Senior R&D Director (Flow Cytometry)

Company: Beckman Coulter Life Sciences
Location: Schaumburg
Posted on: May 21, 2023

Job Description:

Beckman Coulter Life Sciences mission is to empower those seeking answers to life s most important scientific and healthcare questions. With a legacy spanning 80+ years, we have long been a trusted partner to our customers, who are working to transform science and healthcare with the next groundbreaking discovery. As part of our team of more than 2,900 associates across 130 countries, you ll help drive our vision of accelerating answers and our commitment to excellence.

Beckman Coulter Life Sciences is one of 10 Life Sciences companies of Danaher. Together, we accelerate the discovery, development and delivery of solutions that safeguard and improve human health.

Position Summary:

Are you an accomplished R&D leader who would love to lead our international development organization for Flow Cytometry serving clinical and biopharma customers? Do you have a background in system development comprising reagents, software and hardware and bring a consistent track record of launching successful products? Here s a great opportunity to join our team at a pivotal point in our R&D evolution as we focus on our mission to empower those seeking answers to life s most important scientific and healthcare questions.

We are seeking an R&D Senior Director to take responsibility for our flow cytometry products, which are developed globally at five development centers in North America, Europe, India, and China. Our Cytobank product is developed by a virtual team.

The team based on site leads, and owns product lines from cradle-to-grave. They are the primary R&D partners to product management, manufacturing, service, and quality and regulatory. The team also includes a strategy implementation group comprising individual technical leaders who curate our product and technology roadmaps and drive functional excellence into the delivery teams managed by the site leaders.

Performance is measured primarily on delivery and roadmap value. Delivery is measured by meeting schedules committed at project milestones for NPI programs but more broadly by meeting the business cases committed at those milestones, which include delivery schedule, program cost, product quality, revenue, and gross margin. Roadmap value is measured in projected incremental revenue. The director is responsible for balancing capability and ambition in roadmaps and searching for technology and other innovations to add value to the roadmaps.

In this role, you will have the opportunity to:

Develop and improve processes. Beckman Coulter Life Sciences (BEC LS) develops medical devices, and our development process is compliant with US FDA 820.30 (design controls) as well as ISO 13485. The same quality system is used for non-medical devices as well. Some of the initiatives we have ongoing include:

• Reliability engineering to improve product quality.
• Model-based systems engineering to make cost, performance, and quality tradeoffs earlier.
• Early engagement of Service and Operations in NPI programs to improve manufacturability, gross margin, and product quality (speed design review). Process improvements are evaluated on outcomes with a measurable impact on project milestones. The Director is responsible for the technology roadmap supporting product roadmaps. This breaks down in the following way.
  • Product concept evaluation - The Director evaluates product concepts with an eye towards tradeoffs between hardware, software, and chemistry. The Director confirms that the right technologies are being brought to bear on solutions to customer problems that will differentiate the product and make it competitive.
  • Technology roadmap curation - The Director uses product concept gaps and the operating company s strategic plan to maintain a technology roadmap. The Director pursues the roadmap by partnering with our global research organization and pursuing open innovation. The ideal candidate will possess the following:
    
    We re looking for a director that integrates:
    • Business astuteness - customer understanding, competitive landscape, market dynamics
    • Product ideation and delivery - simplicity, differentiation, customer delight, business case achievement
    • Technology awareness - core versus context, what OI is out there, what s emerging in the market. Cross-functional partnership and leadership is essential as the Director works across functional boundaries and routinely partners with Operations, Service, QA, and Product Management to meet shared objectives. The Director should have experience with managing NPI, sustaining, and advanced technology development projects. This should also include experience as a core team lead delivering at least one large, multidisciplinary platform project comprising hardware, software, and reagents.
      
      The Director should have experience with the complete product lifecycle, from identification of the customer s problems; to product concept; to delivery; to post-launch support and maintenance; to end-of-life. The Director should have experience with consequences, both good and bad, both to internal stakeholders and customers, of tradeoff decisions made in development programs.
      
      The Director should have experience with research and advanced technology development programs. This may include a combination of organic projects and open innovation (OI). Experience managing external collaborations is a plus.
      
      Selected candidate will meet the following requirements:
      • Bachelor s degree in an engineering or scientific discipline
      • 15+ years experience in product lifecycle for either diagnostics, life science, or pharmaceutical markets
      • 10 years as a people leader with at least 5 years leading a global organization
      • 10 years of experience in LEAN development, Six Sigma methodologies, or Danaher Business System (DBS) along with project management experience Preferred qualifications and attributes for the role include:
        • Advanced technical degree
        • Understanding of pharmaceutical regulatory requirements
        • Experience in acquiring new technologies through open innovation
        • Success working across sites and international boundaries in developing new products Primary job locations:
          
          Due to the critical nature of this role in support of the global organizational platform and required ongoing collaboration with key stakeholders and customersthe Director is eligible for a hybrid work arrangement in which you can work part-time from your home office located within a reasonable commuting distance to one of the following Beckman Coulter locations:
          • Indianapolis, Indiana
          • Loveland, Colorado
          • Miami, Florida
          • Marseille, France Relocation within current country of residency is available.
            
            We believe in designing a better, more sustainable workforce. We recognize the benefits of flexible, hybrid working arrangements for eligible roles and are committed to providing enriching careers, no matter the work arrangement. This position is eligible for a hybrid work arrangement in which you can work part-time at the Company location identified above and part-time remotely from your home. Additional information about this hybrid work arrangement will be provided by your interview team. Explore the flexibility and challenge that working here can provide.
            
            When you join us, you ll also be joining Danaher s global organization, where 80,000 people wake up every day determined to help our customers win. As an associate, you ll try new things, work hard, and advance your skills with guidance from dedicated leaders, all with the support of powerful Danaher Business System tools and the stability of a tested organization.
            
            Given the essential job duties of this position, the employee is required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment, subject to reasonable accommodation and applicable law.
            
            Danaher Corporation and all Danaher Companies are committed to equal opportunity regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, marital status, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or other characteristics protected by law. We value diversity and the existence of similarities and differences, both visible and not, found in our workforce, workplace and throughout the markets we serve. Our associates, customers and shareholders contribute unique and different perspectives as a result of these diverse attributes.
            
            The EEO posters are available here .
            
            We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform crucial job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us at to request accommodation.
            
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Keywords: Beckman Coulter Life Sciences, Schaumburg , Senior R&D Director (Flow Cytometry), Executive , Schaumburg, Illinois