Vice President, Marketing

Kardion•Irvine, CA

4d•$280,000 - $315,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Vice President of Marketing builds Kardion's commercial foundation and leads us from a development-stage company to a successful US launch. Reporting to the President and CEO, you will shape corporate strategy and own market development, product positioning, and launch readiness for our catheter-based mechanical circulatory support system. You will partner with R&D, Clinical, Regulatory, Medical Affairs, Quality, Supply Chain, and the future VP of Sales. You will also build strong relationships with physician advisors, key opinion leaders, and the Medical Advisory Board.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree required; MBA or equivalent experience preferred.
12+ years of medical device marketing experience, with at least 5 years in marketing leadership.
Experience with complex, capital- or procedure-driven devices is required; interventional cardiology, structural heart, or mechanical circulatory support experience is highly desired.
Led at least one US product launch of a Class III / PMA device, ideally at an early-stage company.
Working knowledge of reimbursement, health economics, and hospital value analysis processes.
Proven ability to build strong relationships with key opinion leaders and advisory boards.
Strong strategic and analytical skills, including market modeling, competitive dynamics, and business case development.
Superb communication and facilitation skills, with the ability to build consensus in a data-driven team.
Comfortable building from scratch in a lean startup with limited resources.
Advanced skills in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Project) and CRM tools.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute the marketing strategy and commercialization plan from pre-PMA market development through US launch and early adoption.
Define the value proposition, product positioning, and messaging for interventional cardiologists, heart failure teams, cardiac surgeons, and hospital decision makers.
Represent the voice of the customer in product development: gather user needs, translate them into requirements, and prioritize the product roadmap with R&D.
Lead commercial planning: market sizing, customer segmentation, targeting, launch-center selection and rollout, and pricing analysis.
Build the economic value story in partnership with Medical Affairs and reimbursement advisors, including coding, coverage, payment, and health economics evidence for hospital value analysis committees.
Maintain a deep understanding of the mechanical circulatory support and interventional cardiology market, including competitors, clinical trends, and guidelines; lead all market research.
Lead brand, digital, and scientific communications, including major meetings (for example TCT, SCAI, ACC, and THT), physician engagement programs, and launch campaigns.
Develop physician training and education programs and sales training content with Clinical and the VP of Sales.
Ensure all promotional materials comply with FDA advertising and promotion requirements through a structured review process with Regulatory and Legal.
Participate in physician engagement activities, including the Medical Advisory Board.
Build and lead the marketing team and agency partners; deliver programs on time and on budget.
Report regularly to the CEO, executive team, and Board on progress, market insights, and risks to launch readiness.