You will step into a senior commercial role managing and growing an inherited book of business from a long-tenured, retiring sales representative — giving you immediate revenue ownership and a running start rather than a blank sheet. Day-to-day, you will manage and expand existing accounts, actively prospect and develop new business across North and South America, and travel to customer sites nationally (up to 20% of your time), with the remainder based on-site at Soarus's Arlington Heights, IL headquarters. You will work closely with R&D, processing, and procurement contacts at customer organisations, drawing on your deep understanding of barrier film materials — EVOH, multilayer structures, coextrusion and flexible film converting — to position SoarnoL™ EVOH and the broader Soarus specialty resin portfolio as technical and commercial solutions. You will also serve as a mentor to a junior sales representative who is less than a year into their career, helping to build the commercial capability of the team around you. The role carries real strategic weight: as Mitsubishi Chemical continues to expand the Soarus portfolio across the Americas, the person who succeeds here is well-positioned to grow into a broader commercial leadership function as the sales team scales.
- 7+ years of technical sales experience within barrier film, flexible packaging, specialty resins or polymer sales - Hands-on working knowledge of EVOH, multilayer packaging structures, coextrusion and/or flexible film converting — able to have credible technical conversations with R&D and processing teams from day one - Demonstrated track record of managing and growing a book of business, including both account retention and new business development - Existing relationships within the barrier film or specialty polymer market — must know the customers, the competitive landscape and the products already - Comfortable engaging across technical and commercial stakeholders (R&D, procurement, engineering) at customer sites - Ability to mentor or develop junior sales staff - Based in or willing to commute to Arlington Heights, IL (hybrid); able to travel nationally up to 20%
- Familiarity with PVOH-based specialty resins (e.g. GOHSENX™ or equivalent) or water-soluble film applications - Experience selling into food packaging, automotive or industrial end-markets - Prior experience managing a territory handover or account transition from a departing colleague - Exposure to Latin American or broader Americas market development - Background working within a technically driven, small-team environment inside a larger corporate structure