Vice President, R&D, Vascular & Emergency Medicine

Position Summary

The Vice President, Research & Development (R&D) is a key member of the executive leadership team responsible for leading global product innovation, development, sustaining and lifecycle management for the Vascular & Emergency Medicine business unit. This executive will drive transformation of the R&D organization into a high-performing, execution-driven, and innovation-focused function that accelerates growth through disciplined product development, technical and operational excellence, and customer-centered innovation.
The VP, R&D will oversee the full product lifecycle across a diverse portfolio of vascular access and emergency medicine devices, antimicrobial solutions and related technologies. This leader will be accountable for fostering front-end innovation focus, accelerating new product development (NPD), improving on-time reliable execution, strengthening portfolio governance, and building a sustainable innovation engine aligned with strategic business objectives.
This is a balanced leader who combines strong technical expertise, operational rigor, business acumen and fluency in manufacturing capability inclusive of Design for Manufacture and Design for Excellence concepts. They will build further organizational capability and focus on high-performing talent development, while shaping a culture of innovation, extreme performance, and continuous improvement.

Principal Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Innovation
·    Develop and execute a comprehensive global R&D strategy aligned with corporate and business unit objectives.
·    Work closely with Strategic Marketing and Clinical Medical Affairs to build and deliver a robust innovation pipeline that supports short, medium and long-term global growth.
·    Drive both incremental innovation (line extensions, product enhancements, indications) and transformational platform development.
·    Identify and leverage emerging technologies, innovative NPD practices, clinical insights, and external partnerships to advance innovation.
·    Engage with key opinion leaders (KOLs), scientific advisory boards, startups, academic institutions, and external innovation partners.
·    Support business development and M&A activities through technology evaluation, diligence, and integration planning.

Product Development & Execution Excellence
·    Lead end-to-end product development activities from concept through commercialization.
·    Drive disciplined stage-gate processes, design control rigor, and milestone execution.
·    Improve development cycle times, launch predictability, and on-time performance.
·    Deliver sustaining engineering, product enhancements, and cost optimization initiatives.

·    Intervene directly in critical or underperforming programs to ensure successful execution.
·    Ensure all product development activities align with customer needs, clinical workflows, and commercial objectives.

Portfolio Strategy & Governance
In collaboration with Strategic Marketing:
·    Manage the R&D portfolio and resources based on strategic growth opportunities and business objectives.
·    Drive disciplined portfolio governance processes, including alignment to business unit prioritization and kill/accelerate decisions.
·    Ensure resource allocation supports revenue growth, profitability, and competitive advantage.

Organizational Leadership, Capability & Culture Transformation
·    Build and lead a high-performing global R&D organization with a culture of innovative thinking, accountability, collaboration, and predictable execution excellence.
·    Attract, retain and develop top engineering and technical talent.
·    Assess organizational capabilities and upgrade / performance manage talent where necessary.
·    Foster cross-functional ownership and eliminate siloed execution across teams.
·    Promote continuous improvement, technical excellence, and leadership development.

Cross-Functional Collaboration
·    Partner closely with Marketing, Clinical, Regulatory Affairs, Quality, Operations, and Supply Chain.
·    Works effectively with manufacturing process engineering and campus technical staff
·    Ensure product development decisions are grounded in:
o    Voice of Customer (VOC)
o    Clinical workflow 
o    Market adoption dynamics (Diffusion of Innovation principles)
o    Health economics and reimbursement considerations

Education / Experience Requirements

·    Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related technical discipline required.
·    Master’s degree preferred; PhD a plus.
·    15–20+ years of progressive leadership experience in medical device R&D.
·    Minimum 10 years in senior leadership roles (Senior Director or Vice President level).
·    Proven track record leading successful product launches in regulated medical device environments.
·    Demonstrated success leading global and multi-site R&D organizations.

Specialized Skills / Other Requirements

Regulatory, Quality & Compliance
·    Ensure full compliance with FDA regulations, ISO standards, and global regulatory requirements.
·    Leadership in design controls, risk management, verification/validation, and regulatory submissions
·    Support regulatory strategies for 510(k), PMA, CE Mark, and international market approvals.
·    Leverage regulatory strategy to accelerate market access and reduce development risk.
·    Maintain and expand the company’s intellectual property portfolio and manage royalty agreements.

Financial & Operational Management
·    Prepare and manage R&D budgets with strong fiscal discipline and ROI-based decision making.
·    Ensure effective allocation of resources across programs and strategic initiatives.
·    Monitor performance metrics and implement improvements to increase efficiency and productivity.
·    Drive business outcomes through execution and measurable performance improvements.

Leadership Characteristics
·    High standards with strong focus on technical excellence and results.
·    Decisive and action-oriented in ambiguous environments.
·    Hands-on leader willing to engage deeply in critical programs when necessary.
·    Collaborative yet driven; drives alignment while maintaining urgency.
·    Passionate about innovation, customer impact, and organizational excellence.
Success Metrics (First 24 Months)
·    Improved on-time milestone delivery and launch predictability.
·    Reduction in overall product development cycle times.
·    Increased launch cadence and revenue contribution from new products.
·    Cross-functional development of a differentiated 3–5 year innovation pipeline and 5+ multi-generation roadmaps where appropriate with clear milestone and timeline commitments
Strategic assessment of resources, competencies and talent for fit-for-purpose organization design

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Working Conditions / Physical Demands

TRAVEL REQUIRED: 50 %
·    Approximately 50% domestic and 25% international travel.
·    Multi-site responsibilities include technology locations in Wyomissing PA, Morrisville NC, Czech Republic and Chihuahua Mexico

Location:
·    Preferred base location Morrisville NC or Wyomissing PA.  Multi-site presence and engagement is necessary.