R&D Manager, Project Management, New Product Development

Growth is our focus at CONMED, and we know that innovation and strong foundations are key to growth and our success! We believe in the power of engaged talent on our teams. If you have a growth-mindset and want to be a part of a high performing team, consider applying to join CONMED as a R&D Manager of PMO Sustaining.

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.

Advanced Surgical products include:

• 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. If you enjoy developing people, improving systems, and leading a diverse portfolio of high-impact initiatives, we invite you to apply for consideration!

Required Qualifications:

• 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.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in people leadership or demonstrated experience leading project management professionals.
• PMP certification.

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