New Business Development Manager

Corning•City of Corning, NY

17h•$145,811 - $200,491•Onsite

About The Position

The company built on breakthroughs. Join us. Corning is one of the world’s leading innovators in glass, ceramic, and materials science. From the depths of the ocean to the farthest reaches of space, our technologies push the boundaries of what’s possible. How do we do this? With our people. They break through limitations and expectations – not once in a career, but every day. They help move our company, and the world, forward. At Corning, there are endless possibilities for making an impact. You can help connect the unconnected, drive the future of automobiles, transform at-home entertainment, and ensure the delivery of lifesaving medicines. And so much more. Come break through with us. The Specialty Materials segment manufactures products that provide more than 150 material formulations for glass, glass ceramics and fluoride crystals to meet demand for unique customer needs. Consequently, this segment operates in a wide variety of commercial and industrial markets that include display optics and components, semiconductor optics components, aerospace and defense, astronomy, ophthalmic products, telecommunications components and cover glass that is optimized for portable display devices.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in engineering or a technical / business related field
Minimum 8+ years of experience in technical industry in customer-facing roles such as sales, business development, product line management, or sales engineering.
Comfortable operating in ambiguous market environments and ability to create new playbooks to compete in such markets.
Track record of advancing new business opportunities from concept through close.
Financial acumen to own and drive business case partnering with AOs cross functional teams to validate critical assumptions.
Ability to position and sell differentiated technical solutions, and to negotiate commercial and contractual terms in partnership with Legal.
Skilled in customer discovery, eliciting, validating, and translating needs into clear requirements and value propositions.
Ability to build investment-ready business cases (TAM/SAM/SOM, margins, capacity, risks) and recommend go/no-go decisions.
Clear, concise communicator, including verbal and written communication
Executive presence and the ability to influence without authority across engineering, operations, product line, and commercial teams and to build trusted relationships with internal and external customers/partners.
Strong opportunity qualification and pipeline management skills
Demonstrated ability to develop and execute go-to-market plans (segmentation, positioning, channel strategy, launch readiness) for technical products.
Ability to synthesize market and competitive intelligence into actionable strategies
Experience aligning customer roadmaps with product/technology roadmaps across multiple platforms, balancing performance, cost, and manufacturability.
Willingness to travel about 30% of the time.

Nice To Haves

MBA preferred
Experience in the Aerospace & Defense industry
Previous experience in product line management or innovation.
Entrepreneurial, outcome-oriented mindset that blends commercial acumen with technical depth to navigate ambiguity and drive results.
Financial analysis and accounting experience
Experience leading complex negotiations (e.g., long-term supply agreements, joint development, licensing) in partnership with Legal and Finance.
Demonstrated ability to build and manage a multi-stage opportunity pipeline using CRM tools, with clear qualification criteria and forecasting discipline.
Strong market and competitive intelligence skills, including segmentation, value proposition development, and win/loss analysis.
Experience taking technical solutions from concept through customer qualification, launch, and scale-up in a regulated or high-reliability environment.
Proven ability to develop and manage internal and external customer relationships (suppliers, integrators, R&D collaborators) to accelerate capability build and customer adoption.
Demonstrated proficiency in leveraging AI tools to support market analysis, develop data-driven go-to-market strategies, and enable business development initiatives

Responsibilities

Identify, evaluate, and prioritize new business opportunities within the Advanced Optics domain, using market, customer, and competitive insights to inform growth strategies.
Develop and execute business development and go-to-market plans, including customer segmentation, value propositions, pricing, marketing, measurable objectives, and commercialization strategies.
Build and manage relationships with internal teams, subject-matter experts, customers, industry partners, suppliers, and research collaborators; represent Corning at customer meetings, trade shows, and targeted industry events.
Lead cross-portfolio growth strategies that align customer roadmaps with Advanced Optics capabilities, investment priorities, and product and technology roadmaps.
Manage the opportunity funnel from qualification through stage-gate review, resource alignment, forecasting, commercialization planning, and transfer to the base business for execution and ongoing ownership.
Translate voice-of-customer, market, and competitive intelligence into product and technology requirements, including performance, cost, differentiation, manufacturability, and customer qualification needs.
Develop investment-ready business cases, manage OPEX budgets, and lead special projects to ensure strategic initiatives are funded, prioritized, and positioned for success.
Structure and negotiate complex commercial agreements—including joint development, pilot, supply, and licensing agreements—in partnership with Legal and Finance.
Identify and develop strategic partnerships and coordinate multi-business “More Corning” proposals that combine technologies to accelerate time to market and deliver customer value.