Head of Sales Specialist - Discovery Solutions, Life Science India
About this opportunity
Role Purpose
Accountable for leading and elevating the technical and scientific support provided to the sales team across India for Merck Discover Solutions. This newly formed role combines deep scientific expertise with strategic enablement to accelerate customer engagement, solution adoption, and win rates across multiple franchises (Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Biology, Instruments, etc.). Own the development and execution of technical enablement programs, site-level support excellence, and cross-functional collaboration with Sales, Marketing, Product, and Compliance.
Key Responsibilities
Lead and mentor the Sales Specialist function, ensuring high-quality scientific and technical support to the sales force and customers across India.
Provide strategic technical guidance to Sales Directors and Franchise Leads to secure, design, and position discovery solutions effectively.
Oversee and develop two direct reports: Lead for Analytical Chemistry and Lead for Biology; set clear goals, coaching plans, and performance metrics.
Develop and maintain robust technical playbooks, objection handling, proof-of-concept (POC) frameworks, and demonstrator tactics aligned with franchise portfolios.
Collaborate with Marketing, Field Sales, Global Discovery Solutions teams, and Portfolio leads to translate complex science into customer value propositions and competitive differentiators.
Drive technical training programs for the sales team, including onboarding, ongoing education, certifications, and field coaching on product capabilities, workflow integration, and regulatory considerations.
Represent India technical voice in regional Discovery Solutions leadership forums; contribute to global best practices and standardization of technical enablement.
Lead coordination for trials, pilots, and customer-facing demonstrations; champion best practices for evaluating and communicating ROI and total cost of ownership.
Ensure adherence to Merck’s ethics, privacy, and data protection standards in all customer interactions and technical engagements.
Partner with Regulatory, Compliance, and Quality teams to ensure all technical activities meet applicable laws and Merck’s standards.
Manage the local budget for technical enablement, customer demonstrations, and related activities; track ROI and cost per engagement.
Monitor and report on key metrics such as response times to technical inquiries, win rate influenced by technical support, quality of technical handoffs, and customer satisfaction.
Maintain relationships with thought leaders in the Science & Lab Solution space; engage in special projects as assigned.
Experience & Qualifications
Essential: Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, Biology, Life Sciences, or related field; advanced degree (PhD/Master’s) preferred.
8–12 years of hands-on scientific/technical experience in life sciences, chemistry, analytics, or related Discovery Solutions domains.
Proven experience in a technical support, solutions scientist, or field-based scientific enablement role within a life sciences or pharmaceutical context.
Demonstrated leadership experience with direct reports and cross-functional collaboration.
Excellent communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills.
Ability to work cross-functionally with Sales, Marketing, Product, and Compliance teams.
Desirable: Experience with discovery solutions portfolios, scientific data services, or analytical instrumentation.
CRM and enablement tools familiarity (e.g., Salesforce).
Prior exposure to India or South Asia markets with regulatory understanding.
Job details
How this role compares
Computed from every other active Sales role in our database, not just this employer's listings.
We currently track 2495 comparable Sales roles across 149 biopharma companies.
Salary context
652 of 2495 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)
Peers share this role's job function. This posting doesn't list a seniority level, so peers aren't narrowed by seniority either -- the range below may span more levels than usual.
Where these roles are based
Top locations among the 2495 comparable roles
+ 63 more countries
Seniority mix
977 of 2495 peers have a known seniority level
Therapeutic area mix
666 of 2495 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden
Similar opportunities
The closest matches from our peer group, ranked by how similar they are, not how well you'd qualify for them -- treat this as market context, not a guaranteed shortlist; a weak match is labeled as one below.
Open in 3 locations
Open in 3 locations
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How we calculate "similar"
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Every comparison starts from the same 100-point budget: 25 for working in the same function, 40 for the same therapeutic area, 20 for the same or adjacent seniority, 15 for the same country. A dimension we can't confirm on both sides contributes nothing, never a guess, never a free pass.
0 points, never a partial guess. A role we know almost nothing about beyond its function bottoms out at 25%; it never inflates to 100% just because there's little to compare against. Seniority uses a defined ladder (Associate → Manager → Associate Director → Senior → Principal → Director → Senior Director → Executive/VP) so "Director" and "Senior Director" count as adjacent, but "Director" and "Executive/VP" do not.