Business Development Specialist - SMS

Carl Zeiss SBE, LLC; Texas; Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical

Vision

Dental

401k Matching

Employee Assistance Programs

Job summary

ZEISS in Texas seeks a Business Development Specialist for Semiconductor Manufacturing Solutions (SMS). You will engage customers, support solution development, and help drive new product introductions by collaborating with engineering, product management, and marketing teams.

The role emphasizes translating technical knowledge into customer value, gathering market intelligence, and supporting cross-functional initiatives to grow business with semiconductor customers, with travel up to 30-40%.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Physics, Materials Science, or related technical discipline.
• 5-7 years in semiconductor manufacturing, photomask manufacturing, metrology, inspection, process engineering, yield engineering, applications engineering, or related technical field.
• Experience working directly with semiconductor manufacturing processes or customers.
• Strong technical understanding of semiconductor manufacturing and process challenges.
• Ability to communicate technical concepts to customers and internal stakeholders.
• Strong relationship-building and interpersonal skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Day-to-day customer interactions and maintain strong relationships with semiconductor customers.
• Participate in customer meetings and technical discussions with senior business development and application team members.
• Assist customers in identifying solutions addressing manufacturing and process challenges.
• Gather customer feedback and relay findings to internal stakeholders.
• Collaborate with Application Engineers, Product Managers, and Marketing to support solution-development activities.
• Coordinate customer evaluations, demonstrations, and proof-of-concept activities.
• Identify opportunities for product adoption and repeat business.
• Collect information on customer needs, industry trends, and competitive activities.
• Attend industry conferences, customer meetings, and trade events for market intelligence.
• Share customer and market insights with Product Management and Strategic Marketing teams.
• Support New Product Introduction (NPI) activities with customers.
• Assist with customer evaluations and feedback during qualification processes.
• Help track customer adoption and identify follow-on opportunities.
• Work with Application Engineering, Product Management, Strategic Marketing, Sales, and Customer Support.
• Participate in regional and global business reviews.
• Support execution of business development initiatives and customer-growth strategies.
• Develop trusted relationships with customer engineering and operations teams.
• Build understanding of customer manufacturing processes and business objectives.
• Promote excellent customer experience and responsiveness.

Skills

Semiconductor industry experience

Customer engagement

Cross-functional collaboration

Technical communication

willingness to travel

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Physics, Materials Science, or related technical discipline

Job description

About Us

How many companies can say they’ve been in business for over 179 years?! Here at ZEISS, we certainly can! As the pioneers of science, ZEISS handles the everchanging environments in a fast-paced world, meeting it with cutting edge of technologies and continuous advancements. ZEISS believes that innovation and technology are the key to a sustainable future and solutions for global change. We have a diverse range of portfolios throughout the ZEISS family in segments like, Industrial Quality & Research, Medical Technology, Consumer Markets and Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology. We are a global company with over 42,000 employees and have over 4,000 in the US and Canada alone! Make a difference, come join the team!

What’s the role?

The Business Development Specialist serves as a customer-facing representative supporting business development initiatives within Semiconductor Manufacturing Solutions (SMS). Working closely with customers, application teams, product management, and strategic marketing, the individual helps identify customer needs, supports solution-development activities, and contributes to successful new product introductions. This role is designed for individuals with strong semiconductor industry experience who are looking to transition from a technical or applications-focused role into customer-facing business development. The position provides exposure to commercial strategy, customer engagement, market intelligence, and cross-functional collaboration while leveraging technical expertise to help drive customer success and business growth. This role is developmental in nature and provides a pathway toward future Business Development Manager and Business Development Expert positions.

Customer Engagement Support

• day-to-day customer interactions and maintain strong working relationships with semiconductor customers.
• Participate in customer meetings and technical discussions alongside senior business development and application team members.
• Assist customers in identifying solutions that address manufacturing and process challenges.
• Gather customer feedback and communicate findings to internal stakeholders.

Solution Development Support

• Collaborate with Application Engineers, Product Managers, and Marketing teams to support customer solution-development activities.
• Help coordinate customer evaluations, demonstrations, and proof-of-concept activities.
• Assist in identifying opportunities for product adoption and repeat business.

Market & Competitive Intelligence

• Collect information regarding customer needs, industry trends, and competitive activities.
• Attend industry conferences, customer meetings, and trade events to support market intelligence gathering.
• Share customer and market insights with Product Management and Strategic Marketing teams.

New Product Introduction Support

• Support new product introduction (NPI) activities with customers.
• Assist with customer evaluations and gather feedback during qualification processes.
• Help track customer adoption and identify follow-on opportunities.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with Application Engineering, Product Management, Strategic Marketing, Sales, and Customer Support teams.
• Participate in regional and global business reviews.
• Support execution of business development initiatives and customer-growth strategies.

Customer Success and Relationship Building

• Develop trusted relationships with customer engineering and operations teams.
• Build understanding of customer manufacturing processes and business objectives.
• Promote excellent customer experience and responsiveness.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Physics, Materials Science, or related technical discipline.
• 5-7 years of experience in semiconductor manufacturing, photomask manufacturing, metrology, inspection, process engineering, yield engineering, applications engineering, or related technical field.
• Experience working directly with semiconductor manufacturing processes or customers.
• Strong technical understanding of semiconductor manufacturing and process challenges.
• Ability to communicate technical concepts to customers and internal stakeholders.
• Strong relationship-building and interpersonal skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively within cross-functional teams.
• Willingness to travel up to 30-40%.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting customer-facing activities or customer projects.
• Exposure to new product introductions, technology transfers, or customer evaluations.
• Semiconductor industry contacts and customer familiarity.

Benefits

• Medical Vision Dental 401k Matching Employee Assistance Programs Vacation and sick pay The list goes on!

Equal Employment Opportunity

Zeiss provides Equal Employment Opportunity without unlawful regard to an Applicants race, color, religion, creed, sex, gender, marital status, age, national origin or ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, military or veteran status, citizen status, sexual orientation, pregnancy (includes childbirth, breastfeeding or related medical condition), genetic predisposition, carrier status, gender expression or identity, including transgender identity, or any other class or characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law of the employee (or the people with whom the employee associates, including relatives and friends).

Diversity is a part of ZEISS. We look forward to receiving your application regardless of gender, nationality, ethnic and social origin, religion, philosophy of life, disability, age, sexual orientation or identity.