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Benchling is an AI platform for biotech R&D, trusted by over 200,000 scientists globally, including major pharma companies like Sanofi and Moderna. The company is rebuilding biotech for the AI era by combining clean, structured scientific data with AI agents and models integrated directly into research workflows.
You will lead the Professional Services organization across EMEA, responsible for driving successful Benchling deployments, ensuring customer satisfaction, and maximizing client value. This is a strategic leadership role combining vision-setting with hands-on execution, partnering across Customer Experience and Sales to fuel company growth.
Key responsibilities include:
**Delivery Leadership:** Own end-to-end delivery quality, timelines, and performance across EMEA PS engagements. Partner globally to set and enforce delivery standards for complex, validated, and regulated environments. Serve as escalation point for at-risk engagements, working cross-functionally with Customer Success and Support.
**Team & Organization Building:** Lead, grow, and retain a distributed team across Europe, with primary focus in Zurich and London/Cambridge. Structure the team and incentive models to hit utilization targets while maintaining long-term client relationships. Build a strong bench through hiring, onboarding, and career pathing for implementation consultants and specialists. Develop managers to excellence.
**Partner & Ecosystem Management:** Manage relationships with systems integrators and delivery partners supporting EMEA capacity. Oversee partner performance and quality accountability. Determine where partner delivery capacity should be used versus built in-house, and manage transition points.
**Commercial Ownership:** Own SOW scoping, staffing forecasts, and financial performance for the EMEA PS book of business. Partner with Sales on deal structuring for new implementations, expansions, and renewals with services components. Provide accurate capacity and revenue forecasting to leadership.
**Customer & Executive Engagement:** Represent Professional Services in executive business reviews with enterprise pharma and biotech clients. Build trusted relationships with technical and scientific stakeholders. Champion adoption of AI delivery practices within the PS team and with customers.
The role requires fluency with biotech R&D processes and the ability to confidently interface with VP and C-Level Scientific & Research IT leaders at top biotech and pharma companies. You will work in a hybrid arrangement, expected on-site 3 days per week (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday).
**Requirements:**
- 8+ years in professional services, implementation, or delivery leadership roles within enterprise software; life sciences, pharma, biotech, or scientific software strongly preferred
- Ability to develop fluency with biotech R&D processes and scientific concepts
- Background developing a team with proven technical, business, scientific, and consulting skills for delivery success
- Proven experience leading distributed teams across multiple European countries, including navigating differing labor environments and travel/delivery cadences
- Experience leading and developing managers who own delivery quality and execution as a second-line leader
- Direct experience managing delivery through third-party systems integrator partners, including holding partners accountable for quality
- Strong commercial acumen: comfort owning SOW economics, margin, and forecasting
- Executive presence with technical and scientific buyers; ability to run high-stakes executive business reviews and escalations
- Fluency in English required; additional European languages (German, French) a strong plus given the DACH and French-speaking customer base
- Genuine enthusiasm for AI-enabled delivery models
