Industry Manager, Pharma – Food & Pharma Division

Alfa Laval Mid Europe GmbH; Richmond (VA); Remote; USD 135,000 - 165,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Full benefits package

401(k) plan

Medical/dental/vision/life

Job summary

Alfa Laval Mid Europe GmbH seeks an Industry Manager, Pharma to drive growth in the U.S. pharmaceutical and biopharma market. This national role bridges global strategy with regional execution, coordinating across business units and commercial teams.

You will lead account engagement, develop capabilities, and translate market insights into opportunities across biopharma, API manufacturing, CDMOs, and related segments, with significant travel.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Life Sciences, Engineering, Business or related field.
• 5+ years in pharmaceutical or life sciences industry.
• Strong networking and relationship-building across pharma.
• Proven leadership in building commercial teams.
• Knowledge of GMP, process technologies, and regulatory expectations.

Responsibilities

• Lead development and execution of the U.S. Pharma growth strategy across the Food & Pharma division, translating global direction into regional initiatives.
• Serve as the primary liaison between the U.S. organization and the Global Industry Manager, ensuring alignment on priorities and market trends.
• Drive enterprise-level account engagement strategies for priority Pharma customers and CDMOs, coordinating cross-BU collaboration.
• Lead key account onboarding by identifying high-potential accounts and driving opportunity generation to achieve end-customer sales.
• Manage CRM tools and leads, ensuring the pipeline is actively built and measured with leading indicators.
• Develop the team's capabilities through coaching, mentorship, and structured skill-building around bioprocessing and strategic account management.
• Identify opportunities in emerging Pharma segments including cell & gene therapies, biologics, mRNA, and sterile drug manufacturing.
• Monitor industry trends and regulatory drivers to guide commercial focus and messaging.
• Prepare and deliver customer-facing presentations and value propositions for senior audiences.
• Travel nationally up to 50% to support customers, sales teams, and events.

Skills

Networking

Leadership

Strategic account management

Communication skills

CRM software

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Life Sciences, Engineering, Business or related field

MBA/MS/PhD preferred

Tools

CRM systems

GMP knowledge

Job description

About the job

We are seeking a dynamic and strategic Industry Manager, Pharma to drive Alfa Laval's growth in the U.S. pharmaceutical and biopharma market. Operating at the divisional level within the US Food and Pharma organization, this role serves as a key connector across business units, aligning market priorities, identifying cross-portfolio opportunities and supporting a coordinated pharma growth strategy across the US. This nationally focused business development role will work closely with the Global Pharm Industry Manager to translate Alfa Laval's global Pharma strategy into regional execution while acting as a liaison between global industry leadership and US commercial teams. This role will align priorities, share market insights, support strategic initiatives and strengthen Alfa Laval's position across segments including biopharma, API manufacturing, drug product manufacturing, CDMOs, cell and gene therapy, and emerging modalities. This position balances long-term strategic value positioning and large greenfield opportunities with shorter-term retrofit, upgrade and replacement solution opportunities. Success in this role will require strong collaboration across business unit, product and application experts as well as local and central organizations to deliver integrated customer solutions and accelerate growth.

This is a national role with location flexibility; preference for candidates near pharma and biopharma regions (Boston/Cambridge, Raleigh Durham, Philadelphia, Bay Area).

