Strategic Applications Development Manager
Job Title: Strategic Applications Development Manager
Department: R&D
Location: Hybrid between Waterbeach, Cambridge and Huntingdon
About Xaar
Inkjet Innovator. Trusted Partner. Sustainable Future. Xaar is here to create a world where you can print anything you can imagine.
For more information, visit www.xaar.com.
Xaar Values:
Xaar has defined 5 values which are vital to our business; each represents an area of essential importance to us. Their existence is intended to guide difficult decisions and shape behaviour.
Creative – we push the boundaries of what’s possible
Collaborative – everyone is a partner; we help each other freely and willingly
Innovative – we always strive to constantly improve
Integrity – we deliver on our promises
Passion – we care about our technology, our products, our partners and each other
Purpose of Role
The Strategic Applications Development Manager is responsible for identifying, developing, and commercialising new market and application opportunities that align with the company’s technology and product roadmap. This role sits at the intersection of product management, business development, and technical project leadership.
Working across a 1–3 year strategic planning horizon, the role focuses on discovering high-value market opportunities, validating them with strategic customers, and leading cross-functional teams to deliver commercially viable solutions. Once validated, these solutions will be productised and transitioned into the core business development and sales pipeline.
The role requires a commercially minded technical leader capable of managing complex customer engagements, negotiating commercial terms, and driving new application development from concept through to market adoption.
Key Accountabilities
Market & Application Development
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Identify and evaluate new market and application opportunities aligned with the company’s strategic technology roadmap.
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Lead market and application qualification, assessing commercial viability, technical feasibility, and strategic fit.
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Identify emerging customer needs and unmet market requirements that can be addressed through new applications or product developments.
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Develop a targeted, strategic approach to market development aligned with product and technology roadmaps.
Solution Development & Product Alignment
- Translate market requirements into technical solutions, product developments, or feature enhancements in collaboration with product and engineering teams.
- Work closely with product management and development teams to align application needs with future product capabilities.
- Support new product introduction (NPI) by ensuring emerging applications are integrated into product development plans.
- Customer Validation & Field Implementation
- Engage with strategic and halo customers to validate new applications and solutions in real-world environments.
- Lead field implementation and evaluation programs to demonstrate technical performance and commercial value.
- Capture and translate customer feedback into product and application improvements.
Strategic Project Leadership
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Cross-functionally project manage strategic new application initiatives from concept through validation and early deployment.
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Coordinate internal teams across engineering, product management, marketing, and sales to deliver project outcomes.
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Manage timelines, deliverables, and stakeholder alignment for complex application development initiatives.
Commercial & Contractual Management
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Lead commercial negotiations and contract discussions for new strategic opportunities and development projects.
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Develop and manage Statements of Work (SOWs) for customer-funded development or collaborative projects.
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Structure agreements that balance technical development, commercial risk, and long-term business opportunity.
Productisation & Business Handover
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Drive the productisation of validated solutions, ensuring they are scalable, documented, and ready for broader market adoption.
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Transition mature application opportunities to core business development and sales teams for ongoing commercial growth.
Stakeholder Engagement
The Strategic Applications Development Manager will work closely with senior leadership and cross-functional teams.
Key Internal Relationships:
Director of Product and Applications; Head of Product Management; Head of Strategic Marketing; Director of Sales; Director of Product Development; CTO; CEO
Knowledge, experience and qualifications:
Essential
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Proven experience in product management, business development, or strategic applications development roles.
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Demonstrated success in identifying and commercialising new market opportunities.
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Experience managing cross-functional technical projects from concept through delivery.
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Experience with customer-funded development projects and managing development partnerships.
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Strong background in new product introduction (NPI) processes.
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Experience negotiating commercial agreements, contracts, and statements of work.
Skills & behaviours:
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Strong strategic thinking and market analysis capabilities.
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Ability to translate market needs into technical and product requirements.
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Excellent stakeholder management and executive communication skills.
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Strong commercial acumen and negotiation ability.
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Comfortable working in ambiguous early-stage opportunity environments.
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Ability to operate effectively across technical, commercial, and executive domains.
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Entrepreneurial mindset with a strong drive to create new growth opportunities.
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Highly collaborative, with the ability to lead across functions without direct authority.
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Comfortable presenting to senior leadership and board-level stakeholders.
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Adaptable and capable of operating in global, customer-facing environments.
Additional Requirements
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Willingness to undertake regular global travel to support strategic customer engagement and application development.
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Ability to work across both Huntingdon and Waterbeach locations, with a hybrid working model.