Principal Business Development Manager Pharma

Overview

We are seeking a dynamic, strategic, and results driven Business Development Manager to join our team. The ideal candidate will drive growth and expand market presence for bioanalytical solutions across academic institutions, government research labs, core facilities, non‑profit research centres, CROs and Pharma Discovery Labs.

This role places strong emphasis on communicating the value of LC‑MS–based and flow cytometry bioanalytical endpoints to diverse scientific communities. You will collaborate closely with regional sales and marketing teams, develop targeted commercial plans for

Pharma Discovery, DMPK, Bioanalysis, and Contract Research markets, and build trusted relationships with scientific leaders, laboratory managers, decision makers, and research stakeholders. 

This is a remote position, with flexibility to work from any location across EMEA, with travel required to support customers, industry events, and business development activities across the region. 

Responsibilities

Lead Generation & Market Expansion

• • Ability to identify, target, and engage high-value pharmaceutical, biotech, and contract research organization (CRO) customers across the drug discovery and development continuum. 
  • Skilled in developing and executing commercial strategies aligned to Pharma Discovery, DMPK, Bioanalysis, Translational Research, and Early Development priorities. 
  • Proven ability to uncover new opportunities, influence key stakeholders, and drive sustainable revenue growth in complex scientific environments. 

  Networking & Relationship Management 

  • Proven ability to build long-term relationships with pharmaceutical researchers, DMPK scientists, bioanalytical leaders, laboratory directors, and CRO decision-makers. 
  • Excellent interpersonal communication skills that enable strong partnerships with customers, key opinion leaders, and cross-functional internal teams. 
  • Ability to establish trusted advisor status by aligning scientific solutions to customer workflow and business objectives. 

  Analytical & Negotiation Skills 

  • Strong analytical mindset with the ability to interpret industry trends, competitive landscapes, emerging modalities, and evolving pharmaceutical research priorities. 
  • Effective negotiation skills for enterprise agreements, strategic partnerships, workflow adoption, and multi-site purchasing decisions. 
  • Ability to develop business cases and value propositions that address scientific, operational, and commercial customer needs. 

  Communication & Presentation 

  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to articulate complex scientific and workflow solutions to diverse audiences. 
  • Confident presenter capable of engaging scientists, laboratory leadership, and executive stakeholders. 
  • Creative self-starter who can design and execute impactful customer engagement programs and influence cross-functional teams. 

  Technical Expertise 

  • Strong understanding of LC-MS, mass spectrometry, and flow cytometry applications across drug discovery, DMPK, bioanalysis, biomarker research, and drug development workflows. 
  • Ability to communicate the value of integrated workflows spanning instrumentation, informatics, automation, and analytical services. 
  • Knowledge of bioanalytical challenges related to sensitivity, throughput, data quality, regulatory expectations, and complex modalities is highly desirable. 

Cross‑Functional Collaboration

• Partner with sales, marketing, product management, and the broader Waters Analytical Science  business segment to deliver cohesive, research-focused solutions to customers.

Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in a lifescience related‑ field.
• An MBA or a Master’s/PhD in a scientific discipline is highly advantageous.

Experience

• Minimum 5 years of experience in sales or business development serving academic, government, or pharmaceutical scientific markets.
• Demonstrated ability to assess research needs and translate them into effective commercial strategies.
• Proficiency with Salesforce CRM and business analytics tools for managing pipelines, forecasting, and account planning, as well as Microsoft Office suite.

Skills and Abilities

Strategic Sales & Marketing

• Ability to identify, target, and engage high value‑ research institutions and Pharmaceutical Discovery customers.
• Skilled in developing marketing strategies tailored to academic research cycles and organizational structures.

Networking & Relationship Management

• Proven ability to build long-term relationships across universities, core facilities, research institutes, and Pharmaceutical Discovery labs.
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills that enable connection with researchers, Lab Directors and internal teams.

Analytical & Negotiation Skills

• Strong analytical mindset to interpret scientific trends, grant funding patterns, and organisational priorities.
• Effective negotiation skills for instrument sales, multi-group purchases, and service or workflow agreements.

Communication & Presentation

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; able to clearly present complex scientific solutions.
• Creative self-starter who can design and execute impactful customer engagement programs.
• Ability to motivate and influence cross-functional teams.

Technical Expertise

• Deep understanding of liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, and flow cytometry as applied to academic, Pharmaceutical Discovery and translational research.
• Ability to communicate research applications, workflow integration, and value propositions to diverse scientific audiences.

Travel Requirement

• Willingness to travel up to 50% for customer meetings, scientific seminars, conferences, workflow demonstrations, and team activities throughout the EMEA region. 

   

  Reporting Line 

  Reports directly to the Pharma Program Lead within the LC-MS Business Segment of the Analytical Instruments Group. 

Company Description

Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) is a global leader in life sciences and diagnostics, dedicated to accelerating the benefits of pioneering science through analytical technologies, informatics, and service. With a focus on regulated, high-volume testing environments, our innovative portfolio harnesses deep scientific expertise across chemistry, physics, and biology. We collaborate with customers around the world to advance the release of effective, high-quality medicines, ensure the safety of food and water, and drive better patient outcomes by detecting diseases earlier, managing routine infections, and combating antibiotic resistance. Through a shared culture of relentless innovation, our passionate team of ~16,000 colleagues turn scientific challenges into breakthroughs that improve lives worldwide. 

Diversity and inclusion are fundamental to our core values at Waters Corporation. It benefits our employees, our products, our customers and our community. Waters complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws. Qualified applicants are considered without regard to sex, race, color, ancestry, national origin, citizenship status, religion, age, marital status (including civil unions), military service, veteran status, pregnancy (including childbirth and related medical conditions), genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, legally recognized disability, domestic violence victim status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Waters is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. All hiring decisions are based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs at the time.