EMEA Automotive Business Development Manager

Trinseo; Rho; In loco; EUR 60.000 - 100.000; Tempo pieno

Descrizione del lavoro

An established industry player is seeking a dynamic Automotive Business Development Manager to lead strategic relationships with OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers across Europe. This role offers a unique opportunity to influence the automotive ecosystem by integrating innovative materials into applications while championing sustainability initiatives. The ideal candidate will possess extensive experience in the automotive plastics sector and demonstrate a strong ability to manage cross-functional teams and customer relationships. Join a forward-thinking organization committed to inclusion and innovation, where your contributions will drive impactful change in the industry.

Competenze

• 10+ years of experience in the automotive plastics industry.
• Strong background in cross-functional leadership and customer engagement.

Mansioni

• Develop relationships with automotive OEMs and Tier 1s to drive business growth.
• Lead teams to execute OEM strategies and manage opportunity pipelines.

Conoscenze

Voice of Customer (VOC)

Opportunity pipeline management

Technical-commercial interface

Cross-functional leadership

Customer value creation

CRM discipline

Customer intimacy

Formazione

Bachelor’s degree in engineering or chemicals

MBA

Strumenti

CRM software

Descrizione del lavoro

Overview

Trinseo is a different kind of global materials company – at the intersection of people, technology, and customers. We are a world leader in the production of plastics and latex binders. Our culture is built on passion and innovation. A career at Trinseo presents a unique opportunity to work in a highly collaborative environment. Helping customers solve their most complex material challenges is the reason we come to work each day. We are seeking innovative thinkers – ready to tackle any challenge and passionate about delivering value. As a global materials solutions provider focused on delivering innovative and sustainable solutions to our customers, we need people to feel respected and included so they can be more creative, innovative, and successful. We strive to create workplaces that reflect all communities and customers we serve and where everyone feels empowered to bring their full, authentic selves to work. That's why we're fully committed to inclusion across race, gender, age, religion, identity, and experience to drive us forward every day.

Role Overview:

The EMEA Automotive Business Development Manager will focus on developing strong and strategic relationships with automotive OEMs and Tier 1s in Europe. The main objective is to identify and analyze the needs of the OEMs/Tier 1s related to the development of new applications by positioning Trinseo’s existing and future offerings.

This position requires maintaining and building deep relationships across functions and levels at each of the relevant customers, coordinating cross-functional activities as they relate to the assigned OEMs, defining and executing OEM strategies to ensure business objectives are met, and leading cross-functional teams of peers through the execution of the OEM strategy.

Responsibilities

• Understanding of the automotive ecosystem

  • Maps the full automotive value chain, including OEMs, Tier 1s, molders, and design studios, to identify high-impact entry points for PMMA and PC/ABS resin solutions.
  • Anticipates industry shifts across regulatory, sustainability, and material innovation trends (e.g., lightweighting, EV component specs, recyclability) that influence resin adoption.
  • Establishes influence with ecosystem stakeholders, including design engineers, procurement leaders, and specifiers, to insert products early into platform development.
  • Identifies unmet needs in exterior, lighting, and interior applications, translating these into technical value propositions that align with PMMA/PC-ABS material capabilities.
  Drives specification pull-through by partnering across the ecosystem (OEMs, Tier suppliers, converters) to lock in materials at design phase and protect share through launch.

• Sustainability and growth programs

  • Champions the integration of Trinseo's sustainable PMMA and PC/ABS resins into automotive applications, aligning with OEMs' environmental goals.
  • Leads commercialization efforts for thermoplastic battery casings in electric vehicles, leveraging Trinseo's innovative materials.
  Collaborates with cross-functional teams to identify and develop new market opportunities for sustainable materials, driving growth and reinforcing Trinseo's commitment to environmental stewardship.

• Opportunity management

  • Owns the full opportunity pipeline lifecycle — from early-stage lead identification through design-win to commercial scale-up — ensuring disciplined progression via CRM and gate reviews.
  • Partners with Sales, Technical, and Product teams to qualify, prioritize, and resource opportunities that align with volume, margin, and strategic fit targets.
  • Implements rigorous stage-gate discipline, including financial modeling, risk assessments, and stakeholder alignment, to accelerate time-to-revenue for new programs.
  Tracks key KPIs (e.g., design-win conversion rate, volume ramp velocity, margin realization) to drive accountability and enable continuous improvement in opportunity execution.

• Application Team Leadership & Technical Engagement

  • Directly manages a team of Application Development Engineers linked to key OEMs, providing strategic direction, performance management, and resource prioritization aligned to commercial goals.
  • Translates commercial strategy into technical action plans, ensuring ADEs focus on high-impact projects and build strong design-in positions for PMMA and PC/ABS.
  • Serves as the interface between business development and technical application work, ensuring feedback loops between OEM needs, material development, and go-to-market priorities.
  Champions a high-performance team culture, developing technical talent and ensuring alignment with Trinseo’s growth and sustainability objectives.

• Market intelligence

  • Continuously monitors trends in automotive material specifications, platform launches, and regional demand shifts to identify white space for PMMA and PC/ABS resin growth.
  • Builds competitive intelligence dashboards tracking resin usage by application, material substitution risks, and share-of-wallet across key OEM platforms.
  • Translates macro trends (e.g., EV adoption, sustainability legislation, circular economy) into specific implications for resin positioning and commercial strategy.
  Leverages VOC (voice of customer) and secondary data to validate market assumptions, refine segmentation, and prioritize opportunity pursuit by ROI potential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree (preferably in engineering, chemicals); MBA preferred.
• 10+ years of experience preferably in the automotive plastics industry.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities: Voice of Customer (VOC), Opportunity pipeline management, Technical-commercial interface, Cross-functional leadership, Customer value creation, CRM discipline, Customer intimacy.

Equity and Inclusion

With our expanding global presence, cross-cultural insight and competence are essential for our ongoing success. We believe that a diverse workforce contributes different perspectives, experiences and creative ideas that enable us to continue to improve every day. Race, gender, ethnicity, country of origin, age, personal style, sexual orientation, physical ability, religion, work and life experiences and many more factors contribute to this diversity. We welcome all applicants, regardless of their backgrounds, and are committed to a fair and inclusive hiring process.