Full-Time
Account Manager
Fluid Management
Asahi Kasei
10,001+ employees
Diversified chemicals, materials, healthcare conglomerate
Compensation Overview
$115k - $130k/yr
Remote in USA
Remote
Home-office based with up to 50% travel and occasional visits to the Glenview, Illinois office; territory includes Eastern US and Eastern Canada.
Bachelor's
 Sales & Account Management (1) |
|---|
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- A bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, or Life Sciences is required.
- At least 7 years of successful capital equipment or technical sales experience in biopharmaceuticals is required.
- Prior experience managing complex, multi-stakeholder sales cycles is required.
- Strong consultative selling and negotiation skills are required.
- The candidate must be able to influence senior customer stakeholders.
- Strong business acumen in pricing, margin, and forecasting is required.
- The candidate must be highly organized and demonstrate strong execution discipline.
- A valid driver's license and good driving record are required.
- Own and deliver against annual revenue, margin, and pipeline targets.
- Build and execute multi-year account plans for strategic customers.
- Develop and maintain a robust, qualified sales pipeline with 3-5x coverage.
- Lead complex capital equipment sales cycles lasting 6-24 months.
- Engage senior stakeholders in Manufacturing, Process Development, Procurement, and Engineering.
- Position the company as a trusted partner in process scale-up and manufacturing optimization.
- Translate customer process needs into integrated equipment solutions.
- Collaborate with engineering and product teams to shape proposals and technical positioning.
- Drive differentiation through value-based and solution-oriented selling.
- Lead pricing strategy and contract negotiations aligned with margin targets.
- Maintain accurate monthly and quarterly forecasting.
- Use Salesforce consistently for pipeline visibility.
- Coordinate with Engineering, Service, Marketing, and Inside Sales to ensure successful project execution.
- Act as the commercial owner throughout the project lifecycle, from sale through delivery and after-sales support.
- Provide structured insights on market trends, competitors, and customer needs.
- Support product roadmap development and new market expansion initiatives.
- Represent the company at industry conferences and technical forums.
- Travel regularly, up to 50%, within the territory for equipment product presentations, customer meetings, and after-sales support.
- Background in bioprocessing, including filtration, purification, or fluid management, is strongly preferred.
Asahi Kasei operates in chemicals, advanced materials, health care, and housing. Its products include polymers, rubber, battery separators, and filtration media for automotive and electronics; dialysis equipment, biomaterials, and diagnostic reagents for medical use; and insulation and interior materials for homes. The company differentiates itself through long‑term, collaborative R&D across multiple growth areas and by linking material performance with biomedical and housing applications, while pursuing environmental and social governance initiatives. Its goal is to maintain steady industrial revenue while expanding growth in sustainability, health, and advanced technologies globally.
Company Size
10,001+
Company Stage
IPO
Headquarters
Tokyo, Japan
Founded
1922
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- HighChem Shanghai started selling Acetolyte in China, broadening battery revenue without new factories.
- Finland's first commercial hydrogen refueling station installs Asahi Kasei's 1 MW electrolyzer.
- Peptistar's FO-MD deployment advances life-science commercialization and supports higher-margin process-equipment sales.
What critics are saying
- Canada's separator plant slips to 2029, exposing Asahi Kasei to EV demand whiplash.
- May 2026 restructuring exits MMA, PMMA, SB latex, SM, and polyethylene, costing ¥25 billion.
- China patent litigation against Songxuan and Changlong risks injunctions, damages, and precedent-setting copycat battles.
What makes Asahi Kasei unique
- Asahi Kasei spans chemicals, healthcare, housing, and battery materials across 2026.
- Its Acetolyte and Hipore separator technologies win licensing deals in China and Europe.
- The company commercializes industrial membranes and alkaline electrolysis, not just commodity chemicals.
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Benefits
Flexible Work Hours
Growth & Insights and Company News
6 month growth
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↑ 0%Asahi Kasei has developed a lithium pre-doping technology for high-voltage lithium-ion batteries with silicon-based anodes, addressing capacity loss issues that typically occur during initial charge-discharge cycles. The technology enables lithium carbonate to serve as an additional lithium source at lower voltages by using special electrolyte additives. Internal tests with an NMC cell containing an anode of 90% graphite and 10% SiO showed a 10% increase in energy density. The solution uses low-cost lithium carbonate and can be applied to existing battery manufacturing lines without significant modifications. The development targets growing demand from electric vehicles and humanoid robots, which require higher energy densities. Asahi Kasei will conduct proof-of-concept evaluations with customers worldwide to explore practical applications.
Asahi Kasei has signed its first Chinese licensing deal for Acetolyte™, a novel acetonitrile-containing electrolyte for lithium-ion batteries. HighChem Shanghai will produce and sell the electrolyte to battery manufacturers in China under a non-exclusive agreement. The partnership targets China's expanding market for high-performance batteries driven by electric vehicle and energy storage system growth. HighChem Shanghai will leverage its established customer base in the Chinese battery industry to drive market adoption. Acetolyte™ offers high ionic conductivity, enabling better battery performance at low temperatures and improved durability at high temperatures. The technology allows for smaller, more energy-dense battery packs whilst reducing manufacturing costs. Asahi Kasei previously expanded Acetolyte™ through licensing partnerships in Europe.
Asahi Kasei has installed its forward osmosis–membrane distillation (FO–MD) system at Japanese pharmaceutical CDMO Peptistar's active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing facility. The system dehydrates and concentrates liquids without heat or pressure, reducing freeze-drying time and accelerating API production. The technology addresses manufacturing challenges for heat-sensitive next-generation APIs like peptides and oligonucleotides. Traditional concentration methods risk quality degradation through heating or precipitation. Asahi Kasei's system uses osmotic pressure and vapour pressure differences across membranes to prepare high-concentration solutions whilst maintaining ingredient composition and avoiding precipitation. Peptistar is operating the system at manufacturing scale for batches up to 100 litres, evaluating it for GMP-compliant production. Asahi Kasei is studying prospects for future commercialisation as part of its Life Science growth strategy.
German battery manufacturer EAS Batteries has begun sales of its ultra-high-power lithium-ion LFP cell, incorporating Asahi Kasei's acetonitrile-containing electrolyte Acetolyte. The UHP601300 LFP 22 cell delivers 2,550 W/kg under continuous discharge, a 60% improvement over conventional electrolytes. With 22 Ah nominal capacity, the cell achieves 3,760 W/kg under two-second pulse discharge and offers 2,400 cycles at 5C/5C discharge rate. Asahi Kasei signed a licensing agreement with EAS Batteries in November 2025, with serial production starting in March 2026. The companies are collaborating on a 46xxx cell format targeted for 2026 launch, primarily designed for low-voltage electric vehicle batteries. They plan to sublicense their combined technologies to global manufacturers for mobility applications.
Asahi Kasei is delaying the start-up of its Canadian battery separator plant to 2029 or later, following Honda Motor's postponement of its Ontario electric vehicle plans. The Japanese materials supplier originally planned to begin operations in mid-2027. The facility was designed to produce 700 million square metres of battery separators annually, enough for approximately one million EVs. Honda holds a 25% stake in the project but pushed back its own Ontario EV plant from 2028 to 2030 last May. Asahi Kasei has slashed its North American EV market forecast for 2030 to two million vehicles from eight million, citing weakened customer demand. The company will supply North America by exporting separators from Japan and is exploring demand from AI data centre markets to accelerate the plant's opening.