Director, Tech Scouting & Business Development

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc; Exton (PA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. is seeking aDirector of Tech Scouting & Business Development to lead evaluation of breakthrough technologies for strategic investment.

Based in Exton, PA, the role is hybrid with on-site requirements and partnerships across R&D, Commercial, and Corporate Development. The ideal candidate has 10+ years in biotech or pharma tech scouting, strong communication, and a track record of translating complex science into actionable strategies.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in a relevant scientific field.
• PhD strongly preferred for advanced research.
• Over 10 years of work experience in related roles.
• Ability to translate technical results for diverse stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead all tech scouting due diligence activities within West R&D.
• Identify, contact, and analyze target technologies and companies for investment.
• Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to meet project objectives.
• Build an SME network across West R&D to support deep tech evaluations.
• Communicate due diligence findings clearly to senior leaders and escalate risks as needed.

Skills

Interpersonal communication

Written and verbal communication

Project leadership

Willingness to learn

Strategic thinking

Education

Master's in biology, chemistry, biomedical, chemical engineering or equivalent scientific or engineering discipline

PhD in biology, chemistry, biomedical, chemical engineering or equivalent scientific or engineering discipline

Tools

DevOps

PowerBI

Job description

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Title: Director, Tech Scouting & Business Development

Requisition ID: 74690

Date: Jul 8, 2026

Location: Exton, PA, US, 19341

Department: R&D

Description: This is a hybrid position requiring the team member to be onsite a minimum of 3 days per week

Who We Are:

At West, we’re a dedicated team that is connected by a purpose to improve patient lives that has been at the center of our Company for more than a century. Our story began when Herman O. West solved the problem of supplying penicillin in mass quantities to the US Government during World War 2. Through our work to deliver thousands of life-saving and life-enhancing injectable medicines to millions of patients daily, West’s indelible mark on the healthcare industry has just begun. A name started our story. How will yours help write our future?

There’s no better place to join an inclusive community of professionals with opportunities for lifelong learning, growth and development. Supported by benefit programs, we empower the physical, mental, emotional and financial health of our team members and their families.

We believe in giving back to help those in need in the communities where we live and work. And are equally committed to creating a healthier environment and planet through our sustainability efforts.

What We Offer

Inclusive & Collaborative Culture: A global workforce that values diversity, equity, and inclusion—where all voices are heard and respected in a supportive environment. Recognition & Rewards:Performance-based bonuses, service recognition, and employee appreciation initiatives celebrate dedication and impact. Global Career Opportunities: With facilities across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, employees have opportunities for international exposure and cross-functional collaboration.

Job Summary

West aims to foster innovative technologies that improve patient health and enhance drug delivery. By combining early-stage funding with West’s 100 years of expertise in integrated containment and delivery systems, wearable devices, and digital technology, we can help turn today’s ideas into the products of tomorrow.

Our approach/intent is to create mutually beneficial partnerships where West’s expertise can provide added value and accelerate the development and delivery of our partners’ products to the market. We achieve this through strategic investments and providing our partners access to West’s extensive scientific, global manufacturing, and commercial capabilities.

In this role you will be expected to bring a substantial depth of subject matter expertise, knowledge of current developments in both research and industry in new technologies pertinent to West’s business. They are set to work closely both internally - with R&D colleagues as well as Commercial and Corporate Development teams - and externally - with startups, incubator and accelerator organizations - to bring through the correct technologies for the West Ventures team to target.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead all tech scouting due diligence activities for West R&D, enabling the company to discover, understand and explore new technologies that may lead to future inorganic investment.
• Responsible for the process of identifying, contacting, socializing, examining and analyzing target technologies and companies with the expectation to prepare findings into correct format for multi-functional stakeholder group to determine next steps.
• Collaborate and gain commitment with stakeholders internally within West (Commercial, Corporate Development) as well as foster external relationships with outside organizations (startups, incubator and accelerator) as needed to achieve project objectives.
• Work across West R&D’s numerous subject matter experts (SMEs) to understand technologies and determine trends and establish an SME network to support deep dives on selected targets.
• Translate highly technical results into easily understood recommendations that will influence senior stakeholders. Provide clear communication, proactively communicate plans and progress while escalating risks, or needs to remove roadblocks that may stall an investment.
• Travel to select targeted research or industry conferences to learn of and scout new technologies.
• Performs other duties as assigned based on business needs.

Additional Responsibilities

• Must maintain the ability to work well with others in a variety of situations.
• Must be able to multi-task, work under time constraints, problem solve, and prioritize.

Education

Masters in biology, chemistry, biomedical, chemical engineering or equivalent scientific or engineering discipline.

Work Experience

10+ years of experience, can include time spent either in industry or graduate school

Preferred Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Education: PhD in biology, chemistry, biomedical, chemical engineering or equivalent scientific or engineering discipline.
• Entrepreneurial mindset and proven experience in developing strategy, whether that be working in an academic or industry setting or any other in between (e.g. incubator, tech transfer office, etc.).
• Existing established and academic and/or industry North American network of collaborators.
• Knowledge of IT tools (e.g. DevOps, PowerBI, etc.) that can be used to track and report out on targets.
• Able to be aware of all relevant SOPs as per Company policy as they are related to the position covered by this Job Description
• Demonstrated ability to plan and lead complex projects and deliver milestones, can either be shown in relevant industry projects or via strong collaborative postgraduate research or a combination of both.
• Strong interpersonal skills to generate, maintain and grow research relationships and gain commitment from all internal and external stakeholders across research projects.
• Willingness to learn and to independently explore new technologies, companies and research, understand nascent technologies and be able to generate due diligence reports with minimal guidance.
• Excellent written and verbal communication and ability to articulately disseminate due diligence activities to a variety of different audiences, from expert through to non-technical. #LI-NJ 1 #LI-Hybrid

Travel Requirements

10%: Up to 26 business days per year

Physical Requirements

Sedentary-Exerting up to 10lbs/4kgs of force occasionally, and/or negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull, or otherwise move objects, including the human body. Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time.

West is an equal opportunity employer and we value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. If you have a special need that requires accommodation in order to apply to West, please send an email [e-mail] . Where permitted by law, an offer of employment with West Pharmaceutical Services, or any of its subsidiary or affiliate companies, is contingent upon the satisfactory completion of background screening.