Senior Application Development Rep - Ami

Responsibilities

Senior Application Development Rep - AMI, based in Shanghai, China

We are seeking an experienced Application Development Specialist to lead technical translation from the external technical engagement with automotive OEMs, with focus on electric vehicle (EV) and emerging applications for automotive interlayers. You will support Business Development in building deeper technical relationships externally mainly with OEMs, help influence specification decisions, drive product adoption including advocating for next generation solutions, translate customer needs into product development language, and actively capture and share competitive and market intelligence to strengthen our technical positioning. You will lead internal technical translation by coordinating in close partnership with Technology teams.

Key Responsibilities

1. OEM Technical Leadership support— Support business development teams in building deeper technical relationships with OEM design, engineering, and value chain partners to understand translation of specification processes and help influence product adoption across interlayers applications.

2. Opportunity Identification & Cross-Functional Coordination support— Support business development teams in application opportunity identification at the OEM level. Translate validated requirements to internal Technology Product Development, and technical service teams for laminator execution.

3. Discovery & Systems-Level Problem Solving support — Support discovery interactions at OEMs to uncover unmet needs and emerging applications, applying structured frameworks (e.g., QFD, House of Quality) to convert Voice of Customer into measurable material attributes.

4. Competitive Learning & Market Intelligence — Treat every customer and industry interaction as an active intelligence-gathering opportunity — capturing competitive positioning, technology trends, and market dynamics, then synthesizing and sharing insights across business development, technical service, and product development teams.

5. Strategic Account Partnership support— Support key account management with technical depth, application roadmaps, specification strategy, and competitive intelligence to strengthen integrated account execution at OEM and value chain partners.

6. Advanced Technical Work & Prototype Development Coordination — Develop mastery in lamination science and OEM engineering processes. Lead internal collaboration with global technical resources to manage prototype development and validation against OEM specifications.

7. Structure-Property Translation for Product Development — Apply deep structure-property relationship understanding including polymer chemistry to translate OEM fitness-for-use needs into precise product language and partner with product development to shape multi-generation product and application plans.

8. Technical Credibility, Market Engagement & Commercialization — Lead deeper technical thought leadership through OEM forums, conferences, and publications; support commercialization by networking across Technology or R&D, marketing, sales, and manufacturing, and mentor junior technical personnel.

Qualifications

Education & Experience

• Master's degree in Materials Science, Polymer Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or related field strongly preferred; Bachelor's degree acceptable with strong relevant experience.
• 5 to 8 years of relevant experience in automotive interlayers, polymer application development, or OEM-facing technical roles.
• Demonstrated track record leading technical projects with OEM and Tier 1 automotive customers.

Required Capabilities

• Structure-property relationship expertise and ability to translate fitness-for-use needs into product language for product development partnership.
• Proficiency with QFD, House of Quality, or equivalent structured customer-needs translation frameworks.
• Direct OEM and Tier 1 automotive customer engagement experience.
• Working knowledge of lamination science and polymer processing.
• Active competitive learning mindset — ability to capture, synthesize, and share market and competitor insights from customer interactions.
• Mature communication skills with ability to tailor messaging to technical, commercial, and executive audiences. Fluency in Mandarin and professional working English.

Preferred Capabilities (Develop Over Time)

• Strategic account partnership and integrated account management experience.
• Cross-functional coordination across commercial, technical service, and product development teams.
• Experience in working with Technology or R&D resources or coordinating projects across global technical centers.
• Partnership with product development to shape multi-generation product or application roadmaps.
• Structured competitive intelligence documentation and dissemination across cross-functional teams.
• Develop working knowledge of innovation project financial.

Core Behaviors

• Cross-functional collaboration with strong team orientation and one-team mindset.
• Independent execution with strong judgment, prioritization, and follow-through.
• Curiosity, discovery orientation, competitive learning discipline, and customer advocacy.
• Accurate and timely documentation in CRM and technical reporting systems.

Travel:  At least 10-20% travel to OEMs, value chain partners, regional Technology or R&D centers, and industry events.