LIFE SCIENCES · DEEP SPECIALTY
We recruit for analytical instrument manufacturers, reagent companies, and lab technology providers — placing the sales reps, field application scientists, and commercial leaders who bring these products to market.
From pharmaceutical R&D labs and academic research centers to industrial QC, environmental testing, and microbiology — we recruit across every market these instruments serve.
Analytical instruments and life science tools reach a remarkably diverse set of buyers — pharmaceutical scientists running stability studies, academic researchers developing new assays, environmental testing labs monitoring water quality, industrial QC departments verifying product specifications. The same instrument may be sold across all of these markets, but the buying process, the buyer's priorities, and the commercial conversation look completely different in each.
Connexis has been recruiting in this space for over 25 years. Our founder Tony Bishop began his career as a chemist, then spent years selling life science capital equipment as a distributor rep at Thermo Fisher Scientific. That background shapes how we evaluate candidates and how we have conversations with hiring managers about what their roles actually require.
We've worked with leading life science tools companies including Bio-Techne, Unchained Labs, and IsoPlexis (now PhenomeX) — building commercial teams, running expansion staffing, and placing the field application scientists who carry these products into the lab.
Across commercial, technical, and operational functions for instrument and tools companies.
R&D Directors · Principal Scientists · Research Scientists · Software Development Engineers · Instrument Development Engineers · Bioinformatics · Assay Development
From the scientists developing next-generation analytical methods to the engineers building the instruments running them — we recruit across the full R&D function for life science tools companies.
Chief Executive Officer · President · Chief Commercial Officer · Chief Scientific Officer · Chief Operating Officer · VP-Level Across All Functions · General Management
We've placed executive leadership at both early-stage life science tools companies building their first commercial teams and established manufacturers scaling into new market segments.
What generalist firms consistently get wrong in this market.
A sales rep selling the same instrument to a pharmaceutical QC lab, an environmental testing lab, and an academic research department is having three completely different conversations. The scientific context, the buying process, and the call patterns are different in each market. Generalist recruiters consistently miss this.
Field application scientists need scientific depth AND customer-facing skills AND specific instrument knowledge — a profile that doesn't respond to job boards. The strongest FAS candidates are employed and reached through industry relationships, not active sourcing.
Connexis founder Tony Bishop began his career as a chemist, then sold life science capital equipment as a distributor rep at Thermo Fisher Scientific, and continued in instrument company sales at Instrument Specialists. That operating experience shapes how we evaluate candidates and what we recognize as strong fit for life science tools roles.
Three real partnerships in the life science tools market.
Single-Cell Proteomics • IsoPlexis (now PhenomeX)
When IsoPlexis was scaling their commercial organization, we ran a 50% expansion of their sales and field application team — placing sales representatives and FAS as they built out their go-to-market organization.
Life Science Tools Leader • Bio-Techne
We've placed commercial talent for Bio-Techne — one of the leading life science tools companies — supporting their commercial team with sales and applications placements. Bio-Techne's portfolio spans proteins, antibodies, and instruments across pharmaceutical and academic research.
Biophysical Characterization • Unchained Labs
We placed sales representatives and field application scientists for Unchained Labs — a fast-growing maker of biophysical characterization instruments widely used in biopharma research and development.
Connexis recruits across diagnostics, life sciences, and medical device — these practices often intersect.
Life Sciences
Our full life sciences practice overview — tools, reagents, CDMO, CRO, and biotech.
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Explore →Common questions about our recruiting practice in this space.
Yes. Life science tools FAS are among the hardest profiles to find — they need deep instrument knowledge, customer-facing skills, and the ability to run demonstrations for scientists who will probe the product hard. We've placed hundreds of FAS across analytical platforms.
Yes. We've placed commercial teams at innovative early-stage companies like Unchained Labs and IsoPlexis, and at established industry leaders like Bio-Techne. The search approach differs — startup placements need builders, established companies need operators — and we calibrate accordingly.
Yes. The same instrument may be sold to pharma QC labs, academic researchers, environmental testing labs, and industrial QC departments — each with different buyers, sales cycles, and commercial approaches. We screen candidates for the specific end-market experience your role requires.
Yes. We've run 50%+ commercial expansions for instrument companies — placing sales reps, FAS, and regional managers in compressed timelines. We understand the difference between steady-state hiring and rapid expansion mode.
We have recruitment experience for instrument companies selling into environmental testing, wastewater monitoring, food safety, agricultural science, and industrial QC markets. These end markets require different sales rhythms and buyer relationships than pharmaceutical or academic markets.