Location: Berlin or Heidelberg
About Springer Nature
Springer Nature is one of the leading publishers of research in the world. We publish the largest number of journals and books and are a pioneer in open research. Through our leading brands, trusted for more than 180 years, we provide technology-enabled products, platforms and services that help researchers to uncover new ideas and share their discoveries, health professionals to stay at the forefront of medical science, and educators to advance learning. We are proud to be part of progress, working together with the communities we serve to share knowledge and bring greater understanding to the world. For more information, please visit about.springernature.com and follow @SpringerNature.
About the Role
We are seeking a customer-focused Corporate Business Development Manager with a strong background in Materials Science or related fields to help drive the adoption of our data and digital solutions within corporate environments.
As the primary customer-facing representative for our materials-science-driven data products, you will engage closely with scientists, engineers, innovation teams, including companies developing advanced computational or AI-driven solutions. You will uncover customer workflows, articulate unmet needs, and help translate these into structured insights that inform product thinking and future opportunities. As corporate customers increasingly rely on high‑quality materials data and digital tools to accelerate R&D, this role ensures structured relationship development and a strong feedback loop between customer needs and product development.
This role sits at the intersection of customer discovery, market development, and product insight generation, contributing to long-term commercial relationships and the evolution of our solutions.
This role will be in our Berlin or Heidelberg office on a hybrid working model.
Role Responsibilities:
Corporate Market Development
- Identify and assess high-potential market opportunities, customer segments, and materials ‑science ‑related challenges—particularly within data-intensive or AI-enabled organisations.
- Conduct structured outreach and discovery with scientific and engineering stakeholders to surface commercially viable problems worth solving.
- Analyse market trends, customer pain points, and competitive developments across materials-focused industries to inform product and commercial direction.
- Contribute to go-to‑market activities, including value propositions, pricing input, and positioning for highly technical audiences.
- Support the development of business cases for new or expanded data and digital offerings by grounding them in clear market evidence.
Customer Engagement & Account Development
- Build and maintain long-term, trust-based relationships with corporate stakeholders.
- Deliver tailored demos and discussions that connect our product capabilities to real-world materials science, engineering, or digital R&D workflows.
- Prioritise expansion opportunities within existing accounts—new use cases, new workflows, or additional product components.
- Represent Springer Nature at relevant scientific and industry events to build visibility and generate qualified leads.
Translating Scientific & Technical Needs into Product Insights
- Extract, structure, and synthesise customer feedback into science-informed insights that can support product evaluations and prioritisation.
- Work closely with Product Management to ensure materials‑science‑driven customer needs are clearly articulated, validated, and reflected in product discovery and prioritisation discussions.
- Map end-to‑end technical workflows (e.g., materials design, simulation, testing, data usage) and highlight where digital tools create value or solve meaningful problems.
- Track industry signals—scientific, technological, and competitive—to help identify emerging opportunities and inform product thinking.
Recommend adjustments to value communication, packaging, and licensing models based on customer behaviour and market evidence.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Collaborate with Product, UX, Marketing, Data, and Sales teams to support effective product positioning and a cohesive customer experience.
- Bring structured customer insights into product discussions, helping to shape messaging, discovery, and prioritisation.
- Partner with Sales to refine outreach approaches and strengthen internal alignment on customer needs and commercial opportunities.
Experience, Skills & Qualifications:
Essential
- Degree in Materials Science, Chemistry, Physics, or a closely aligned scientific field (bachelor's degree minimum).
- Experience in business development, technical sales, product-related roles, or strategic account management, ideally with a materials or data focus.
- Proven track record of engaging with corporate accounts and successfully progressing or closing commercial opportunities.
- Demonstrated ability to engage with scientific and technical decision-makers confidently.
- Ability to understand and clearly explain materials‑science and technical concepts to varied audiences.
- Strong presentation and narrative-building skills for complex scientific contexts.
- Experience interfacing with corporate R&D, engineering, or innovation teams.
- Proven ability to extract workflows, identify pain points, and translate them into actionable commercial or product insights.
- Strong analytical and structured problem-solving‑capabilities.
- Collaborative mindset suited to cross-functional, product-led environments.
- Excellent written and spoken English; additional languages are a plus.
- Comfortable with travel (domestic & international) and working flexibly across time zones.
Desirable
- Experience with data products, APIs, scientific databases, or digital R&D tools.
- Exposure to materials informatics, lab digitisation, experimentation data workflows, or AI/ML in scientific or engineering contexts.
Springer Nature Skills associated with this Job Profile include:
SN-Business Development, SN-Consultative Selling, SN-Customer/User Requirements Discovery, SN-Market Intelligence, SN-Customer-Focused, SN-Tech Savvy, SN-Critical Scientific Evaluation, SN-Communicates Effectively, SN-Persuasion, SN-Collaboration
At Springer Nature, our mission is to be part of progress – and that begins with inclusion: of people, perspectives, and ideas. We believe that diverse perspectives drive progress, and we are committed to creating an environment where people and ideas can flourish. If you have any access needs related to disability, neurodivergence or a chronic condition, please contact us so we can make all necessary accommodation. Find out more about our DEI work here https://group.springernature.com/gp/group/taking-responsibility/diversity-equity-inclusion
For more information about career opportunities in Springer Nature please visit https://springernature.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/SpringerNatureCareers/
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