Business Development Manager / Applications Engineer - Optical Interconnect

SCHOTT AG

$110K — $190K *
Telecommunications & Hardware
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, Materials Science or related field; MBA/MS preferred.
  • 6-10 years in Business Development or Strategic Sales with proven record in complex deals.
  • 12-15+ years in BD/Sales for semiconductor components or opto-electronics/fiber optics with global account ownership.
  • Strong technical skills in Fiber Optics and data centers; excellent analytical and communication skills.
  • Proven experience in leading cross-functional teams and managing complex projects without direct authority.

Responsibilities

  • Identify high-value market segments and analyze AI data center trends.
  • Own the full lifecycle of opportunities and maintain a robust pipeline of prospects.
  • Act as a technical expert in Fiber Optics during customer engagements to optimize solutions.
  • Lead complex projects across various functional areas including Engineering and Operations.
  • Establish relationships with executive decision makers to serve strategic accounts.
  • Shape business value propositions and contribute to margin expansion initiatives.
  • Represent SCHOTT at industry conferences and contribute to thought-leadership efforts.

Benefits

  • Equity, diversity, and inclusion emphasized in corporate culture.
  • Support for personal and professional development.
  • Active health management programs offered.
  • Flexible working hours available.
  • Corporate pension plans to support future goals.
Full Job Description
Your Contribution

  • Identify high-value market segments; analyze AI data center trends (e.g., change from copper to glass in scale-up and scale-out); develop multi-year account strategies aligned with the SBF's commercial roadmap.
  • Own full lifecycle of opportunities; maintain 3× pipeline coverage; provide CRM-based forecasting; ensure pursuit discipline and qualification rigor.
  • Act also as technical expert in AI data center - Fiber Optics discussions and customer meetings, guiding the customer to win-win solutions (meeting customer requirements while optimize the usage of Schott's established technologies/ efforts).
  • Lead complex, cross-functional projects across Engineering, Operations, Quality, Regulatory, and Finance to advance design, feasibility studies, new business development initiatives, and portfolio optimization.
  • Establish and strengthen relationships with executive-level decision makers (CTO, CIO, Program Directors, Supply Chain); Serve as the primary commercial interface for strategic accounts.
  • Shape value propositions, pricing strategies, and competitive positioning; build ROI-based business cases; support margin expansion and commercial improvement initiatives.
  • Build territory and account plans; deliver accurate monthly and quarterly forecasts; track performance KPIs and implement corrective actions.
  • Drive CRM discipline, BD process standardization, and continuous improvement; enhance tools, governance, and business development workflows.
  • Foster strong internal alignment across Sales, Marketing, Engineering, Operations, and Quality.
  • Represent SCHOTT at key industry conferences; Contribute to thought-leadership, marketing collateral, and campaign strategy.


Your Profile

  • Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, Materials Science, or closely related field; Master's degree (MBA/MS) and/or formal training in strategy/finance preferred.
  • 6-10 years in Business Development, Strategic Sales, or Product/Portfolio Management in Semiconductor or related high-reliability component industries; proven capability closing complex technical deals.
  • 12-15+ years of progressive responsibility in BD/Strategic Sales for semiconductor components (incl. lasers) or opto-electronics/fiber optics (incl. data centers) with global key account ownership.
  • Regular business travel (approx. 30% of the time) with focus on the Pacific region (i.e., Silicon Valley).
  • Demonstrated success driving new business creation, shaping customer requirements, and leading multi-stakeholder technical-commercial initiatives at hyperscaler level.
  • Strong technical skills, ideally linked to Fiber Optics and the application Data Centers, strong analytical and structured problem-solving ability; excellent communication and presentation skills; proficiency with Microsoft 365 and CRM tools.
  • Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams without direct authority and manage multiple complex projects concurrently.
  • Proven leadership of large, international, cross-functional pursuits and executive stakeholder management preferred.
  • Experience with M&A screening, due diligence, or integration; business portfolio optimization preferred.
  • Record of driving commercial excellence (pricing, margin expansion, value-based selling) and continuous improvement.
  • Must be able to read, write, and speak English.
  • Excellent interpersonal, verbal and written communication, analytical and presentation skills are required
  • Due to the nature of work performed at this facility, US Person status may be required.

Total Compensation (Salary + Bonus) Pay Range: $110,000-$190,000
Actual starting pay is determined by a number of factors including relevant skills, qualifications, and experience.

Your Benefits

At SCHOTT, you can expect a unique corporate culture where we emphasize equity, diversity, and inclusion. We know: motivated and committed employees are the precondition for the success of our company.

Please feel free to contact us

You can expect interesting tasks and challenging projects, as well as motivated and friendly teams in fields that influence our future. Do you want to be successful with us? Then, please send us your application.

We are looking forward to your application.

Your SCHOTT Recruiting Team
" read-more-text="More" read-less-text="Less" job-portal-link-label="Job Board" benefit-intro="SCHOTT's openness to promote your further development is just as great as our additional benefits. Ranging from active health management via flexible working hours all the way to corporate pension plans: everything geared to suit your goals and needs.

Discover a special corporate culture where everyone has the opportunity to develop their entire potential.

At SCHOTT, you can expect a unique corporate culture where we emphasize equity, diversity, and inclusion. We know: motivated and committed employees are the precondition for the success of our company.

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