Sales Director

Socket.dev; Pittsburgh (Allegheny County); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Compensation package

Benefits program

Flexible working

Training & development

Diversity & inclusion

Job summary

LANXESS is seeking a Regional Sales Leader in Pittsburgh to build and coach a high-performing sales team across the region. You will define regional strategies aligned with global BU objectives and drive growth, profitability, and customer value.

You will oversee pricing, contract negotiations, and margin optimization while expanding the product portfolio, ensuring order-to-cash excellence and strong market presence.

Qualifications

• Bachelor degree in Business, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or related field.
• 8+ years in B2B sales in chemicals or food ingredients.
• Proven leadership of sales teams and distributors.
• Fluency in English; Spanish or Portuguese a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and develop a regional sales team for high performance.
• Define and implement regional sales strategies aligned with global BU objectives.
• Oversee pricing strategies, contracts, and margin optimization.
• Drive new business development and expand product portfolio.
• Ensure robust execution of forecasting, S&OP/IBP, budgeting, and pipeline.
• Enforce CRM discipline with call plans, visit reports, and account plans.
• Monitor market dynamics and translate into actionable strategies.
• Collaborate with Marketing and Global Key Account Managers.
• Represent the BU at events and strengthen market presence.
• Coordinate with internal functions for seamless order-to-cash.

Skills

Leadership

Sales leadership

Strategic thinking

CRM systems

Negotiation

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or related field

Tools

S&OP

IBP

CRM

Job description

Job Highlights

• Lead, coach, and develop a regional sales team, fostering high performance, collaboration, and accountability
• Define and implement regional sales strategies aligned with global BU objectives, ensuring growth and profitability targets are met
• Oversee pricing strategies, contract negotiations, and margin optimization, ensuring alignment with corporate guidelines
• Drive new business development, identifying opportunities to expand the product portfolio and strengthen the BU’s market position
• Ensure robust execution of sales processes, including forecasting (IBP), S&OP, budgeting, and pipeline management
• Enforce discipline in CRM usage and ensure that call plans, visit reports, and account plans are consistently maintained and leveraged for decision-making
• Continuously monitor market dynamics, customer needs, and competitive activity, translating insights into actionable strategies
• Work closely with Marketing and Global Key Account Managers to align regional priorities with global initiatives
• Represent the BU at industry events, trade shows, and professional associations, strengthening market presence and networking with key stakeholders
• Partner with internal functions including Marketing, Planning, Customer Service, and Credit to ensure seamless customer experience and efficient order-to-cash processes
• Collaborate with peers in other BUs who manage the same customer groups to ensure unified company representation and synergy in account management
• Coordinate with Global Key Account Managers within the BU to align pricing, service, and growth strategies across regions

Experience and Skills

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or related field (MBA preferred)
• Minimum 8 years of experience in B2B sales, preferably in the specialty chemicals or food ingredient industries.
• Proven leadership experience managing sales teams and distributors
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills. Strong commercial acumen, negotiation skills, and strategic thinking
• Experience with S&OP, IBP, and CRM systems
• Fluency in English; Spanish or Portuguese a plus

Location Pittsburgh
Employee Type Regular

Who we are

LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals company with about 12,000 employees in 32 countries. The core business of LANXESS is the development, manufacturing and marketing of chemical intermediates, additives and consumer protection products. LANXESS has achieved leading positions in the Dow Jones Best-in-Class Index and the MSCI ESG and ISS ESG ratings, among others, for its commitment to sustainability.

Be part of it!

What we offer you

• Compensation We offer competitive compensation packages, inclusive of a global bonus program and an individual performance bonus program.
• Comprehensive Benefits We provide a variety of benefits to support your financial security, health and wellbeing including retirement plans, health programs, life insurance and medical care.
• Work-Life & Flexibility We support you in maintaining a balance between working hours and personal life. With our global "Xwork" program, we offer flexible working arrangements in all countries in which we operate.
• Training & Development We are committed to your professional and personal development and encourage you in the ongoing pursuit of education, training and knowledge through both formal and informal learning.
• DiversityLANXESS is an Equal Opportunity Employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, age, social class, physical ability or attributes, religion, national origin, veteran status and political beliefs.

LANXESS has a value-based performance culture. We are seeking a range of human interests, backgrounds, and experiences that can be engaged to achieve respect, ownership, trust, professionalism, integrity and healing across all sectors.

We are looking to find diverse and talented people to join our team. Studies have shown that some individuals are less likely to apply if they do not meet 100% of the criteria. We are looking to equalize the gap! If you are excited about this role but your past experiences do not align perfectly with every qualification, we encourage you to apply. We will look to assess your talent against our competencies, values and requirements to get the best organizational fit. You might be the right candidate for this or other roles we have available!

Join the LANXESS team!