Director, Customer Success & Channel Partnerships

Syenex • Evanston, IL

4d

About The Position

Syenex is hiring a Director, Customer Success & Channel Partnerships to own relationships between Syenex, its regional CDMO partners, and customers using the platform in their programs. This is a post-sale role focused on keeping programs moving through tech transfer and scale-up and toward the clinic by managing handoffs and relationships between customer program teams and CDMO partners.

The role also owns regional channel partnerships, including relationships with CDMOs and other partners that manufacture, test, enable, or co-sell alongside Syenex. The director will use these partnerships, their professional network, and direct outreach to drive direct and indirect new business. They will coordinate regional marketing and promotion, connecting the central Growth Manager’s plans with partner marketing teams so Syenex is represented consistently across the region.

The position covers either US, EU, and UK partnerships or APAC partnerships. The director will work with counterparts to maintain a consistent worldwide customer success and channel approach and report to the Head of Commercial.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s, master’s, or PhD in a life sciences or engineering discipline.
• At least 6 years of experience in the cell and/or gene therapy industry, spanning some combination of customer-facing program or project management, CDMO or channel-partnership management, and business development or sales.
• Direct experience working with CDMOs and understanding of tech transfer, scale-up, and the practicalities of moving a program from platform or tool adoption into GMP manufacturing.
• Proven ability to manage multiple accounts and partner relationships simultaneously, with a track record of protecting and growing customer retention.
• Ability to work as both a relationship manager and a seller, including renewal conversations, channel-partner business reviews, and new-logo pitches.
• Existing professional network across cell and gene therapy biotechs and CDMOs in the US, EU, and/or UK.
• Ability to coordinate marketing and promotional activity across internal and partner teams without direct authority over those teams.
• Comfort with modern commercial tools and AI-assisted workflows, including CRM, sales engagement platforms, and reporting or dashboarding tools.
• Willingness to travel regularly, approximately 30–50%, across the US, EU, and UK for customer, partner, and conference engagement.

Responsibilities

• Own the customer journey after platform adoption and serve as the primary point of contact to maintain customer program momentum as programs move into IND-enabling and clinical-stage work.
• Coordinate customer program teams and Syenex CDMO partners on tech transfer, scale-up timelines, and deliverables.
• Build and manage strategic relationships with regional CDMO and other channel partners, establishing joint working processes, escalation paths, and regular business reviews.
• Monitor program health and account-retention risk across the regional book of business, proactively identifying and resolving issues that threaten momentum or renewal.
• Drive regional new business directly through networking and prospecting and indirectly through channel-partner referrals and co-selling.
• Coordinate regional marketing and promotional activity with Syenex’s Growth Manager and channel-partner marketing teams, including joint content, events, and campaigns.
• Represent Syenex at regional industry conferences, partnering events, and joint events with channel partners.
• Report account health, channel-partner performance, and regional pipeline to the Head of Commercial, informing commercial and partnership strategy.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director