R&D Manager, Project Management, Sustaining
About The Position
The R&D Manager, PMO Sustaining leads portfolio governance and project execution for sustaining projects within CONMED’s Advanced Surgical division R&D organization. Based in Denver, Colorado, this hybrid position requires three days per week onsite. The manager partners across functions to improve execution predictability, manage risk, and deliver business and patient impact across products including access and insufflation systems, energy systems, smoke management systems, and laparoscopic surgical instruments. The role leads the sustaining portfolio, guides project managers and cross-functional teams, oversees portfolio budgets and resource planning, and leads project review and executive updates. It also develops and maintains PMO standards, systems, and processes; supports regulatory, quality, service, and cost initiatives; and aligns closely with Operations. The position directly manages project management professionals and operates with significant autonomy, influencing portfolio priorities and resource allocation in a regulated, fast-paced environment. It reports to the Head of PMO.
Requirements
- At least 6 years of engineering and/or project management experience, 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.
Nice To Haves
- 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, including presenting clearly to technical teams, business partners, and senior leadership.
- 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.
Responsibilities
- Lead the Advanced Surgical sustaining portfolio and establish priorities, decision points, and governance expectations aligned with business objectives.
- Guide project managers and cross-functional teams in defining project scope, schedules, budgets, milestones, deliverables, and success criteria.
- Ensure disciplined execution against approved timelines, maintain accountability for commitments and deliverables, and uphold quality and compliance requirements.
- Lead Project Review Board meetings, portfolio reviews, and executive updates; communicate project metrics, risks, tradeoffs, resource needs, and required decisions.
- Promote proactive identification, documentation, mitigation, and escalation of project, technical, supply, regulatory, and execution risks.
- Develop and maintain resource waterline views, capacity models, and staffing recommendations; partner with functional leaders to resolve constraints and align resources to priority work.
- Own the sustaining 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.
- Improve and maintain project management standards, templates, intake processes, dashboards, metrics, and portfolio tools, including Smartsheet-based solutions.
- Support regulatory, quality, remediation, service, and cost sustaining initiatives in accordance with applicable quality system and design control requirements.
- Partner with Operations to align portfolio priorities, project plans, resource needs, implementation timing, and readiness activities; incorporate operational constraints and dependencies into decisions and escalate risks proactively.
- Build alignment across R&D, Quality, Regulatory, Operations, Marketing, Finance, and other business partners, and communicate complex portfolio information to technical and non-technical audiences.
- Lead, coach, and develop project management professionals; set expectations, strengthen accountability, support professional development, and foster a collaborative, high-performing culture.
- Lead project teams, contractors, and cross-functional workstreams through influence as needed.
Benefits
- Competitive compensation.
- Medical, dental, vision, and prescription coverage.
- Short- and long-term disability and life insurance, with costs fully paid by CONMED.
- Retirement Savings Plan (401(k)) with dollar-for-dollar matching and the potential for up to 7% per pay period.
- Employee Stock Purchase Plan with discounted stock purchases.
- Tuition assistance for undergraduate and graduate-level courses.
- Employee Referral Program incentives.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Manager
Education Level
No Education Listed
