Director R&D Technical Lead – Animal Health, U.K. (Cambridgeshire)/U.S. (San Diego)

MSD•San Diego, CA

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

Our company’s Animal Health Technology Solutions offers global animal identification and monitoring solutions for companion animals and livestock. These solutions enable pet owners to better manage the health and well-being of their pets and enable livestock producers to improve well-being and animal production. Technology Solutions include Core Technologies in Livestock Identification, Dairy, Beef and Swine monitoring, for which the product/market fit is established, as well as products in discovery. Our Technology Solutions division is evolving. We are moving to a Product Operating Model – a new way of working that empowers product teams to take full ownership and accountability for delivering customer and business value in ways our customers love and that work for the business. Our product teams are cross-functional and durable, bringing together all the skills required to deliver impactful outcomes. Each team includes a Product Manager, Technology Lead, Product Designer, Delivery Lead, engineers, and developers. We believe in customer centricity, ownership, and accountability. Solutions must be: Valuable – customers choose to buy or use them, Viable – aligned with business constraints and goals, Usable – intuitive and user-friendly, Feasible – achievable with our technical capabilities. Leadership of the team is shared between the Product Manager and the Technology Lead, ensuring balanced guidance that bridges product vision and technical execution. We have a new role for a Director R&D Technical Lead – Animal Health. This is for an individual contributor to be based either in Cambridgeshire, U.K. or San Diego, U.S. Travel requirement for the role: 25%

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in computer science, electrical engineering, information systems or related field, or equivalent practical experience.
Proven experience in system architecture / engineering, technical leadership, or leading development teams in a product-driven environment.
Strong technical expertise in relevant programming languages, frameworks, and cloud infrastructure.
Demonstrated expertise in hardware design and engineering as well as software development practices.
Deep understanding of the product development lifecycle and agile methodologies.
Excellent problem-solving skills with the ability to make sound technical decisions under uncertainty.
Experience mentoring and leading engineering teams to deliver high-quality, scalable solutions.
Strong communication and collaboration skills to work effectively with customers, Product, Design, and Business Stakeholders.
Passion for building products that solve real customer problems and deliver measurable value.
A mindset of ownership, accountability, and customer focus; comfortable signing up for results and driving outcomes through others when needed
Passion for fostering team innovation and leveraging the collective ideas and expertise of cross-functional colleagues.
Business experience in both large-scale companies and start-ups preferred.

Nice To Haves

Cloud Infrastructure
Cloud Technology
Collaborative Communications
Collaborative Leadership
Electrical Engineering
Hardware Development
Manufacturing
Pasture Management
Product Lifecycle
Product Management
Technical Debt
Technical Leadership
Business Enterprise Architecture (BEA)
Capability Development
Emerging Technologies
Financial Management
Innovation
Organizational Structures
Portfolio Management
Professional Development
Solution Architecture
Stakeholder Relationship Management
Strategic Planning
Workforce Planning

Responsibilities

Define and lead product architecture, ensuring scalability, performance, and maintainability
Lead the product technical design and implementation of product features, ensuring alignment with product vision and customer needs, along the full product lifecycle.
Drive architectural decisions for the product, in partnership with functional technology leaders, and advocate for best practices in hardware development, software development, data, AI, testing, and deployment.
Partner with functional R&D leads to support and grow engineers, fostering a culture of continuous learning, innovation, and technical excellence
Mentor and coach engineers, modelling best practices across hardware, software, and data engineering
Collaborate cross-functionally with R&D, Product Management, Design, Supply Chain and Manufacturing, Marketing, Sales, and Customer Success to ensure alignment and delivery
Facilitate effective communication and collaboration across cross-functional teams, connecting technical teams directly with customers as appropriate
Ensure speed to market of our products, while maintaining appropriate focus on quality, scalability, and performance.
Identify technical risks early and proactively define mitigation strategies.
Stay current with emerging technologies, industry trends, and the competitive landscape to continuously improve product capabilities and technical processes
Drive innovation by leveraging internal platforms and core technologies while exploring new approaches.
Share accountability with the Product Manager for delivering measurable results against agreed product metrics.
Define, track, and report on technical performance metrics (e.g., system uptime, scalability, reliability, technical debt management, code quality).
Ensure engineering practices meet high standards for security, compliance, and sustainability.
Take ownership of technical trade-offs and ensure decisions balance customer needs, business outcomes, and long-term maintainability.