Scientific Collaboration Manager; Business Development

Scientific Collaboration Manager (Business Development)

Zymo Research is looking for a dynamic individual to join our Commercialization Team! At Zymo Research, we believe the most meaningful partnerships are built scientist-to-scientist. The Scientific Collaboration Manager role is a highly technical, customer-facing position designed to embody this philosophy across multiple career levels.

In this role, you will engage customers as a scientific peer—building trust, opening doors, and shaping collaborations across academic, government, biotech, and clinical markets. As an advanced-degree scientist (MS or PhD) with hands‑on domain expertise (e.g., microbiome, genomics, clinical research, molecular biology), you will bring value first: deeply understanding customer workflows, uncovering unmet needs, and demonstrating how Zymo technologies deliver innovation, quality and impact.

This is not a traditional sales role. You will function as both:

• A hunter, prospecting and developing new scientific and commercial opportunities
• A technical collaboration lead, complementing Zymo’s non‑technical Business Development and Territory Sales teams

Beyond customer engagement, you will contribute to Zymo’s long‑term growth by identifying emerging technologies, building data‑driven business cases, and surfacing potential partnership, licensing, or M&A opportunities aligned with corporate strategy.

This role requires up to 50% travel for customer visits, lab interactions, presentations, and conferences. Success is measured by business growth, quality of relationships built, opportunities created, and strategic insights delivered.

Join us in making a meaningful impact!

Key Responsibilities

• Hunt and Build New Relationships
• Prospect and identify high‑value opportunities across academic, government, biotech, and clinical markets; develop outreach strategies that establish credibility and open doors.
• Consultative Scientific Engagement
• Act as a trusted scientific advisor by understanding customer workflows, technical challenges, and strategic goals; position Zymo solutions to deliver measurable scientific and commercial value.
• Collaboration & Opportunity Development
• Advance collaborations by connecting Zymo technologies with unmet customer needs and positioning opportunities for long‑term growth.
• Field Innovation & Strategy Testing
• Pilot new engagement models, messaging, and strategies in the field; provide structured feedback to inform broader company‑wide deployment.
• Business Case Development
• Build clear, data‑driven business cases for new opportunities, technologies, and collaborations; deliver recommendations that guide investment and commercialization decisions.
• Technology & Market Scouting
• Identify emerging scientific trends, breakthrough technologies, and potential strategic partnerships, including licensing or M&A opportunities.
• Technical Thought Leadership
• Represent Zymo at conferences, symposia, and customer sites through presentations, talks, and scientific discussions.
• Cross‑Functional Integration
• Work closely with Business Intelligence, Market Segment Managers, Commercial & Innovation Strategy, Product Marketing, Sales, and other stakeholders to ensure aligned execution.
• CRM & Pipeline Discipline
• Document all interactions, opportunities, and pipeline activity in Zymo’s CRM with accuracy and consistency.
• Clean Ownership Handoffs
• Ensure smooth transitions of long‑term account ownership to Territory Sales Managers or Partnership Managers for sustained growth.
• Customer Value Focus
• Ensure every customer interaction delivers insight, credibility, and practical scientific value consistent with Zymo’s commitment to innovation and quality.

Leveling Expectations (How Scope Increases by Level)

• Associate
  :
  Executes defined outreach and engagements with guidance; builds foundational relationships; contributes to opportunity generation and field learning.
• Manager
  :
  Independently owns territories or segments; consistently generates new opportunities; leads customer engagements end-to-end.
• Senior
  :
  Drives complex, multi‑stakeholder collaborations; influences strategy; mentors others; regularly identifies high‑impact opportunities.
• Principal
  :
  Shapes…