Head of Sales, Europe - Bioactive Ingredients — Beauty & Personal Care

About Debut

Debut is the unconventional innovation lab spearheading the next generation of big business. Only Debut has a scalable, integrated, climate-positive creation model powered by biotechnology that puts human wellbeing at the center of everything we do—setting the new standard for profitable business and a new pace for an ever-changing world.  Our hybrid biotechnology approaches unlock latent markets, providing access to sustainably produced, natural ingredients with health benefits that cannot be obtained through other methods. We are committed to traversing the entire process, from ingredient discovery to the scaling of these products, for consumer markets. If you are passionate, enjoy fast-paced innovation and collaborative teams, then Debut is for you.  

Summary  

Debut is a vertically integrated, AI-enabled biotech building the next generation of bioactive ingredients for beauty and personal care. We use proprietary datasets and computational screening to move from discovery to retail shelf in under 24 months  a fraction of the industry standard. Our ingredients are already in products with L'Oréal and Natura. We're now bringing that platform to Europe. 

Debut is seeking a dynamic and results-driven Head of Sales, Bioactive Ingredients for Beauty & Personal Care in Europe to drive market penetration of our high-performing, novel biotechnology-derived ingredients across contract manufacturers and EU- based beauty brands. This is the founding commercial role for Debut in Europe, reporting directly to the CEO. You'll own the European go-to-market for our bioactive ingredient portfolio selling into contract manufacturers and EU-based beauty brands, proving the thesis, and building the team and office behind you. If you've wanted to run a region rather than a territory, this is that role. 

You'll sell with two complementary propositions: Debut's catalog of clinically validated bioactive ingredients and our ingredient discovery program which uses our biotechnology platform to create proprietary, ownable ingredient complexes for brands and CMs in roughly 12 weeks. Together they give you both a near-term volume product and a high-value, custom-IP conversation to take into every brand and CM in Europe. 

This is an ingredient sales role, not a formulation sales role. You're selling the actives themselves into formulators and brands. Our internal formulation team provides technical and application support to your accounts so you have scientific firepower behind you on every pitch but the commercial mandate is the ingredient. 

 

Essential Functions  

•  Own and execute the commercial strategy for ingredient sales across Europe, with a primary focus on achieving deep integration of Debut's active ingredient portfolio into contract manufacturer formulation libraries and driving market penetration of high-performing, novel biotechnology-derived ingredients across EU-based beauty brands, with responsibility for building the commercial infrastructure that supports future formulation expansion. 
• Identify, engage, and develop deep partnerships with contract manufacturers and beauty brands across Europe with the objective of achieving broad ingredient adoption across all major CMs and key brand accounts in the region. 

• Serve as the primary relationship holder and commercial point of contact for both CMs and EU-based beauty brands, driving ingredient specification, formulation integration, securing long-term ingredient supply agreements, and establishing Debut's actives as the preferred performance ingredient across key CM formulation libraries and brand development pipelines. 

• Travel to meet with clients, attend industry events, conduct product presentations, and close business, with travel to the United States 1-2 times per year as needed. 

• Plan and organize regional trade shows and industry events in coordination with the marketing team and other sales hires across Europe, including identifying the right shows, managing logistics, coordinating booth presence, and arranging for senior leadership and technical team members to attend and present as appropriate. 

• Translate local market intelligence, including regional trends, CM needs, beauty brand priorities, competitive dynamics, regulatory shifts specific to the EU market, and customer feedback, into actionable insights that inform Debut's broader global commercial strategy, product roadmap, and go-to-market planning. 

• Develop and maintain a robust sales pipeline with clear forecasting, reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer on progress, pipeline health, market intelligence, and strategic partnership development across both CM and brand channels. 

• Work autonomously and at pace to capitalize on market opportunities, requiring minimal day-to-day oversight while maintaining strong alignment with global commercial objectives. 

• Collaborate with Debut's R&D, formulations, marketing, and operations teams to ensure customer needs are met and that Debut's ingredient value proposition is effectively communicated to both contract manufacturers and EU-based beauty brand partners. 

• Represent Debut at trade shows, industry conferences, and customer events across the region and build a team as needed for broader penetration across the European market. 

• This position is based in either France or Germany. 

 

 Education and Experience  

 Important: Candidates who do not meet the minimum experience requirement below will not be considered for this role.   

• 10+ years selling specialty cosmetic actives or functional ingredients into the European beauty and personal care industry 

• An active, current network of formulators and procurement contacts at the major EU contract manufacturers (France, Italy, Germany, Iberia) 

• Direct relationships with R&D and product development leaders at European beauty brands 

• Track record of opening new accounts and closing technical sales with long evaluation cycles 

• Comfort operating as the first person on the ground building process rather than inheriting it 

• Fluent English plus French or German; additional European languages a plus 

• Willingness to travel extensively across Europe, plus 1–2 trips per year to Debut HQ in the US 

• Experience launching a novel ingredient platform (not just selling an established catalog) preferred 

• Scientific background — biochemistry, cosmetic science, or chemistry preferred 

• Prior experience building a team or a regional office preferred  

 
 

Essential Physical Characteristics  

The physical characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of a job, on a case-by-case basis.  

• Frequent sitting, standing, and walking during customer meetings, trade shows, and extended travel.  

• Repetitive use of hands to operate computers, mobile devices, and presentation equipment.  

• Ability to carry and transport sales materials and samples weighing up to 30 pounds.  

• Frequent air travel, including long-haul international flights across time zones.  

• Ability to navigate diverse physical environments including manufacturing facilities, trade show floors, and customer offices.  

 

Condition of Employment  

As part of Debut's pre-employment process, prospective candidates will undergo a background check prior to beginning employment. Additional types of background investigations may be conducted based on the job-related activities of the position. 

Debut is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without regard to gender, age, nationality, ethnic or social origin, race, religion or belief, disability, marital status, pregnancy, family situation, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Employment decisions at Debut are based on merit, qualifications, and business needs. 

This role is based in France or Germany, with the specific location to be confirmed. Employment is subject to the candidate's eligibility to work in the applicable country in accordance with local immigration and work authorization requirements. Where this role is based in France, Debut complies with all obligations under the French Labour Code, including the non-discrimination provisions of Article L.1132-1, and all other applicable French employment laws and regulations. Where this role is based in Germany, Debut complies with all obligations under the General Equal Treatment Act (Allgemeines Gleichbehandlungsgesetz), the German Works Constitution Act, and all other applicable German employment laws and regulations. 

 

Additional Information 

Location: France or Germany. Remote-flexible with heavy in-market EU travel and 1–2 trips to the US each year   

 

Reports To: CEO  

 

Type: Full-Time  

 

Salary Range: €130–160k  + performance-based incentives, commensurate with experience and location. OTE range from $200-240 euro depending on performance.