Market Development Senior Manager / Director

Flexsys is seeking a Market Development Senior Manager / Director to lead innovation projects for the global tire industry. This role involves owning the business case, customer relationships, and competitive intelligence to drive innovations from concept to commercial success.

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:
• Hunt for opportunities; capture voice-of-customer insight; identify unmet needs and competitive alternatives; perform initial market and technical scoping
• Lead primary market research and VoC; clarify the value proposition; build the economic and financial analysis; define positioning and the path forward
• Coordinate the cross-functional team while technical partners run the bench work; maintain market alignment; run parallel commercial and operations planning
• Manage customer trials and field validation at tire makers; confirm the market will accept the innovation and the value proposition holds
• Lead go-to-market planning — positioning, messaging, pricing, demand generation — and transition into routine business management / sales
• 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:

• 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%)
• 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