Senior Director, Scientific

At STERIS, we help our Customers create a healthier and safer world by providing innovative healthcare and life science product and service solutions around the globe.

Position Summary

The Senior Director, Scientific is a Customer-focused leader who will work collaboratively with marketing and other cross-functional teams to design and deliver R&D roadmap, create a culture of innovation, manage activities for all phases of development, provide technical leadership, grow and lead innovative research programs, and lead and mentor a group of scientific professionals in the effective commercialization of new product development. The individual can influence the company’s strategic direction through research and defining new opportunities. The Senior Director, Scientific will deliver creative product design through a unique blend of scientific chemistry formulation, analytics, and packaging technologies using ideation and innovation techniques to deliver a pipleline of creative new products to address Customer challenges and create a sustained portfolio that supports market growth. The incumbent will maintain a pulse on innovation through technology scouting, , industry research, and competitive analyses to frame and support innovative R&D strategy. 

* This position is located onsite at STERIS in St. Louis, MO

Duties

• Collaborate with marketing and other cross-functional team members identify, define, and manage multi-year R&D strategies, develop R&D roadmap/strategic plan targeted at innovation and growth in meeting Customers’ needs.
• Lead multi-disciplinary new product development teams through the product development process to facilitate new product introductions and a smooth transition to operations. 
• Develop a culture of innovation to deliver product and packaging solutions to Customers. Seek out emerging opportunities, develop new initiatives, and be a champion for growth and change. Implement new processes and technology aligned the company’s strategic objectives.
• Drive continuous improvement by leveraging consumer insights, market trends, and industry research to optimize innovation concepts and priorities to drive process improvement and gain market share.  Establich a continuous improvement mindset and cascade through the organization.
• Pro-actively identify scientific or technology challenges, optimize key process improvements, development tools, techniques and capabilities, metrics and drive accountability to drive quality, speed to market, and to meet Customer needs.
• Effectively manage and communicate project milestones, timelines, budgets/financials, and critical path issues to team members and to senior management, as appropriate. 
• Communicate and provide an on-going scorecard of performance against business objectives.
• Author, review, and/or approve reports, protocol, regulatory documents,  adjustments, changes, and other necessary documentation, as appropriate. Ensure that Quality Systems, Safety, and other standards, procedures and regulatory requirements are met. 
• Responsible for seamless progression from discovery through 510(k), EPA or other regulatory submission and including preparation and of study reports and sections for submissions.
• Identify regulatory or obsolescence risk to existing technology assets and determine mitigations.
• Participate in technology assessments and due diligence for Business Development opportunities; drive partnerships and collaboration to create new capabilities across the organization.
• Implement training programs to promote rapid product development and effective project management.
• Provide leadership, mentoring and coaching for direct reports, project teams, and project team leaders.  Cultivate a culture of innovation, accountability and continuous improvement.
• Recruit, develop, coach, mentor, engage, and retain diverse and high-performing teams across multiple sites. 
• Collaborate with R&D groups across the IPT business unit
• Build a knowledgeable, effective and trusted R&D organization with effective business competency and a focus on the Customer.
• Build strong relationships and partnerships with key stakeholders across business units.

Required Experience

• A minimum of a Master's degree in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or related scientific technical field is required
• PhD in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or related scientific technical field strongly preferred
• 20 years scientific R&D / NPD experience with increased responsibility.
• 10 years scientific R&D leadership experience, including demonstrated experience in all phases of leading new product development programs up to and including product launch. 
• 10 years experience with and demonstrated competencies working w