Vice President, Strategic Accounts

MKS Instruments

3d • $250,000 - $370,000

About The Position

The Vice President, Strategic Accounts is a senior commercial leader responsible for driving penetration and expansion across the business units most strategic markets and newly targeted markets. This role focuses on accelerating growth by deepening relationships with top OEMs and integrators while strategically entering high-value photonics segments—including semiconductor manufacturing, advanced packaging, Aerospace & Homeland Security. The executive will define and execute strategies to win new platforms, expand wallet share, and introduce the company’s photonics technologies and developed solutions leveraging the company’s portfolio of lasers, optics, sensors, imaging systems, and photonic components—into emerging applications and growth verticals. Success in this role requires exceptional strategic foresight, strong technical acumen, and a proven ability to convert new market opportunities into sustained revenue.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Physics, Optics, Photonics, or related technical field; MBA or advanced degree preferred.
• 10+ years of senior strategic account, OEM sales, or commercial leadership experience in photonics, optics, semiconductor equipment, or advanced manufacturing.
• Proven success entering new markets, winning platform positions, and scaling revenue within technical, high-growth industries.
• Deep understanding of lasers, optical components, imaging and sensing technologies, and photonic integration across multiple applications.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and execute market penetration strategies, secure high-value design wins, and grow share within targeted segments.
• Exceptional negotiation, communication, and executive relationship-building skills.
• Experience mentoring and leading high-performance commercial teams in a global and fast-evolving environment.

Responsibilities

• Strategic Market Penetration & Leadership Develop multi-year strategies to enter and expand in high-growth photonics markets, with clear objectives for revenue acceleration, platform wins, and competitive displacement.
• Identify and prioritize emerging application areas such as advanced lithography, quantum computing, biomedical imaging, precision manufacturing, directed energy, and optical communications.
• Shape the go-to-market approach for new verticals, including segment targeting, value proposition development, and competitive differentiation.
• Serve as the executive sponsor for strategic and next-generation accounts, guiding partnership strategy and long-term commercial planning.
• Account Growth & New Market Expansion Lead high-value customer engagements to secure design wins and expand adoption of the company’s photonics technologies across new programs and platforms.
• Translate customer requirements and market trends into innovative solutions that capture new share and create competitive barriers to entry.
• Drive commercial execution—negotiating long-term supply agreements, technology collaborations, and new business models that enable faster penetration into new markets.
• Monitor account health and forecast expansion opportunities tied to semiconductor cycles, defense programs, life sciences innovation, and industrial automation trends.
• Cross-Functional Leadership for Market Entry Collaborate with Engineering, R&D, Product Management, and Operations to develop tailored solutions, accelerate qualification cycles, and deliver competitive performance for new applications.
• Provide market-back insights into the product roadmap, including emerging needs for wavelength stability, beam quality, reliability, environmental hardening, and next-generation photonic performance.
• Partner with Marketing to craft market-specific value propositions that clearly differentiate the company in new verticals.
• Team Leadership & Scaling for Growth Build and lead a high-performance strategic accounts organization capable of penetrating complex global markets.
• Mentor and scale a team skilled in identifying whitespace opportunities, capturing customer share, and managing technical sales cycles.
• Establish a culture focused on market expansion, customer-centric execution, and continuous competitive improvement.
• Executive-Level Communication & Influence Deliver executive-level briefings on market entry strategies, competitive positioning, technology alignment, and long-term commercial plans.
• Act as a trusted advisor in both established and emerging markets, guiding customers through evaluation, qualification, and production deployment.
• Lead cross-company executive engagement to drive alignment around new verticals and strategic initiatives.

Benefits

• MKS offers a comprehensive benefits package, including health insurance coverage (medical, dental and vision), 401(k) with company match, life and disability insurance, 12 paid holidays, sick time, 15 paid vacation days, [6 weeks fully paid] parental leave, adoption assistance and tuition reimbursement

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive
• Number of Employees: 1,001-5,000 employees