Senior Director, Business Development US West Coast

Today, Lonza is a global leader in life sciences operating across three continents. While we work in science, there’s no magic formula to how we do it. Our greatest scientific solution is talented people working together, devising ideas that help businesses to help people. In exchange, we let our people own their careers. Their ideas, big and small, genuinely improve the world. And that’s the kind of work we want to be part of.

Providing leadership, direction, and resource stewardship to the Advanced Synthesis (ADS) sales function, The Senior Director, Sales & Business Development West Coast will lead the West Coast Business Development team, with a primary focus on driving new CDMO business. This individual will partner closely with the commercial development team to support strategic growth initiatives, expanding the customer base, strengthening client relationships, and driving revenue growth. The role is critical to positioning the company as a trusted partner within the pharmaceutical and biotech manufacturing landscape.

This position requires a deep understanding of the CDMO market, strong commercial acumen, and the ability to develop and execute strategies aligned with organizational objectives.

This role can sit anywhere on the West Coast, United States.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership

• Develop and execute a comprehensive sales and business development strategy to achieve revenue and growth targets
• Identify new market opportunities and emerging industry trends within the CDMO sector

Client Acquisition & Relationship Management

• Build and maintain strong relationships with key decision-makers across pharmaceutical and biotech organizations
• Lead negotiations and close complex, high-value contracts for development and manufacturing services

Market Expansion

• Drive expansion into new therapeutic areas and geographic markets
• Collaborate with marketing and technical teams to effectively position service offerings and grow market share

Team Leadership

• Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing sales and business development team, fostering a strong “hunter” mentality
• Promote a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with operations, R&D, and quality teams to ensure seamless execution and high levels of client satisfaction

Market Intelligence

• Provide insights on market trends, customer needs, and competitive dynamics to inform service development and pricing strategies

Key Skills & Capabilities

• Demonstrated hunter mindset, with the ability to coach teams in proactive, opportunity-driven sales strategies
• Strong strategic thinking and analytical problem-solving skills
• Excellent communication and networking abilities, with a track record of building internal and external stakeholder relationships
• Ability to develop tailored solutions that address customer needs and gaps
• Solid understanding of:
  • Clinical drug development phases
  • Small molecule drug substance (process development and manufacturing, including late-phase requirements)
  • Oral solid dosage forms (formulation development and manufacturing)
  • GMP and regulatory requirements
• Skilled in managing long sales cycles by adapting strategies based on client feedback, behavior, and market conditions
• High ethical standards, with a focus on transparency and trust-building
• Strong awareness of market trends and competitive landscape, with the ability to align strategies to long-term business goals
• Comfortable leveraging digital marketing to engage clients and generate leads
• Effective negotiator with experience managing both external client agreements (MSAs, CSAs, T&Cs) and internal cross-functional alignment

Key Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Life Sciences or Engineering required (e.g., Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Pharmaceutical Sciences); Master’s and/or MBA preferred
• 12+ years of experience, with a proven track record of achieving revenue targets and closing complex deals
• Established network within the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors, particularly within the West Coast territory
• Prior experience in CDMO business development required
• Previous people management experience required
• Willingness to travel (~40%) for client meetings, site visits, internal meetings, and industry conferences

Every day, Lonza’s products and services have a positive impact on millions of people. For us, this is not only a great privilege, but also a great responsibility. How we achieve our business results is just as important as the achievements themselves. At Lonza, we respect and protect our people and our environment. Any success we achieve is no success at all if not achieved ethically.

People come to Lonza for the challenge and creativity of solving complex problems and developing new ideas in life sciences. In return, we offer the satisfaction that comes with improving lives all around the world. The satisfaction that comes with making a meaningful difference.

Lonza is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, status as a qualified individual with disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.