Senior Program Manager, R&D

Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine • Milpitas, CA

1d • $157,000 - $271,400 • Onsite

About The Position

We are searching for the best talent to join our Vision team as a Senior Program Manager, R&D located in Milpitas, CA. Fueled by innovation at the intersection of biology and technology, we’re developing the next generation of smarter, less invasive, more personalized treatments. Are you passionate about improving and expanding the possibilities of vision treatments? Ready to join a team that’s reimagining how vision is improved? Our Vision team solves the toughest health challenges. Help combine cutting-edge insights, science, technology, and people to encourage eye care professionals and patients to proactively protect, correct and enhance healthy sight for life. Our products and services address these needs – from the pediatric to aging eye – in a patient’s lifetime. Your unique talents will help patients on their journey to wellness. Learn more at https://www.jnj.com/medtech

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Business or a Science related field required
• 10+ years of professional experience with a strong emphasis on project or program management in regulated environments (medical devices highly preferred)
• Experience coordinating hardware-software integration (sensors/optics + embedded systems) and managing external vendors/partners (labeling vendors, cloud providers, contract manufacturers)
• Proven track record leading complex, cross-functional technical teams by influence in a global matrixed organization
• Deep understanding of product development lifecycles, design controls, risk management, and regulatory expectations for vision-enabled and software-driven medical products
• Strong stakeholder management, executive communication, and presentation skills comfortable driving decisions at senior leadership levels
• Ability to balance speed, quality, compliance, cost, and technical risk to drive pragmatic outcomes
• Demonstrated resilience, sound judgment, and a continuous improvement mindset.
• Experience with data privacy/compliance requirements relevant to healthcare data (e.g., HIPAA awareness) and ethical AI practices strongly preferred

Nice To Haves

• Advanced degree or Project Management certification (PMP or equivalent) preferred
• Experience in ophthalmology project management preferred

Responsibilities

• End-to-End Vision R&D Program Leadership: Lead complex, global Vision R&D programs from concept through commercialization, including imaging hardware, optics, embedded software/firmware, and machine learning components.
• Own program execution for vision-enabled products and features, ensuring alignment to business strategy, platform objectives, data governance, and quality/regulatory expectations.
• Define and manage roadmap, deliverables, success metrics and acceptance criteria specific to vision systems (e.g., accuracy, robustness, explainability, latency, power/thermal constraints on embedded platforms).
• Coordinate cross-functional design and integration activities across optics, sensor selection and characterization, data collection & annotation, model training/validation, MLOps, edge/cloud deployment, and clinical validation.
• Program Planning, Execution & Governance: Develop and maintain integrated project artifacts: Project charter, scope, technical and clinical acceptance criteria, Detailed schedules and stage-gate milestones (GNPP), with embedded ML/vision specific milestones (data readiness, annotation plan, model freeze, transfer to verification), Budget and resource forecasts, including external vendor and labeling partner plans, Risk, issue and dependency management plans (algorithm drift, dataset bias, hardware-software integration risks).
• Apply disciplined project management, governance, and stage-gate rigor to deliver predictable, high-quality outcomes in regulated environments.
• Prepare and present clear, data-driven program updates and GNPP stage gate materials to senior management and executive sponsors.
• Cross-Functional Leadership & Influence: Act as primary program point-of-contact, partnering with Technical Leads (vision algorithms, optics, embedded/firmware, systems integration), Data Science/ML Engineering (data strategy, model validation, performance monitoring), Functional Managers (resource planning, procurement, external partners), Clinical, Regulatory, Quality, and Manufacturing teams for validation and commercialization.
• Facilitate effective collaboration across R&D, Clinical, Quality, Regulatory, Operations, and Commercial functions to enable timely decision-making and release readiness.
• Lead program meetings to drive clarity, accountability, and timely resolution of actions.
• Risk, Issue & Problem Resolution: Proactively identify program, technical, regulatory, data, and operational risks (including algorithmic bias, data privacy, model performance under varied conditions).
• Lead cross-functional risk mitigation and recovery plans; negotiate trade-offs and escalate appropriately.
• Ensure plans for post-market surveillance and model performance monitoring are defined and actionable.
• Quality, Compliance & Enterprise Mindset: Ensure programs comply with Design Control Regulations, quality systems, and applicable standards (e.g., ISO 13485, IEC 62304/62366, ISO 14971) and regulatory requirements for vision-enabled medical products and SaMD where applicable.
• Advocate for appropriate allocation of budget and resources aligned to program priorities and enterprise value.
• Promote data privacy, security, and ethical AI practices (data governance, labeling standards, consent, de-identification).
• Model Johnson & Johnson leadership behaviors (integrity, accountability, inclusion) and support environmental, health, safety, and sustainability policies.
• Mentor and provide oversight to junior project managers and team members; contribute to capability building for Vision R&D project practices.

Benefits

• Vacation –120 hours per calendar year
• Sick time - 40 hours per calendar year; for employees who reside in the State of Colorado –48 hours per calendar year; for employees who reside in the State of Washington –56 hours per calendar year
• Holiday pay, including Floating Holidays –13 days per calendar year
• Work, Personal and Family Time - up to 40 hours per calendar year
• Parental Leave – 480 hours within one year of the birth/adoption/foster care of a child
• Bereavement Leave – 240 hours for an immediate family member: 40 hours for an extended family member per calendar year
• Caregiver Leave – 80 hours in a 52-week rolling period
• Volunteer Leave – 32 hours per calendar year
• Military Spouse Time-Off – 80 hours per calendar year

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior