VP, Chief Innovation Officer
About The Position
The Senior Director, Research & Development is a senior leadership role responsible for defining and leading the organization’s R&D strategy to drive innovation, product development, and technology advancement in support of business growth and competitive differentiation. This role provides enterprise‑wide leadership for research, product development, and innovation pipelines. Role Overview The Senior Director, R&D owns the enterprise R&D strategy, governance, and performance across innovation, product development, and technology exploration. The role balances strategic direction with execution oversight to ensure resources are focused on high‑value opportunities and that development programs deliver timely, high‑quality outcomes. This position leads directors, managers, and senior technical leaders and serves as a trusted advisor to senior leadership on innovation priorities, technology roadmaps, and portfolio investment decisions.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Science, or related technical field required
- Typically 12–15+ years of progressive experience in R&D, engineering, or product development roles
- Demonstrated experience leading enterprise‑level R&D or innovation organizations
- Deep technical expertise and understanding of product and technology development
- Strong strategic planning, portfolio management, and innovation leadership skills
- Proven senior leadership and people development capability
- Ability to influence and align cross‑functional and geographically dispersed leaders
- Strong analytical, decision‑making, and risk‑management skills
- Clear communication, judgment, and change‑leadership capability
- Requires proficient management and leadership acumen to spearhead complex, cross-functional project teams and drive initiatives across multiple departments and job family groups
- Exhibits a high level of mastery in a specialized technical domain or possesses extensive expertise across a wide range of interrelated disciplines, enabling strategic decision-making and innovation
- Typically requires an advanced degree or equivalent professional certification, along with a minimum of 12 years of relevant experience
Nice To Haves
- Master’s degree or PhD (or MBA with strong technical background) strongly preferred
Responsibilities
- Define and own the enterprise R&D and innovation strategy aligned with business objectives
- Establish multi‑year technology and product development roadmaps
- Ensure R&D priorities balance near‑term delivery with long‑term innovation
- Oversee development of new products, platforms, and technologies
- Ensure disciplined execution of development programs from concept through launch
- Promote design for quality, scalability, manufacturability, and sustainability
- Lead governance of the R&D portfolio, including prioritization and resource allocation
- Evaluate technical feasibility, market potential, risk, and ROI of initiatives
- Ensure effective decision‑making across stage‑gate or development lifecycle processes
- Foster ideation, experimentation, and exploration of emerging technologies
- Partner with Marketing and Business Development to align innovation with customer needs
- Monitor market and technology trends to inform innovation direction
- Establish R&D standards, methodologies, and best practices
- Ensure rigorous technical reviews, validation, and verification processes
- Promote knowledge sharing and reuse of platforms and technologies
- Collaborate with Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Quality, Regulatory, and Operations
- Ensure smooth transition of designs from R&D to manufacturing and commercialization
- Support product launches and post‑launch performance monitoring
- Lead and develop a high‑performing R&D organization
- Build capability in research, product development, and innovation leadership
- Establish organizational structures, performance expectations, and succession plans
- Build relationships with universities, research institutions, suppliers, and partners
- Support open innovation, partnerships, and external research initiatives as appropriate
- Evaluate opportunities for collaboration to accelerate innovation
- Serve as a trusted advisor to senior leadership on innovation strategy and technology risk
- Communicate R&D performance, progress, and roadmap to senior leadership forums
- Provide thought leadership on innovation culture and long‑term technical direction
Benefits
- Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and Affirmative Action Employer encouraging diversity in the workplace.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Director
