Senior Modality Leader APeC

Merck Group; Singapore; On-site; SGD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Merck Group seeks a Senior Modality Leader for the APeC region to provide strategic and technical leadership in novel modalities. You will partner with commercial teams, customers, and cross-functional experts to identify growth opportunities and strengthen market positioning across APac excluding China.

This role can be based in Singapore, India or Korea, and involves regional strategy, customer engagements, and portfolio development to support business development and market expansion.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in Life Sciences, Biotechnology, Chemical Engineering, or related discipline.
• Masters in Business Administration, PhD, or equivalent combination preferred.
• At least 10 years of experience in professional or managerial roles.
• Strong scientific experience with modalities such as mRNA, pDNA, vaccines, plasma, peptides, or GLP-1 products.
• Strong understanding of the Process Solutions business.

Responsibilities

• Develop regional strategy and collaborate with commercial teams on initiatives for integrated solutions in strategic modalities.
• Support regional planning, market intelligence, and actions to drive market growth and share.
• Identify opportunities via customer insights, trends, and competitive dynamics for expansion.
• Partner with Sales to qualify and pursue new opportunities, including pre-sales projects.
• Engage with customers face-to-face and virtually to showcase modality capabilities.
• Contribute to capability-building and share knowledge with cross-functional teams.
• Monitor market trends and translate insights into actionable business plans.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Stakeholder management

Business development

Market analysis

Data analysis

Influencing senior stakeholders

Strategic thinking

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Life Sciences / related

MBA or PhD preferred

10+ years experience in professional or managerial roles

Job description

Work Your Magic with us!

Ready to explore, break barriers, and discover more? We know you’ve got big plans – so do we! Our colleagues across the globe love innovating with science and technology to enrich people’s lives with our solutions in Healthcare, Life Science, and Electronics. Together, we dream big and are passionate about caring for our rich mix of people, customers, patients, and planet. That's why we are always looking for curious minds that see themselves imagining the unimaginable with us.

Job Title: Senior Modality Leader APeC

As a member of the Customer Application team, the Senior Modality Leader, APeC will provide strategic and technical leadership in novel and strategic modalities. The role will work closely with commercial partners, customers, and cross-functional teams to develop integrated solutions, identify growth opportunities, strengthen market positioning, and support business development across the APeC, excluding China region.

This role can be based in either Singapore, India or Korea.

Your Role:

Regional strategy and commercial collaboration

• Partner with Commercial and Customer Application teams to develop and execute regional initiatives for integrated solutions focused on strategic modalities.
• Support Regional Strategy Execution, Strategy, Field Marketing, and Commercial teams in planning, coordinating, and delivering regional Plans of Action.
• Apply knowledge of customers, industry trends, market drivers, and competitive dynamics to identify opportunities for market-share growth and business expansion.
• Collaborate with Sales to identify, qualify, and pursue new commercial opportunities, particularly pre-sales projects involving strategic modalities.
• Develop and implement regional objectives for strategic modalities, including the assessment of business dynamics associated with strategic customers and projects.
• Prepare and validate the information required to prioritize customer projects and commercial opportunities.

Customer engagement and consultancy

• Represent the company’s expertise in novel modalities through face-to-face and virtual customer engagements.
• Provide high-level technical and commercial consultancy on novel modalities and their applications.
• Identify customer needs, assess business potential, and apply technical expertise to support the effective use of technologies within the relevant regulatory environment.
• Build trusted relationships with industry decision-makers and opinion leaders to strengthen the company’s market presence and share of mind in strategic modalities.
• Use customer feedback and market experience to help internal teams understand emerging trends, regulatory considerations, customer pain points, and evolving market needs.

Marketing, market intelligence, and portfolio development

• Support brand awareness and the marketing of the company’s products and solutions for pharmaceutical and biotechnology customers across the assigned territory.
• Support the successful launch of new products and contribute to initiatives that reinforce product positioning and selling strategies.
• Maintain strong technical knowledge across the company’s full Process Solutions Strategic Modalities portfolio.
• Monitor competitor activity, changing customer requirements, and emerging market trends, and communicate relevant insights to leadership, business, and strategy teams.
• Share customer and commercial feedback, best practices, and identified capability gaps with relevant stakeholders to support business and portfolio development.
• Track changes in local market dynamics and translate these insights into actionable business strategies in collaboration with Customer Application and business stakeholders.
• Contribute market and customer insights that may influence future product and solution development.

Knowledge sharing and capability building

• Participate in and contribute to capability-building activities, including seminar series and other Technology Team programs.
• Share relevant customer, market, regulatory, and technology insights with internal teams to strengthen organizational knowledge and support consistent customer engagement.

Who You Are:

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent qualification in Life Sciences, Biotechnology, Chemical Engineering, or a related discipline.
• A Masters in Business Administration PhD, or equivalent combination of education and relevant industry experience is preferred.
• At least 10 years of experience in either a professional expert or managerial role.
• Strong scientific experience, ideally including hands-on work with strategic modalities such as mRNA, pDNA, vaccines, plasma, peptides, or GLP-1-based products.
• Strong understanding of the Process Solutions business

• Ability to manage complex and dynamic projects with a variety of key stakeholders.

Personal attributes

• Customer-focused and commercially aware.
• Digitally agile and comfortable using data and technology to support decision-making.
• Proactive, action-oriented, and accountable.
• Curious, inquisitive, and skilled at asking insightful questions.
• Assertive, influential, and confident when engaging with senior stakeholders.
• Able to connect perspectives across functions and maintain an integrated, enterprise-wide mindset.

Technical and functional expertise

• Knowledge of the biopharmaceutical market, biopharmaceutical manufacturing processes, and Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products, with particular expertise in novel modalities.
• Understanding of customer strategy and commercial business development.
• Knowledge of sales and go-to-market strategy.

• Strong reporting, data analysis, and business insight capabilities.
• Fluency in English and, where applicable, the relevant local language.

Behaviors and capabilities

• Prioritizes and organizes work effectively in a fast-paced environment.
• Thinks and acts strategically while adapting with agility to changing customer and business needs.
• Communicates clearly and effectively, both verbally and in writing, including through presentations and stakeholder interactions.
• Builds and maintains strategic working relationships across functions and organizational levels.
• Uses strong influencing skills to shape decisions and engage senior stakeholders.
• Demonstrates strong project management and execution skills in complex, multi-stakeholder environments.
• Can assess customer manufacturing processes, identify areas of opportunity, and connect customer needs to the company’s products, services, and solutions.
• Maintains a curious, growth-oriented mindset and actively seeks to learn about new applications, technologies, and therapeutic areas.

What we offer:

We are curious minds that come from a broad range of backgrounds, perspectives, and life experiences. We believe that this variety drives excellence and innovation, strengthening our ability to lead in science and technology. We are committed to creating access and opportunities for all to develop and grow at your own pace. Join us in building a culture of inclusion and belonging that impacts millions and empowers everyone to work their magic and champion human progress!