B environments where relationship-building and commercial discovery overlap
Preferred
- Existing exposure to industries such as biotech, defense, aerospace, medical devices, or advanced manufacturing
- Experience in early-stage market entry, venture building, or go-to-market discovery roles
- Background in consulting, startups, or founder-led organizations
- Familiarity with industrial products, logistics, manufacturing, or supply chain environments
- Experience conducting structured stakeholder interviews or qualitative market research
- Prior exposure to commercial development in technical or engineered product industries
This is a full-time hybrid position based in San Diego, CA, with on-site work required two days per week. We offer competitive compensation based on experience and the ability to generate meaningful market access and commercial insight. This is a contractor role structured around impact and delivery, not traditional account ownership. The interview process includes an initial screening with the Quartermaster California team, followed by a structured assessment of your ability to engage the market and generate insights, scenario-based exercises, and final alignment conversations with stakeholders.
Priority will be given to candidates who can demonstrate the ability to independently create relevant industry conversations and generate early market signals within the first weeks of engagement. Due to high interest, we will only respond to candidates who meet the basic qualifications.
Quartermaster California provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or genetics.