Job Summary:
Zymo Research is looking for a dynamic individual to join our Commercialization Team! At Zymo Research, we believe the most meaningful partnerships are built scientist-to-scientist. The Scientific Collaboration Manager role is a highly technical, customer-facing position designed to embody this philosophy across multiple career levels.
In this role, you will engage customers as a scientific peer—building trust, opening doors, and shaping collaborations across academic, government, biotech, and clinical markets. As an advanced-degree scientist (MS or PhD) with hands-on domain expertise (e.g., microbiome, genomics, clinical research, molecular biology), you will bring value first: deeply understanding customer workflows, uncovering unmet needs, and demonstrating how Zymo technologies deliver innovation, quality, and impact.
This is not a traditional sales role. You will function as both:
- A hunter, prospecting and developing new scientific and commercial opportunities, and
- A technical collaboration lead, complementing Zymo’s non-technical Business Development and Territory Sales teams.
Beyond customer engagement, you will contribute to Zymo’s long-term growth by identifying emerging technologies, building data-driven business cases, and surfacing potential partnership, licensing, or M&A opportunities aligned with corporate strategy.
This role requires up to 50% travel for customer visits, lab interactions, presentations, and conferences. Success is measured by business growth, quality of relationships built, opportunities created, and strategic insights delivered.
Join us in making a meaningful impact!
Key Responsibilities
- Hunt and Build New Relationships
Prospect and identify high-value opportunities across academic, government, biotech, and clinical markets; develop outreach strategies that establish credibility and open doors. - Consultative Scientific Engagement
Act as a trusted scientific advisor by understanding customer workflows, technical challenges, and strategic goals; position Zymo solutions to deliver measurable scientific and commercial value. - Collaboration & Opportunity Development
Advance collaborations by connecting Zymo technologies with unmet customer needs and positioning opportunities for long-term growth. - Field Innovation & Strategy Testing
Pilot new engagement models, messaging, and strategies in the field; provide structured feedback to inform broader companywide deployment. - Business Case Development
Build clear, data-driven business cases for new opportunities, technologies, and collaborations; deliver recommendations that guide investment and commercialization decisions. - Technology & Market Scouting
Identify emerging scientific trends, breakthrough technologies, and potential strategic partnerships, including licensing or M&A opportunities. - Technical Thought Leadership
Represent Zymo at conferences, symposia, and customer sites through presentations, talks, and scientific discussions. - Cross-Functional Integration
Work closely with Business Intelligence, Market Segment Managers, Commercial & Innovation Strategy, Product Marketing, Sales, and other stakeholders to ensure aligned execution. - CRM & Pipeline Discipline
Document all interactions, opportunities, and pipeline activity in Zymo’s CRM with accuracy and consistency. - Clean Ownership Handoffs
Ensure smooth transitions of long-term account ownership to Territory Sales Managers or Partnership Managers for sustained growth. - Customer Value Focus
Ensure every customer interaction delivers insight, credibility, and practical scientific value consistent with Zymo’s commitment to innovation and quality.
Leveling Expectations (How Scope Increases by Level)
- Associate: Executes defined outreach and engagements with guidance; builds foundational relationships; contributes to opportunity generation and field learning.
- Manager: Independently owns territories or segments; consistently generates new opportunities; leads customer engagements end-to-end.
- Senior: Drives complex, multi-stakeholder collaborations; influences strategy; mentors others; regularly identifies high-impact opportunities.
- Principal: Shapes company-level collaboration strategy; leads flagship partnerships; surfaces transformative technologies or deals; acts as a scientific ambassador for Zymo.
Qualifications
- Advanced degree (MS or PhD) in biological sciences, biochemistry, molecular biology, or related field.
- Hands-on laboratory or industry experience in a relevant domain (e.g., microbiome, genomics, clinical research).
- Strong scientific communication and presentation skills across diverse audiences.
- Proven ability to build trust and influence through consultative, peer-to-peer engagement.
- Entrepreneurial, opportunity-driven mindset with demonstrated success creating new business.
- Willingness to travel up to 50%.
- CRM proficiency and disciplined documentation habits.
Measures of Success
- Growth of the business and pipeline.
- Number and quality of new opportunities created and advanced.
- Strength and breadth of customer and partner relationships.
- Business cases, collaborations, and technologies identified.
- Strategic partnership, licensing, or M&A opportunities surfaced.
- Positive customer feedback on scientific value delivered.
- Contribution to cross-functional alignment and strategic initiatives.
About Us:
Since its inception in 1994, Zymo Research has been proudly serving the scientific community by providing innovative, reliable, and high-quality research tools and products. Whether it's DNA, RNA, epigenetics, microbiomics, protein, or yeast-based research, our philosophy remains the same: To provide the highest quality products in the industry while ensuring they are both simple to use and reliable in their performance.
Recognized as a Top Workplace by the Orange County Register in 2021, 2022, and named a Top Workplace USA in 2023, Zymo Research continues to be a vibrant community where employees thrive, feel connected, and are inspired by their work. If you are passionate about contributing to scientific advancement and want to be part of an exceptional team in a dynamic, growing company, we'd love to hear from you!
Compensation, Benefits, and Perks:
The estimated base compensation range for this position is $90.000 - $120,000 a year at the time of posting. Actual compensation details will be provided in writing at the time of offer, if applicable, and is based on several factors we believe fairly and accurately impact compensation, including geographic location, experience, knowledge, skills, abilities, and other job permitted factors.
Zymo Research also offers competitive benefits and perks including:
- Medical, Dental, Vision, and Life Insurance Coverages
- EAP Sessions
- Vacation Time plus Company Holidays
- Paid Sick Leave
- Generous 401(K) with matching
- Employee Referral Bonus
- Complimentary fruit, snacks, and beverages
- Complimentary catered lunches on Thursdays
- Complimentary EV Charging
Equal Employment Opportunity Employer:
Zymo Research welcomes candidates of all backgrounds. These include sex, age, color, race, religion, marital status, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, physical & mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, military and veteran status, or any other protected status as defined by federal, state, or local law.
Location:
Onsite – Zymo Research Operations – 2911 Dow Ave., Tustin, CA 92780
Disclaimer: At Zymo, we take the integrity of our hiring process seriously. Please be aware of fraudulent recruitment activities that may use our name to deceive job seekers. We will never ask for payment, sensitive personal information, or financial details during the recruitment process.
All legitimate communications will come from an official Zymo or TriNet Hiring email address. If you are contacted by anyone claiming to represent us using a free email service (e.g., Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail) or asking for payment, please treat this as fraudulent and report it immediately to HR@zymoresearch.com