Senior Manager – R&D Program & Commercialization

About US

Scimplify is a science-first manufacturing company for Advanced Materials: from specialty chemicals to the emerging building blocks of next-generation energy applications, life sciences, and crop sciences.

We scale process development and manufacturing as one continuous system, supported by world-class R&D infrastructure and executed across a global network of 500+ manufacturing partners and thousands of scientists and technical partners. The result: new materials go from molecule to commercial scale in months, not years. Scimplify operates offices and teams across 5 countries with 1,000+ innovator customers in 40+ countries.

We are backed by investors such as Accel, Bertelsmann, Omnivore, Hitachi Ventures and 3one4 Capital, having raised over $80M.

Role Overview

We are looking for a commercially driven and operationally strong professional to manage the end-to-end execution of Scimplify’s R&D portfolio, spanning customer-funded CDMO engagements and internally funded strategic R&D initiatives.

The role will bridge scientific teams, Business Development, Procurement, Finance, and manufacturing to ensure that R&D opportunities are evaluated effectively, commercially viable proposals are developed, resources are planned efficiently, and engagements are executed through successful delivery and commercialization.

The individual will drive the complete lifecycle, from lead evaluation, technical coordination, costing, and quotation management to execution tracking, process development coordination, scale-up, and commercialization. The role will also establish structured operating mechanisms, improve cross-functional collaboration, and ensure that R&D initiatives translate into measurable business outcomes.

Key responsibilities

1. R&D Program Management & Execution

• Manage the end-to-end lifecycle of R&D engagements, from opportunity assessment and planning through execution, delivery, and commercialization.
• Oversee multiple customer-funded and internally funded R&D initiatives, ensuring alignment with business priorities, timelines, budgets, and expected outcomes.
• Establish execution plans, milestones, resource requirements, timelines, and review mechanisms in collaboration with scientific and business teams.
• Track progress, identify bottlenecks, manage dependencies, and drive timely resolution of execution challenges.
• Maintain portfolio-level visibility through dashboards, review meetings, and structured reporting to leadership.

2. Customer-Funded CDMO Business & Lead Management

• Coordinate with Business Development and scientific teams to evaluate incoming customer requirements and identify suitable R&D opportunities.
• Manage the opportunity pipeline from initial lead evaluation and technical feasibility through costing, quotation submission, conversion, and project initiation.
• Work with scientists to understand the scope of work, development requirements, resource needs, technical deliverables, and estimated timelines.
• Coordinate with Procurement to assess raw material costs, sourcing options, vendor availability, and other relevant cost components.
• Drive quotation preparation and pricing coordination, ensuring proposals are commercially competitive and financially viable.
• Track quotations, follow-ups, conversion status, and opportunity outcomes to improve pipeline visibility and win rates.
• Coordinate execution after project award, ensuring adherence to agreed timelines, customer deliverables, and commercial commitments.
• Facilitate customer communication, manage cross-functional dependencies, and support successful delivery and opportunities for repeat business.

3. Strategic R&D Initiatives & Commercialization

• Manage internally funded R&D initiatives undertaken to develop new products, improve processes, or create strategic business opportunities.
• Translate business priorities into execution plans, development milestones, budgets, resource requirements, and commercialization targets.
• Work closely with scientific teams on process development, optimization, scale-up, and manufacturing readiness.
• Monitor development progress, timelines, costs, and commercial viability against defined milestones.
• Coordinate with manufacturing, Procurement, and other relevant functions to facilitate the transition from laboratory development to scalable production.
• Identify risks, delays, and commercialization challenges, enabling timely decisions on prioritization and resource allocation.
• Drive the progression of successful R&D initiatives towards commercialization and measurable business value.

4. Procurement, Costing & Financial Coordination

• Partner closely with Procurement to plan sourcing requirements, raw material availability, vendor coordination, and cost estimates for R&D engagements.
• Coordinate with scientific teams to develop accurate estimates for materials, development activities, external services, and resource requirements.
• Work with Finance and relevant stakeholders to assess project economics, budgets, margins, and cost variances.
• Monitor estimated versus actual costs and identify opportunities to improve cost efficiency and resource utilization.
• Ensure commercial proposals and execution plans are aligned with agreed budgets and business objectives.

5. R&D Operations & Process Excellence

• Establish standardized operating processes for lead evaluation, feasibility coordination, costing, quotation management, project initiation, execution reviews, and closure.
• Develop dashboards and reporting mechanisms to track the R&D pipeline, active engagements, timelines, budgets, resource utilization, and commercialization milestones.
• Introduce structured governance and review mechanisms to improve accountability, execution discipline, and operational efficiency.
• Identify gaps in existing workflows and implement SOPs and process improvements to support a scalable R&D operating model.
• Ensure clear ownership of deliverables, dependencies, and decisions across all stakeholders.

6. Cross-Functional Stakeholder Management

• Act as a central coordination partner across R&D, Business Development, Procurement, Finance, and manufacturing teams.
• Drive alignment between customer expectations, scientific requirements, commercial commitments, and execution capabilities.
• Facilitate regular reviews to monitor progress, resolve bottlenecks, and maintain delivery commitments.
• Provide leadership with actionable insights on pipeline performance, resource requirements, execution risks, costs, and business outcomes.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Pharmaceutical Sciences, or a related technical discipline.
• An MBA or additional qualification in operations, business management, or supply chain would be an advantage.
• Typically 8-12 years of relevant experience in R&D operations, CDMO/CRDMO, process development, technical program management, or R&D business operations.
• Experience managing customer-facing R&D engagements and/or strategic internal R&D initiatives from development through delivery or commercialization.
• Strong exposure to costing, pricing, procurement coordination, resource planning, and cross-functional execution.
• Experience managing multiple concurrent initiatives, timelines, budgets, stakeholders, and operational dependencies.
• Understanding of process development, scale-up, technology transfer, and manufacturing readiness is highly desirable.

Preferred Industry Background

• CDMO / CRDMO
• Specialty chemicals and chemical manufacturing
• Pharmaceutical R&D and API development
• Agrochemicals and crop sciences
• Contract research and process development organizations
• Advanced materials

Key Skills & Competencies

• R&D program and portfolio management
• Commercial acumen and business-oriented decision-making
• Lead pipeline and quotation management
• Costing, pricing, and financial analysis
• Procurement and supply chain coordination
• Process development and commercialization coordination
• Cross-functional stakeholder management
• Operational excellence and process standardization
• Data-driven decision-making and problem-solving
• Strong communication, planning, and execution capabilities

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Lead-to-quotation and quotation-to-win conversion rates.
• Timely execution and delivery of customer-funded R&D engagements.
• Accuracy of costing, pricing, budgets, and resource estimates.
• Adherence to agreed timelines and development milestones.
• Cost efficiency and utilization of scientific and laboratory resources.
• Progression of strategic R&D initiatives through scale-up and commercialization.
• Revenue contribution and commercial outcomes from R&D engagements.
• Repeat business and customer satisfaction.
• Effectiveness of cross-functional coordination and R&D operating processes.