Contract Business Development Lead — Advanced Materials
Competitive rate (fractional)
6-month contract (6–12 months preferred)
Remote (US-based)
~20–40 hrs/week
A well-funded advanced manufacturing company working at the frontier of high-purity materials production is hiring a Contract BD Lead to convert warm technical relationships into signed commercial agreements with semiconductor, photonics, specialty chemicals and industrial R&D buyers. The platform is differentiated, the technical story holds up under scrutiny and the market is early.
This isn’t a pipeline-building seat. The process is validated, the relationships exist and the CCO and CTO are already in the room. What’s missing is a closer to take those conversations through scoping, proposal, negotiation and signature. The company is explicit that it’s optimising for speed and buy signals over pipeline breadth.
What you’ll be doing
- Driving signed milestone agreements with semiconductor, photonics, specialty materials and industrial R&D targets within 90 days of start
- Owning the full commercial cycle from warm intro through scoping, proposal, negotiation and close, alongside the CCO
- Engaging VP R&D, CTO and Head of Advanced Materials–level buyers; navigating procurement, quality and legal efficiently
- Getting supply and offtake conversations with tier-1 feedstock and precursor providers in motion
- Shaping outreach materials that survive materials-science scrutiny — characterisation data, spec sheets, pricing, value propositions
- Building and maintaining the competitive supplier and benchmark catalogue that grounds the manufacturing story
- Identifying net-new opportunities across the advanced materials ecosystem from partnership signals and R&D investment patterns
What you’ll need
- A live, open network at CTO and VP R&D level in semiconductor, photonics, specialty chemicals or industrial materials — warm, not cold
- Proven closing record on technical commercial deals, not just qualified pipeline
- Fluency in high-purity materials, crystal growth, optical fibre, thin films or specialty alloys — enough to hold a room of materials scientists
- Comfort running procurement, qualification and legal processes end to end
- A 90-day mindset: this is measured on signatures, not activity
Nice to have
- Co-development or joint qualification experience with OEMs and tier-1 suppliers
- Existing relationships with major semiconductor, defence or industrial primes
- Prior fractional or interim work — you land and add value fast
Interested
Click apply with an updated copy of your CV. I’ll come back to you within 48 hours. If you don’t hear back within 48 hours, please assume you haven’t been successful on this occasion.