Business Development Intern
Passionate about driving the clean energy transition using critical materials?
At Uplift, we’re on a mission to enable clean and low-cost production of metals used in turbines, batteries, and structural materials using our patent-pending chemical recycling device. By updating decades-old metallurgical processes with the latest advances in electrochemical membrane technology, we're increasing the accessibility of electric vehicles and other clean technologies from the ground up. Specifically, we are building electrochemical membrane devices to regenerate acids and bases from brine streams for the integration into hydrometallurgical flow sheets. Conventional processes do not recycle acids, but rather neutralize them in carbon-emitting reactions that produce solid waste streams. The industry-leading energy efficiencies of our devices and their avoidance of hazardous gas byproducts enable a revolution in the production of critical metals including steel, rare earth elements, nickel, and magnesium.
We are seeking a motivated Business Development Intern to support the company’s early customer development efforts. This role provides hands-on experience in business development, research, and professional outreach. You will work closely with the CEO and COO to identify potential customers, craft professional communications, and help coordinate conversations with executives and decision-makers. This is an opportunity to gain real-world exposure to business development in a technical B2B environment while contributing meaningfully to the company’s growth strategy. We believe diversity makes us stronger. Women, people of color, LGBTQ+, veterans, and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply for this role.
What you’ll do
- Search directories of steel industry associations to qualify leads in target customer segments
- Draft and send personalized emails and make telephone calls to reach out to qualified leads
- Schedule and coordinate meetings with customer prospects
- Track outreach and follow-up activities in customer relationship management software
- Summarize insights from calls and interactions to inform future outreach and strategy
- Support preparation for meetings, presentations, and business development activities
- Draft marketing contents such as newsletters and website/social media posts
Requirements
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- Detail-oriented and highly organized
- Self-starter with the ability to work independently and take initiative
Nice-to-have
- Prior experience in sales, business development, or market research
- Experience using customer relationship management (CRM) software
- Holds or is pursuing a bachelors or masters degree in relevant field
Our values – The Uplift Way
People first
Extraordinary people achieve extraordinary results. We strive to recruit and empower diverse teams because perspective brings strength. We take care of ourselves, our colleagues, our customers, and our communities.
Always raising the bar
We take pride in delighting our customers and partners. To be the best team we can be, we value constructively disagreeing, then committing, and adapting as needed. In our continuous pursuit of excellence, we celebrate successes and normalize good-faith stumbles along the way.
Bias towards action
In the race against climate change, we weigh risks of action against risks of inaction. Many decisions are reversible and do not need exhaustive prior study. We encourage calculated risk taking.
Compensation
For current undergraduate students: subject to availability of funding and terms of university or state funded internship programs.
For university graduates and students pursuing MBAs or equivalent degrees: $20-50 / hr depending on experience level.
Interns generally do not receive company benefits.
Flexible work from home options available.