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 broader life science market. This nationally focused role will translate Alfa Laval's global Pharma strategy into regional execution, working closely with the Global Industry Manager, Pharma to align priorities, share market insights, and build commercial success.

This is a business development role ideal for a commercially minded, technically savvy professional who thrives at the intersection of innovation, regulatory driven industries, and advanced processing technologies. You will partner across business units, support regional sales teams, and strengthen Alfa Laval's market position across key segments such as biopharma, API manufacturing & drug product manufacturing, CDMOs, cell & gene therapy producers, and emerging modalities.

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

From a daily responsibility standpoint, you will:

• Develop and implement U.S. pharma and biopharma growth plans by localizing global strategy, aligning with business unit objectives, and collaborating with the Global Industry Manager to share market insights and drive joint initiatives.
• Build and lead a dedicated Pharma commercial team, including defining roles, recruiting top sales talent, and establishing clear performance expectations.
• Develop the team's capabilities through coaching, mentorship, regular feedback, and structured skill-building around bioprocessing applications, value selling, and strategic account management.
• 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.
• Translate the global Pharma industry strategy into actionable U.S. plans aligned with business unit (BU) goals and customer needs by partnering closely with the Global Industry Manager to ensure alignment, share North American insights, and codevelop joint initiatives.
• 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 (FDA, ASME BPE and cGMP), 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.

We care about diversity, inclusion and equity in our recruitment processes. We also believe behavioral traits can provide important insights into a candidate's fit to a role. To help us achieve this we apply Pymetrics assessments, and upon application you will be invited to play the assessment games.

What's in it for you?

At Alfa Laval, we carefully consider a wide range of factors to determine your total compensation package. We rely on market indicators and consider your specific job, background, skills, and experience to get it right. The base salary for this role is typically $135,000 to $165,000.