Key responsibilities

• Lead the development and execution of the U.S. Pharma and Biopharma growth strategy across the Food & Pharma division, translating global direction into coordinated regional initiatives aligned across multiple business units.
• Serve as the primary liaison between the U.S. organization and the Global Industry Manager, Pharma, ensuring alignment on strategic priorities, market trends, key opportunities, and long-term growth initiatives.
• Drive enterprise-level account engagement strategies for priority Pharma customers and CDMOs, coordinating cross-BU collaboration to maximize total Alfa Laval value and strengthen strategic customer relationships.
• Lead key account onboarding by identifying, segmenting, and prioritizing high-potential accounts; initiate contact and drive opportunity generation to achieve end-customer sales across the pharma and biotech market.
• Manage CRM tools and related systems to develop and track leads, ensuring the business pipeline is actively built, maintained, and measured with accurate, data-driven leading indicators.
• Develop the team's capabilities through coaching, mentorship, regular feedback, and structured skill-build around bioprocessing applications, value selling, and strategic account management.
• Identify and develop opportunities in underpenetrated or emerging Pharma segments, including cell & gene therapies, biologics, mRNA, precision fermentation-based therapeutics, and sterile drug manufacturing.
• Monitor industry trends, regulatory drivers, competitive movements, and technology shifts to guide commercial focus and messaging.
• Support BU portfolio development by relaying Voice of Customer insights, product gaps, feedback, and market requirements.
• Serve as the national point of contact for major Pharma related initiatives, supporting Regional Sales Managers with application expertise, sales strategy, and competitive intelligence.
• Lead national account planning for priority Pharma customers and CDMOs, coordinating cross BU engagement to maximize total Alfa Laval value.
• Support opportunity development, including site visits, customer meetings, and technical presentations across the U.S.
• Build and communicate value propositions tied to sustainability, quality, reliability, and regulatory compliance - key purchasing drivers in the Pharma sector.
• Collaborate across Sales, BU teams, Engineering, and Service to ensure unified customer engagement and execution.
• Help build internal Pharma capabilities through training, application guidance, competitive positioning, and go-to-market enablement.
• Represent Alfa Laval at major U.S. pharmaceutical trade shows, technical conferences, and industry forums, positioning the company as a thought leader in sustainable and high-performance processing solutions.
• Develop and maintain strong relationships across the Pharma value chain, including engineering firms, EPCs, integrators, OEM partners, CDMOs, and end users.
• Support product quality discussions and customer feedback loops, helping drive continuous improvement initiatives.

What you know

You have a Bachelor's Degree in Life Sciences, Engineering, Business Administration or related field. Advanced degree (MBA, MS or PhD) preferred but not required and: 5+ years of experience in the pharmaceutical or life science industry, ideally in bioprocessing, capital equipment, or related technology solutions. Strong networking skills, with a proven ability to build and leverage relationships across the pharmaceutical and biopharma industry; an established professional network is highly preferred. Demonstrated success in business development, with persuasive communication and negotiation skills to identify, engage, and secure new opportunities that drive growth. Demonstrated leadership experience, including building or scaling commercial teams, coaching sales professionals, and driving performance in a matrixed or technical selling environment. Demonstrated success in business development, strategic sales, or industry management. Strong understanding of GMP manufacturing, process technologies, and regulatory expectations. Experience working with major Pharma accounts, CDMOs, or biotech clusters is strongly preferred. Proficiency in defining strategic direction and initiatives for assigned accounts, developing comprehensive sales plans to achieve growth targets Strong technical acumen related to Pharma processing (e.g., separation technologies, heat transfer, fluid handling, sterile processing). Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to shape messaging for technical and executive-level audiences. Strong analytical skills and familiarity with strategic planning. Ability to collaborate effectively across a matrixed organization and build alignment. CRM proficiency and strong organizational discipline. Willingness to travel nationally up to 50% to support customers, sales teams, and key industry events.

What’s in it for you?

Alfa Laval offers a competitive salary and full benefits package, including medical/dental/vision/life, 401(k) plan, and more. At Alfa Laval, we carefully consider a wide range of compensation factors to determine your total compensation package. We rely on market indicators to determine compensation and consider your specific job family, background, skills, and experience to get it right. These considerations can cause your compensation to vary and will also be dependent on your location. The base salary for this role is typically $135,000 - $165,000 annually.

Alfa Laval is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse workforce. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit, or business need, without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status.

About us

Every day, we get opportunities to make a positive impact - on our colleagues, partners, customers and society. Together, we’re pioneering the solutions of the future and unlocking the full potential of precious resources. Trusted to act on initiative, we challenge conventional thinking to develop world-leading technologies that inspire progress in vital areas, including energy, food, water and shipping. As we push forward, the innovative, open spirit that fuels our 140-year-old start-up culture and rapid growth also drives our personal growth. So, as we shape a more resourceful, less wasteful world, we build our careers too.

At Alfa Laval, we pride ourselves on creating an inclusive and dynamic workplace that values diverse perspectives and experiences. While we typically welcome applicants from all locations, currently, we are prioritizing candidates who reside in the US or have an established presence in the area.