Merck KGaA Posted August 9, 2026

Technical Application Specialist, Excipient Sales Development - San Francisco Bay Area

Burlington, Massachusetts, United States FULL_TIME
Sales

Merck KGaA is the source of truth for this posting and owns the application process. We surface normalized context and market comparison you won't find on the original listing.

About this opportunity

Work Your Magic with us!  Start your next chapter and join MilliporeSigma.

Ready to explore, break barriers, and discover more? We know you’ve got big plans – so do we! Our colleagues across the globe love innovating with science and technology to enrich people’s lives with our solutions in Healthcare, Life Science, and Electronics. Together, we dream big and are passionate about caring for our rich mix of people, customers, patients, and planet. That's why we are always looking for curious minds that see themselves imagining the unimaginable with us.

Role is based in San Francisco Bay Area with a territory of Northern California, WA, OR, and CO.

Your Role:

We are seeking a dynamic, customer-focused Technical Application Specialist – Excipients Sales Development to drive growth through scientific engagement and application expertise for our portfolio of differentiated excipients used in pharmaceutical formulation (large and small molecules) resulting in achievement of revenue targets.

In this hybrid technical-commercial role, you will serve as both a scientific consultant and business driver, engaging formulation scientists, R&D teams, and decision-makers to translate customer needs into product solutions. You will collaborate across functions, Customer Applications, Sales, Product Management, and R&D, to accelerate business opportunities and enhance customer success through high-impact engagements, technical seminars, and application-based solutions.  You can expect domestic travel of 50% within assigned territory.

Key Responsibilities:

Achieve sales targets by collaborating with the sales and product management teams to qualify, pursue, propose, negotiate and close customer opportunities.

Increase opportunity win rate by driving New Product Introduction and Competitive Conversion initiatives.

Establishing new relationships with formulation scientists, regulatory & quality experts, and decision makers; growing existing relationships and ensuring effective communication of the scientific and value-drive advantages of our portfolio of excipients.

Partner with Account Managers to develop and execute Hunting Opportunity Concepts, driving the short and long-term growth of our business by identifying and developing new business opportunities.

Lead technical consultations and seminars that highlight the value to the customer for both small and large molecule formulations.

Maintain up-to-date knowledge of regulatory guidelines, industry trends, and emerging technologies in drug product formulation.

Work internally across Customer Applications, Field Marketing, Modalities, Product Managers, R&D teams to influence portfolio direction and enhance customer value delivery.

Monitor competitive landscape and emerging customer needs to drive strategic positioning and differentiated solutions.

Bring customer and market intelligence back to internal teams to help shape product positioning, competitive strategy, and innovation pipelines.

Success Metrics:

Achievement of revenue targets through conversion of opportunity development into wins.

Execution of customer trials, resulting in New Product and Competitive Conversion wins.

Pipeline robustness through continuous high-value demand generation.

Who You Are

Minimum Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Industrial Pharmacy, or related discipline.

5+ years of relevant experience in formulation, excipients, or pharmaceutical product development within the life sciences or biopharma industry.

2+ years in a customer-facing technical or commercial role (e.g., sales, technical applications, business development).

Strong knowledge of formulation principles for biologics and small molecules, including excipient functionality and regulatory considerations.

Excellent communication, presentation, relationship-building, storytelling, and influencing skills.

 

Preferred Qualifications:

Advanced degree in a relevant field, e.g. Industrial Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Science.

Experience with cGMP drug product development, manufacturing, and downstream processing.

Proficient in CRM systems and digital tools; strong analytical skills.

Business and/or marketing experience is a plus.

Customer-centric with an entrepreneurial and proactive mindset.

Strong scientific curiosity and questioning skills.

Agile, organized, and adaptive to dynamic priorities in cross functional environments.

Pay Range for this position: $100,400 - $167,300​

The offer range represents the anticipated low and high end of the base pay compensation for this position. The actual compensation offered will be determined by factors such as location, level of experience, education, skills, and other job-related factors. Position may be eligible for sales or performance-based bonuses. Benefits offered by the Company include health insurance, paid time off (PTO), retirement contributions, and other perquisites. For more information click here .

What we offer: We are curious minds that come from a broad range of backgrounds, perspectives, and life experiences. We believe that this variety drives excellence and innovation, strengthening our ability to lead in science and technology. We are committed to creating access and opportunities for all to develop and grow at your own pace. Join us in building a culture of inclusion and belonging that impacts millions and empowers everyone to work their magic and champion human progress!

Apply now and become a part of a team that is dedicated to Sparking Discovery and Elevating Humanity!

Job details

Seniority
Not listed
Function
Sales
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Burlington, Massachusetts, United States
Employment type
FULL_TIME

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.

2495Comparable roles tracked
2391Currently active
149Companies hiring similar roles
69Countries represented

Salary context

651 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.

This roleSubject $100,400/yr – $167,300/yr
Lowest disclosed · Patient Coordinator 1 (PSC) · Novartis $37,200/yr – $69,200/yr
Highest disclosed · Vice President, Head of Oncology Sales · Novartis $274,400/yr – $509,600/yr
Peer group range $53,200 – $392,000 (median $135,500)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 2495 comparable roles

United States1319
China385
India85
Japan55
Taiwan55
Germany54

+ 63 more countries

Seniority mix

977 of 2495 peers have a known seniority level

Manager449
Senior429
Director67
Associate Director12
Intern/Fellow/Postdoc8
Associate7
Executive/VP4
Senior Director1

Therapeutic area mix

666 of 2495 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Oncology181
Cardiovascular / CVRM140
Neuroscience128
Dermatology & Aesthetics45
Vaccines & Infectious Disease44
Respiratory39
Immunology33
Rare Disease30
Gastroenterology22
Ophthalmology4

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How we calculate "similar"

No black box, no LLM guesswork: a deterministic score built from four normalized attributes. Here's this role's own peer group at different match levels, so you can see the mechanism, not just the result.

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.

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Unmatched or unknown dimensions score exactly the same: 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.