Sr. Director, R&D Technology, PLM, Orthopedics

About the role

The Senior Director, R&D Technology, Product Lifecycle provides enterprise leadership for the strategy, roadmap, and delivery of R&D medical device product lifecycle capabilities that enable end-to-end product development and lifecycle execution across DePuy Synthes.

Responsibilities

• Set and own the enterprise Product Lifecycle strategy and roadmap aligned to DePuy Synthes R&D, business priorities, and digital transformation goals.
• Lead the design, implementation, and optimization of product lifecycle platforms, integrations, and data models supporting the full medical device product lifecycle.
• Partner with R&D, Quality, Regulatory, and Supply Chain leaders to ensure Product Lifecycle solutions enable compliant, efficient, and best-in-class product development processes.
• Oversee governance, data integrity, and change management for Product Lifecycle systems to ensure consistency, traceability, and regulatory readiness.
• Lead and develop a high-performing global team of technology and product professionals, fostering collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Manage relationships with key technology vendors and implementation partners, including budgeting, contracts, and performance oversight.
• Drive continuous improvement by identifying opportunities to streamline workflows, reduce complexity, and enhance user experience across R&D technology platforms.
• Ensure alignment with enterprise IT standards, cybersecurity requirements, and data privacy policies.
• Lead the application of AI, advanced analytics, and automation to modernize R&D platforms, accelerating product development, improving scientific and engineering insights, and strengthening end-to-end decision-making while enabling scalable, compliant, and efficient R&D operations from discovery through lifecycle management.

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s degree required in Information Technology, Engineering, Computer Science, or related field. Master’s degree (e.g., MS, MBA) preferred.
• Required Experience and Skills: 12-15 years of progressive experience in IT or digital technology roles, with significant experience supporting R&D or product development organizations. Proven leadership experience at director or senior director level, managing complex, cross-functional teams and programs. Demonstrated leadership of enterprise-scale PLM platforms and complex system implementations including product data governance. Demonstrate expertise in Materials Management, Risk and Requirements management, and medical device Product Portfolio Management. Strong understanding of end-to-end product lifecycle processes, including requirements and risk management, portfolio planning, and engineering analysis/simulation workflows. Clear understanding of medical device product digital thread concepts and connection to upstream and downstream applications (e.g., SAP, MES, Regulatory). Demonstrate expertise in leveraging AI in product lifecycle to increase efficiency in product development. Strong understanding of regulated product development environments (e.g., medical devices, life sciences, or similarly regulated industries). Ability to translate business strategy into technology roadmaps and executable delivery plans. Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence at senior leadership levels.
• Preferred Experience: Supporting orthopedics, medical device, or life sciences R&D organizations. Proven experience leading and developing global, cross-functional teams. Experience with leading enterprise platforms: Windchill, MatVault, and Codebeamer. Familiarity with advanced analytics within Product Lifecycle environments. Experience leading technology transformation initiatives across global organizations. Knowledge of Quality and Regulatory processes as they relate to product development systems.

Skills

• Business Alignment
• Business Architecture
• Business Process Design
• Business Savvy
• Computer Programming
• Developing Others
• Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)
• Inclusive Leadership
• Industry Analysis
• Leadership
• Platform as a Service (PaaS)
• Product Knowledge
• Software Development Management
• Strategic Change
• Succession Planning
• Tactical Planning
• Technical Credibility

Pay

The anticipated base pay range for this position is: $178,000.00 - $307,550.00

Benefits

• Time Off Benefits: Vacation, Sick time, Holiday pay, Work, Personal and Family Time, Parental Leave, Bereavement Leave, Caregiver Leave, Volunteer Leave, Military Spouse Time-Off
• Retirement Plan: Pension and Savings Plan (401(k))
• Long-Term Incentive Program