Vice President, Product Development

Position Summary

The VP of Product Development will lead development of innovative and emerging technologies with a passion for delivering leading new products across our global business. Responsible for development of the technology for scientific and engineering strategy to enable business unit strategies and growth objectives for STERIS.  This individual will identify opportunities to leverage innovation and technology to deliver competitive advantage.  In this role, the VP of Product Development will establish the approach to both comply to and influence global standards.  

What you'll do as the VP of Product Development

• Set the technical vision and lead STERIS Global Research and New Product Development for IPT and Life Sciences Applications with a focus on innovation. 
• Develop and implement an innovative technology roadmap for decontamination, high level disinfection and sterilization for both capital and consumable products. 
• Drive collaboration, standard work, best practice and alignment as appropriate across global R&D teams 
• Implement a knowledge management strategy to capture critical design knowledge for future development efforts  
• Establish STERIS strategy to maintain leadership voice in global and NA standards in decontamination and sterilization. 
• Forge successful relationships with cross-functional partners balancing long-term strategic vision while moving and adjusting quickly to changing markets and environments.  
• Assess and evaluate emerging technologies, trends and innovation and provide insights and recommendations to BU leadership. 
• Collaborate with the key global marketing leaders and/or BU product experts to assess competitive technologies, identify gaps and countermeasures to develop products that will be a competitive differentiator in the market that will result in transformational, Customer-facing product initiatives.  
• Coordinate cross business unit technology opportunities and provide recommendations to SMT. 
• Identify embedded control and software architecture strategy to efficiently deliver information requirements    and in compliance with cybersecurity standards 
• Implement AI, technology and automation strategy to drive efficiency and accelerate development projects.
• Identify regulatory or obsolescence risk to existing technology assets and determine mitigations. 
• Identify opportunity to commercialize intellectual property through in-house research, licensing or acquisition. 
• Lead technology due diligence requirements for global M&A and drive partnerships and collaboration to integrate and create new capabilities across the organization. 
• Optimize corporate product development processes for decontamination, high level disinfection and sterilization solutions including third-party efforts. To deliver projects on time, within operating budget, while achieving  product cost targets and meeting objectives for performance and product quality 
• Optimize corporate design transfer processes along with Operations for decontamination, high level disinfection and sterilization. 
• Develop publication strategy for peer reviewed articles and white papers, including publications through trade shows and sterilization forums. 
• Lead and develop a culture of innovation and operational excellence with a focus on continuous improvement in all areas of product development and business performance. 
• Lead forum for information exchange regarding decontamination and sterilization technologies/strategies with other technical leaders across the STERIS enterprise 
• Attract, retain, and develop strong talent. Encourage collaboration and engagement while upskilling the organization. Promote diversity and inclusion within the organization. 

The Experience, Skills and Abilities Needed

• Fifteen (15) years of impactful leadership in technical (engineering, IT, and/or scientific) innovation/R&D role. 
• Five (5) years’ experience as a leader of multiple R&D or technology teams and/or multiple site teams. 
• Strong technical foundation with the ability to make appropriate assessments and guide the team to optimal solutions. 
• Extensive experience in creating innovative strategies and execution for rapid and meaningful growth.
• Excellent communication skills at all levels from senior executive to technology staff. 
• Track record of credibility and collaborating with cross-functional business executives and ability to drive change through influence and persuasion.
• Proven experience leading innovation transformation, implementing new technologies to enable growth and create a differentiated and effective product for Customers.
• Strong business acumen that demonstrates a clear understanding of impact of innovation and technology has on business strategy and a passion for delivering innovation results.
• Demonstrated ability to transform the level of innovation in a technology organization.
• Excellent leadership, team building, employee motivation, development, and coaching skills.
• Strong business acumen with a clear understanding of the impact of technology on overall business and innovation strategy. 

Preferred Experience

• Minimum of 10 years experience in medical device engineering or R&D.
• Master’s Degree, MBA or PhD
• Global product development leadership in an FDA regulated medical device industry
• Demonstrated track record for delivering innovation resulting in commercial success.
• Experience with capital and consumable solutions preferred