Sr. Director R&D – Kerr Restoratives, Endodontics and Rotary

Job Description:

The Sr. Director of R&D will be primarily responsible for driving strategic innovation initiatives and leading product delivery for the company’s Restoratives, Endodontics, and Rotary product lines. Responsibilities include strategic planning, technical leadership, budget management, mentoring the R&D management team, tracking KPIs, and ensuring timely completion of new product launches.

This position will be based in our Brea, California corporate office; however, the role will require frequent commutes to Pomona, CA.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Oversee organizational development, hiring, leadership, staff development, and capacity planning.

• Responsible for Kerr Restoratives, Endodontics and Rotary – new products technology and project management, as well as sustainment of existing products. Teams located in Southern California and in Europe.

• Champion the development, maintenance, and performance against the product roadmap for the R&D organization. Look for areas to drive change and innovate across processes, products, and programs.

• Ensure strong funnel creation by engaging with customers, KOLs, and partners. Facilitate and participate in ideation towards new products and strategies.

• Establish and maintain a strong technology roadmap.

• Engage with the global R&D team in a way that promotes a strong link to the company’s vision and high job satisfaction to motivate the team to perform its best.

• Participate in the development of corporate project objectives and strategic planning and ensure execution.

• Provide technical leadership to develop cutting-edge solutions, proactively bringing new ideas, technologies, and methodologies to the team. Ensure the optimal application of technology and engineering resources to meet product development and quality requirements.

• Detail-oriented and prepared to be “hands-on” when necessary for problem-solving, brainstorming, and design reviews.

• Remove barriers, streamline the infrastructure, be open to new opportunities at all levels, and look for bottom-line results.

• Oversee the creation of all departmental budgets and manage them, taking into account the current revenue.

• Hire, mentor, and coach the R&D management team in multiple global locations.

• Ensure clarity of direction and management metrics are in place and tracked for the R&D organization. Oversee the creation, tracking, and maintenance of departmental and relevant KPIs.

• Responsible for successfully delivering products to market and accelerating time to market.

• Lead and/or assist in establishing external technology partnerships and participating in M&A activities.

• Champions continuous improvement activities including Kaizen, 5S, Problem Solving Process, and Value Stream Mapping.

• Travels up to 10% domestically and internationally.

Incidental Duties: The above statements describe the general nature and level of work being performed in this job. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, and indeed additional responsibilities may be assigned, as required, by management.

Job Requirements:

REQUIRED:

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field
• Minimum of 5+ years of experience leading a R&D or engineering team or equivalent.
• Extensive experience in the full lifecycle of medical device product development with Class I, II, IIa (U.S. and Europe) required.  Experience with dental medical devices preferred.
• Proven track record of successful product launches targeting a global customer base required.
• Proficient in product development best practices required (i.e. DFM, DOE, FMEA, Lean PD, and agile methods).

PREFERRED SKILLS:

• Master’s degree/PhD highly preferred.
• Intermediate Microsoft Office including Excel and PowerPoint required.
• Strong verbal and technical written communication skills in English required.
• Strong presentation skills and ability to translate highly technical information required.
• Ability to empower others to excel by holding them accountable, managing performance effectively, and confidently addressing challenging conversations with a positive and constructive approach.
• Ability to build strong partnerships with other departments.
• Ability to adapt to changing priorities in a fast-paced environment required.
• Strong analytical skills and ability to leverage data when presenting a business case required.
• Ability to handle situations with confidence, tact, and resourceful