Market Development Senior Manager / Director

Description

About the Role

Flexsys is seeking a Market Development Manager to lead innovation projects from idea through commercialization — bringing new materials and solutions to the global tire industry. This is an entrepreneurial, market-facing role: you own the business case, the customer relationships, the competitive intelligence, and the cross-functional coordination needed to move innovations from concept to commercial success. You are not the bench scientist or IP strategist — those are your partners. Your mandate is everything external: identifying where the market is headed, building the relationships and insights that define what Flexsys should develop, and driving each innovation to a successful launch.

The ideal candidate is a technically grounded commercial leader — someone who can earn credibility at a tire plant engineering meeting in the morning and present a compelling business case to senior leadership in the afternoon. You will operate in a matrixed global organization, leading through influence, and thrive on converting deep market insight into tangible business growth.

Key Responsibilities

You will lead a single, accountable cross-functional team that moves each project from idea to launch, with no hand-off between silos. Your ownership maps to the stage-gate phases as follows:

Discovery & Concept

Hunt for opportunities; capture voice-of-customer insight; identify unmet needs and competitive alternatives; perform initial market and technical scoping.

Build the Business Case

Lead primary market research and VoC; clarify the value proposition; build the economic and financial analysis; define positioning and the path forward.

Development

Coordinate the cross-functional team while technical partners run the bench work; maintain market alignment; run parallel commercial and operations planning.

Testing & Validation

Manage customer trials and field validation at tire makers; confirm the market will accept the innovation and the value proposition holds.

Launch

Lead go-to-market planning — positioning, messaging, pricing, demand generation — and transition into routine business management / sales.

Across All Phases You Will:

Lead the cross-functional team (technical, IP, operations, finance, marketing, sales) through each gate — coordinating activities, resolving roadblocks, and keeping the project on strategy.

Own the external market view — customer unmet needs, competitive alternatives, market sizing, emerging trends, and the evolving dynamics of the global tire value chain.

Build and manage an active opportunity pipeline — identifying, qualifying, and prioritizing new market opportunities with rigor and commercial discipline.

Build and defend the business case — economic analysis, pricing, revenue forecasts, and the value proposition presented to gatekeepers and leadership.

Drive structured voice-of-customer programs and embed early customer validation throughout the innovation process — not just at launch.

Evaluate emerging technologies and adjacent materials to identify potential new applications and disruptive opportunities for Flexsys.

Coordinate marketing communications and go-to-market deliverables in partnership with the marketing function.

Represent Flexsys externally at customer sites, trade shows, and industry events to build relationships and gather market intelligence.

Requirements

We recognize that the full profile is rare. We are looking for a strong technical-commercial hybrid and are willing to develop the candidate on whichever leg is less mature. Required items are essential; preferred items strengthen an application but can be developed on the job.

Required

Bachelor's degree in chemistry, chemical engineering, materials science, polymer science, or a related technical field.

5+ years in a technical-commercial role — new business or market development, commercialization, or technical marketing — in specialty chemicals, polymers, advanced materials, or an adjacent B2B industry.

Demonstrated ability to identify unmet customer needs, articulate compelling value propositions, and build defensible business cases.

A true hunter mentality: consistently proactive in pursuing new market opportunities and expanding commercial reach.

Experience leading cross-functional teams through a structured stage-gate innovation process in a matrixed organization.

Ability to convert technical expertise into actionable market insights that inform strategy and drive partnerships.

Strong economic and financial analysis skills; capable of building models that make data talk.

Excellent communication and executive presentation skills — written, verbal, and visual.

Willingness to travel to customers and industry events (estimate 25–50%).

Preferred

Direct experience at a tire maker, or with tire additives, rubber chemistry, and the tire value chain.

Familiarity with marketing communications (marcom), go-to-market launch planning, and value-based selling.

Experience in a regulated industry where customer qualification, compliance, and supply reliability are part of commercialization.

Advanced degree (MS / PhD / MBA) in a technical or business discipline.

Established network within the tire, rubber, or specialty-chemicals industry.

What Success Looks Like

New market opportunities are identified ahead of competitors and converted into funded, well-scoped innovation projects with credible business cases.

Customer relationships at target tire manufacturers are deep and active — structured VoC is continuous, and insights are visibly shaping the innovation agenda.

Innovation projects advance cleanly through each stage-gate and launch on time, backed by validated customer demand.

The opportunity pipeline is active, prioritized, and trusted by leadership as an accurate picture of where Flexsys is headed.

Flexsys grows revenue through differentiated, customer-driven materials innovation in the global tires market.