R&D Manager, Project Management, New Product Development
CONMED Corporation
Summary
This position is a critical leadership role within the Advanced Surgical division's R&D organization, based in Denver, CO. This is a hybrid position requiring 3 days per week onsite. The Manager leads portfolio governance and owns project execution for sustaining projects partnering across cross functional groups to improve execution predictability, manage risk, and deliver business and patient impact.
Job description
Advanced Surgical Products
- Access and insufflation systems
- Energy systems
- Smoke management systems
- Laparoscopic surgical instruments
Responsibilities
- Portfolio Leadership & Governance: Lead the Advanced Surgical NPD portfolio. Establish clear priorities, decision points, and governance expectations aligned with business objectives.
- Project Execution: Guide project managers and cross-functional teams in defining scope, schedules, budgets, milestones, deliverables, and success criteria. Ensure disciplined execution to approved timelines, maintain accountability for commitments and deliverables, and uphold quality and compliance requirements.
- Project Review Board Leadership: Lead Project Review Board meetings, portfolio reviews, and executive updates. Clearly communicate project metrics, risks, tradeoffs, resource needs, and required decisions.
- Innovation Advisory Board & Pipeline Support: Support the Innovation Advisory Board content creation and governance activities, including materials that inform innovation pipeline prioritization and decision-making.
- CEO Dashboard Management: Maintain the CEO dashboard and provide the PMO leader with timely, critical updates on portfolio performance, risks, and emerging issues.
- Risk Management: Promote proactive identification, documentation, mitigation, and escalation of project, technical, supply, regulatory, and execution risks.
- Resource & Capacity Planning: Develop and maintain resource waterline views, capacity models, and staffing recommendations across NPD work. Partner with functional leaders to resolve constraints and align resources to priority work.
- Budget Management: Own the Advanced Surgical NPD portfolio budget, including annual planning, forecasting, contractor management, capital investments, and cost improvement initiatives. Provide financial oversight through budget tracking, variance analysis, reporting, and proactive recommendations to support strategic business decisions and portfolio execution.
- PMO Systems & Process Improvement: Improve and maintain project management standards, templates, intake processes, dashboards, metrics, and portfolio tools, including Smartsheet-based solutions.
- Stakeholder Management: Build alignment across R&D, Quality, Regulatory, Operations, Marketing, Finance, and other business partners. Communicate complex portfolio information clearly to technical and non-technical audiences.
- People Leadership: Lead, coach, and develop a team of project management professionals. Set clear expectations, strengthen accountability, support professional development, and foster a collaborative, high-performing culture.
Job Complexity and Supervision
Reports directly to the PMO leader. Works on complex portfolio and organizational issues where analysis requires an in-depth evaluation of technical, business, regulatory, resource, and financial factors. Exercises judgment in selecting methods, priorities, and evaluation criteria to achieve results. Operates with significant autonomy, determines methods and procedures for new assignments, influences cross-functional leaders, and makes recommendations that affect portfolio priorities and resource allocation. Directly manages project management professionals and may lead project teams, contractors, and cross-functional workstreams through influence.
This role requires a strategic, collaborative, and driven leader who can translate business priorities into executable plans, build alignment across functions, and deliver results in a regulated, fast-paced environment.
Requirements
- 6+ years of engineering and/or project management experience required, or demonstrated equivalent experience through advanced education, training, or relevant professional achievements.
- Demonstrated success managing concurrent projects or initiatives with competing priorities, including ownership of timelines, budgets, resource allocation, cross-functional stakeholder alignment, and dependency management.
- Experience in people leadership or demonstrated experience leading project management professionals.
- PMP certification.
- Experience in the medical device industry, healthcare, or another regulated product development environment.
- Ability to analyze complex information, develop practical recommendations, and drive timely decisions.
- Strong communication and influence skills, with the ability to present clearly to technical teams, business partners, and senior leadership.
- Demonstrated ability to coach others, build accountability, and foster collaboration across organizational boundaries.
- Strong understanding of project and portfolio management principles, governance, risk management, and performance reporting.
- Experience with portfolio and work management platforms such as Smartsheet, along with strong Excel and PowerPoint capabilities.
Benefits
- Medical, Dental & Vision
- Prescription Coverage
- Short & Long Term Disability
- Life Insurance
- 401(k) Matching
- Employee Stock Purchase Plan
- Tuition Assistance
Company overview
CONMED Corporation is a global medical technology company founded in 1970 that specializes in the development, manufacturing, and distribution of surgical and patient monitoring products. Headquartered in Largo, Florida, the company employs approximately 3,500 people worldwide with operations spanning more than 20 international locations across Europe, Australia, Latin America, Asia, North America, and the Middle East. CONMED focuses on delivering innovative solutions for orthopedic, laparoscopic, robotic, open surgery, gastroenterology, pulmonology, cardiology, and critical care specialties. The company's comprehensive product portfolio includes advanced energy systems, surgical instruments, implants and suture anchors, smoke evacuation systems, patient monitoring equipment, and surgical imaging solutions. Notable products include the AirSeal® intelligent flow system for minimally invasive surgery, BioBrace® reinforced bioinductive implants for orthopedic applications, and various electrosurgical units. CONMED's mission is to enable healthcare providers worldwide to deliver exceptional patient outcomes through accessible, clinically differentiated solutions that enhance surgical efficiency and improve clinical results across diverse medical specialties.