Senior Business Development Manager Role
Help Azora Biosciences grow its North American presence with high-throughput genomics laboratories that need custom DNA extraction and workflow solutions.
Azora Biosciences develops custom DNA extraction reagents and workflows for technically demanding laboratories where sample type, automation platform, throughput, downstream application and cost per sample all matter.
We are looking for a proactive, technically astute Senior Business Development Manager to identify progress existing and develop new North American accounts, create qualified customer conversations, support technical discovery and trials, and convert successful opportunities into long-term commercial relationships.
About This Role?
This is a senior field-based business development role at the intersection of genomics, automation, custom chemistry and high-throughput laboratory operations.
Azora’s customers are not looking for generic, off-the-shelf kits. They are often running complex, high-volume workflows where extraction performance, automation fit, reproducibility, yield, purity, waste reduction and cost per sample can materially affect the lab’s output.
The opportunity is to help Azora deepen its presence across North America by finding the right accounts, understanding their technical and operational pain points, and turning strong technical differentiation into recurring commercial revenue.
In this role, you will:
- Lead new-account development across North America
- Build pipeline through targeted outreach, conferences, referrals and market mapping
- Work directly with the Founder / CEO and technical leaders
- Represent Azora with high-throughput genomics customers
- Help customers evaluate custom DNA extraction workflows through discovery, proposals and trials
- Convert validated opportunities into recurring monthly commercial orders
- Help drive client adoption of innovative, new genomics technologies beyond existing DNA/RNA extraction technology.
New Zealand-Owned. Globally Positioned.
Azora Biosciences is a New Zealand-owned company with an international manufacturing and distribution footprint across New Zealand, Australia, the UK and the US. The company lists manufacturing and distribution sites in Hamilton, Sunshine Coast, Hereford and San Diego.
For a North American business development leader, this creates an unusual combination: the agility and direct access of a founder-led company, with the credibility and infrastructure to support key accounts globally.
A Different Kind of Business Development Role
Azora is not a large, inflexible organisation selling fixed catalogue products. The business model is built around strategic technical partnerships with high-throughput genomics customers whose workflows are too important, too complex or too specialised for a one-size-fits-all solution.
For the right accounts, Azora works closely with customers to understand their sample types, automation platforms, throughput requirements, downstream applications, operational constraints and cost-per-sample goals, then develops a solution that fits the customer’s real workflow.
- Strategic customers only
Azora focuses on key-account-sized opportunities, typically high-throughput organisations processing roughly 100,000 to 10 million extractions per year, not a long tail of small transactional customers. - Custom solutions, not catalogue selling
This is a consultative role where the commercial conversation starts with the customer’s workflow, technical pain points and operational goals. - Real technical partnership
The Senior BDM works with the CEO and technical team to shape discovery, trial plans, solution scope and commercial proposals. - Agile and founder-led
Candidates are not joining a slow corporate structure. They will be close to decision-making and able to influence how Azora grows in North America. - Long-term recurring relationships
The goal is not one-off project work. The commercial objective is to convert qualified opportunities into recurring reagent and genomics workflow revenue. - Meaningful North American growth opportunity
The role offers the chance to help define and build Azora’s North American commercial presence with customers where Azora’s custom approach can make a measurable difference.
Trusted by a broad spectrum of global clients
Azora works with leading genomics, research, agricultural, diagnostic and high-throughput laboratory organisations that need reliable, scalable and workflow-specific extraction solutions. Below are a few of these.
The Role Mandate
The mission of the Senior Business Development Manager is to build and convert a high-quality North American opportunity pipeline for Azora’s custom DNA extraction and genomics workflow solutions.
This is not a passive lead-follow-up role. The successful candidate will be expected to actively identify, validate and pursue new accounts, create qualified customer conversations, move opportunities through technical discovery and trial planning, and help convert successful trials into long-term commercial relationships.
You will be responsible for:
- Identifying and prioritising new North American target accounts
- Validating customer fit based on sample volume, workflow complexity and technical pain
- Creating new conversations through direct outreach, conference activity, referrals and structured follow-up
- Qualifying marketing and conference-generated leads
- Leading technical discovery of client workflow and painpoints
- Mapping scientific, operational, procurement and leadership stakeholders
- Working with Azora leadership to shape proposals, trial plans and commercial positioning
- Following customer trials closely and maintaining momentum toward commercial commitment
- Using HubSpot consistently to support reporting, forecasting and account discipline
What you will be selling
Custom Solutions for High-Throughput Genomics Labs
Azora’s initial commercial focus is custom DNA and RNA extraction reagents and workflows for high-throughput laboratories processing 100,000 to millions of extractions per year.
The role will focus primarily on customers where workflow performance, sample variability, automation fit, throughput and cost per sample are meaningful commercial drivers.
Relevant customer environments may include:
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Plant and crop genomics laboratories
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Animal and livestock genomics laboratories
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Microbial genomics laboratories
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Seed, livestock and agricultural testing organisations
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High-throughput molecular testing laboratories
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Genomics services, sample preparation and workflow-driven life science organisations
As Azora’s portfolio develops, the role should also be capable of supporting broader genomics workflow opportunities, including NGS-related solutions.
Ideal Candidate Background
We are looking for an experienced technical business development professional who can combine scientific credibility with proactive new-account generation.
The right person will be comfortable engageing in technical conversations with scientists, lab operations teams, procurement stakeholders and senior decision-makers. They do not need to be the technical expert in every conversation, but they do need to be credible, curious and able to understand where a customer’s workflow is creating technical or commercial pain.
Strong candidates are likely to bring:
- 5–10+ years in technical life-science, genomics, agbio, reagent, sample preparation, lab automation, OEM or related workflow sales
- Practical understanding of genomics workflows, DNA extraction, NGS, chips / arrays, automation constraints, sample quality issues and customer pain points
- A track record of creating pipeline from scratch, not only managing inherited leads
- Consultative, structured and persistent sales style
- Experience selling into high-throughput laboratories or multi-stakeholder technical environments
- Confidence managing long-cycle opportunities involving discovery, trial work and commercial conversion
- Comfort working in a growing company with direct access to the founder and technical team
- Ability to travel frequently across North America
Working Model
This is a senior individual contributor role focused on North American account development.
The role is field-based, with North America strongly preferred and the US strongly preferred. Exceptional candidates outside the US may be considered where they bring clear North American customer access, technical credibility and a willingness to travel frequently.
The Senior Business Development Manager will report to the Founder / CEO and work closely with Azora’s technical leaders during customer discovery, proposal development, trial planning and trial follow-up.
This is not a people-management role. It is a hands-on commercial role for someone who enjoys opening doors, understanding complex customer workflows and maintaining momentum through technical sales cycles.
Compensation
Azora is offering a competitive senior business development package, approximately USD $130,000–$160,000 base salary plus incentive, with expected OTE in the range of USD $170,000–$210,000, depending on experience and final package design.
Interested in a Confidential Conversation?
If you have experience building technical commercial relationships in genomics, life-science tools, agbio, reagents, sample preparation, lab automation or related workflow sales, we would welcome a confidential conversation.
This is an opportunity to help shape Azora’s North American growth while working closely with a founder-led technical team and customers whose workflows require more than an off-the-shelf solution.