Business Development Manager, Southwest

The businesses of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany•Rockville, MD

1d•$107,500 - $179,400

About The Position

This field-based commercial role manages and grows a portfolio of large, strategic pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical accounts. The role develops account plans, builds relationships across customer organizations, and coordinates internal partners to deliver quarterly and annual sales objectives. The position must be located in Texas (Houston or Dallas) or Colorado (Denver), and requires travel 25–50% of the time.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Life Sciences, such as Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, Biotechnology, Chemistry, or a related field.
5–7+ years of commercial sales experience in regulated pharma or biotech contract testing services.
Proven track record managing a territory or account portfolio and building customer relationships.
Strong understanding of pharma/biopharma drug production processes and unit operations.
Consultative selling skills, including diagnosing needs, negotiating, forecasting accurately, and articulating value.
Proficiency with CRM and sales tools such as Salesforce, Palantir, or similar.
Able to travel 25–50% of the time.
Must be located in Texas (Houston or Dallas) or Colorado (Denver).

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree (MS, PhD, or MBA) or Project Management certification.
Knowledge of biotech funding trends, M&A activity, and incubator/accelerator ecosystems.
Experience with global account networks, CDMOs, and cross-functional stakeholder engagement.

Responsibilities

Meet quarterly and annual sales targets through retention, expansion, competitive conversions, and new business development.
Own strategic account plans for large pharma and biopharma customers, including priorities, forecasts, stakeholder maps, risks, and next steps.
Identify and engage high-potential small and mid-tier biotech companies to seed future pipeline and demand.
Build and maintain relationships with technical, quality, procurement, and executive stakeholders; map buying groups and decision processes.
Lead business reviews, consultative discovery, and customer presentations; articulate value, negotiate, and advance opportunities.
Maintain accurate forecasts, CRM records, and opportunity data in Salesforce or equivalent tools.
Collaborate with technical service, customer service, field marketing, and demand planning to support accounts.
Monitor market signals, including funding, M&A, and pipeline trends, to identify emerging opportunities and inform territory strategy.