Technical Sales Support Manager
Lesaffre
Technical Sales Support Manager
Lesaffre
Fermentation specialist advancing food and health
The role
We are seeking a Technical Sales Support Manager – Spirits to join our team as a technical expert and business enabler. You will be the go-to technical authority for our sales teams and customers, combining deep spirits production expertise with exceptional communication and relationship-building skills.
Expected location: India, Japan, Greater China, or Taiwan, etc.
Key Responsibilities are:
- Technical Leadership: Maintain and develop the technical knowledge of regional sales teams through training, presentations, and expert guidance on yeast, fermentation, and spirits production applications.
- Customer Support: Deliver technical presentations, troubleshoot production challenges, support pilot trials, and provide product training to beverage producers.
- Expert Leadership: Represent Fermentis at industry conferences, trade shows, and technical forums. Contribute to industry publications and participate in knowledge-sharing initiatives.
- Industry Networking: Build and maintain relationships with Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs), industry associations, and recognized institutions within the spirits sector.
- Project Coordination: Manage technical projects and trials between Fermentis and customers/partners, working closely with R&D and the Fermentis Academy.
- Quality & Troubleshooting: Support investigation of customer complaints and quality issues; assist with process optimization and technical problem-solving.
- Knowledge Management: Maintain and disseminate technical resources, FAQs, and best practices to the sales team.
Essential Requirements:
- 5+ years of professional experience in spirits production (whisky, rum, gin, vodka, brandy, or neutral spirits)
- Strong understanding of distillation processes with hands-on experience in spirits production preferred
- Excellent communication skills: Ability to deliver technical presentations, train sales teams, and engage with customers at all levels
- Problem-solving mindset: Experience in troubleshooting production challenges, supporting quality investigations, and managing pilot trials
- Self-motivated and independent: Comfortable managing projects autonomously and thriving in a travel-intensive role
- Networking capability: Proven ability to build relationships with industry professionals, KOLs, and technical communities
- Based in or willing to relocate to: India (preferred), Japan, Greater China, or Taiwan, with valid working rights
Additional qualifications:
- Formal qualification or certification in distilling/spirits production from a recognized institution
- Hands-on experience with multiple spirit types
- Knowledge of fermentation science and yeast applications in spirits production
- Previous experience in technical support or customer-facing technical role
- Familiarity with spirits industry regulations and quality standards
Travel: This role requires significant regional travel (40%+) across the region. Southeast Asia and South Asia (primary); Greater China, Japan-Korea, and ANZ (support), with occasional international travel to industry events.
Lesaffre is a global fermentation company with a long history and a turnover of €3.2 billion. It employs about 11,700 people from 100 nationalities and operates on all continents. The company develops and produces fermentation-derived ingredients and solutions for food, health, naturalness, and environmental sustainability, working with customers, partners, and researchers to harness the power of microorganisms. Its products come from fermentation processes that use microorganisms to transform raw materials into ingredients and additives for scale, safety, flavor, nutrition, and sustainability. Compared with competitors, Lesaffre combines global reach, large-scale production, and a deep, century-long expertise in fermentation, along with a strong network across customers, researchers, and regions. The company’s goal is to nourish 9 billion people in a healthy way by 2050 while making the most of the planet’s resources, using fermentation as a key solution to food and health challenges.
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