Senior R&D Project Manager | Boston, MA – DePuy Synthes

At Johnson & Johnson, we believe health is everything. Our strength in healthcare innovation empowers us to build a world where complex diseases are prevented, treated, and cured, where treatments are smarter and less invasive, and solutions are personal. Through our expertise in Innovative Medicine and MedTech, we are uniquely positioned to innovate across the full spectrum of healthcare solutions today to deliver the breakthroughs of tomorrow, and profoundly impact health for humanity. Learn more at jnj.com

As guided by Our Credo, Johnson & Johnson is responsible to our employees who work with us throughout the world.  We provide an inclusive work environment where each person is considered as an individual.  At Johnson & Johnson, we respect the diversity and dignity of our employees and recognize their merit.

Job Function:

R&D Product Development

Job Sub Function:

Robotics

Job Category:

Scientific/Technology

All Job Posting Locations:

Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America

Job Description:

About Orthopaedics

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 Orthopaedics? Ready to join a team that’s reimagining how we heal? Our Orthopaedics teams help keep more than 6 million people moving each year while delivering clinical and economic value to surgeons and healthcare systems.

Our teams build solutions for joint reconstruction; trauma and craniomaxillofacial; sports, extremities, and elective foot and ankle; spine; and robotics and digital surgery.

Your unique talents will help patients on their journey to wellness. Learn more at https://www.jnj.com/medtech.

We are searching for the best talent for a Senior R&D Project Manager to join our J&J Orthopaedics team (DePuy Synthes).  This position is based in Boston, MA.

Johnson & Johnson announced plans to separate our Orthopaedics business to establish a standalone orthopaedics company, operating as DePuy Synthes. The process of the planned separation is anticipated to be completed within 18 to 24 months, subject to legal requirements, including consultation with works councils and other employee representative bodies, as may be required, regulatory approvals and other customary conditions and approvals.

Should you accept this position, it is anticipated that, following conclusion of the transaction, you would be an employee of DePuy Synthes and your employment would be governed by DePuy Synthes employment processes, programs, policies, and benefit plans. In that case, details of any planned changes would be provided to you by DePuy Synthes at an appropriate time and subject to any necessary consultation processes.

Purpose:

The Senior R&D Project Manager is responsible for planning and executing assigned projects within the robotics platform in Digital R&D, ensuring delivery against scope, schedule, cost, and quality in a regulated medical device environment.  Reporting to the Platform Program Manager – Knee Robotics, this role owns the project-level integrated plan (WBS/IMS), project budget baseline and EVM tracking, project RAID management, change control, and stakeholder communications. The Project Manager coordinates cross-functional execution across software, systems, V&V, clinical, quality, regulatory, and manufacturing partners, and drives disciplined design controls and phase-gate readiness to enable predictable delivery outcomes.

You will be responsible for:

In accordance with all applicable federal, state and local laws/regulations and Corporate DePuy Synthes, procedures and guidelines, this position is responsible to:

• Own project planning and baseline management for assigned Knee Robotics projects, including project charter, scope baseline, WBS, and an integrated master schedule aligned to the platform program plan.

• Manage project schedule execution, critical path tracking, milestone readiness, and schedule recovery actions; maintain and communicate weekly status to the platform leadership team.

• Own the project budget baseline, track actuals and forecasts, and perform earned value management (EVM) tracking; provide inputs for program-level financial reviews and funding decisions.

• Maintain the project RAID log (risks, issues, assumptions, dependencies) with proactive mitigation actions; escalate cross-project or platform-level risks and decisions through the Platform Program Manager.

• Lead weekly project core team meetings, drive action/decision tracking, and ensure timely follow-through across cross-functional contributors.

• Drive disciplined design controls and Design & Development Planning (DDP) execution, ensuring required evidence packages and reviews support regulatory and quality expectations.

• Plan and coordinate product launch readiness for international markets, ensuring project plans account for regional regulatory, quality, commercial, supply chain, labeling, training, and market-entry dependencies.

• Plan and drive phase-gate readiness activities and toll-gate submissions (schedule, documentation, V&V readiness, risk status, and stakeholder alignment).

• Manage project change requests (scope/schedule/cost) and ensure changes are reviewed, approved, and documented per governance and change control expectations.

• Drive project resource demand and capacity planning with functional leaders; surface and resolve resource conflicts and negotiate mitigation plans or escalations as needed.

• Support hybrid execution cadence (Agile sprints + hardware work packages) by coordinating sprint planning inputs, backlog readiness, and integration dependencies with the Scrum Master, Software/Hardware Lead, and technical leads.

• Coordinate vendor/contractor deliverables and procurement tracking (SOW/PO/PCARD) in partnership with PM Operations and Finance; ensure supplier work aligns to schedule, quality, and deliverables.

• Execute assigned project(s) and provides data-driven recommendations and inputs.

• Leads project closure activities, including lessons learned, final reporting, and transition to sustaining/operations as applicable.

• Provide transparent project dashboards and stakeholder communications (status, KPIs, risks, decisions, and next milestones), and initiate/manage project escalations through closure when required.

EXTERNAL INTERACTIONS

• This position will require significant interactions with customers of Depuy Synthes, field sales leaders and external development partners.

• Work closely with Health Care Professionals (Surgeons), to conduct preclinical, formative, summative, and validation studies throughout the design process.

• Interactions with Health Care Professionals (Surgeons, Clinical Staff) Field Sales, Commercial Education, and Professional Education, administering field-based complaint characterization, risk assessments and onsite remediation.

• Collaborate with third-party development partners to transform proofs of concept into fully functional, high-level prototypes, by providing clear specifications, design inputs, and feedback throughout the design process to ensure alignment on technical and business requirements.

Qualifications:

EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Life Sciences, or related field is required.

• Minimum of 3 years project management experience is required.  Experience in a regulated Class II and/or product development environments (medical device, robotics, Knee Robotics, or software-enabled products) is highly preferred.

• Experience with phase-gate execution and design controls documentation in a QMS environment is preferred.

• Demonstrated evidence of planning and supporting product launches in international markets, including familiarity with regional medical device regulatory requirements and market-entry expectations such as EU MDR, TGA, and other applicable international regulatory frameworks is preferred.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, ABILITIES, CERTIFICATIONS/LICENSES and AFFILIATIONS

• Deep understanding of regulated medical device product development and phase-gate execution, including FDA 21 CFR 820.30 / ISO 13485 design controls is preferred.

• Experience managing complex, cross-functional programs across software, systems, and hardware, including integrated planning across requirements, architecture, V&V, clinical, quality, and regulatory deliverables.

• Demonstrated technical problem-solving leadership.

• Strong project controls and financial acumen including budget baselining, forecasting, earned value management (EVM) concepts, and data-driven performance reporting.

• Demonstrated ability to build and manage integrated schedules (IMS/WBS), critical path, and dependency mapping across cross-functional teams.

• Proficiency with project management tooling (e.g., MS Project, Smartsheet, Planisware/Cadence PPM, Jira/Azure DevOps) and documentation practices.

• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills; ability to produce clear dashboards, executive updates, and decision briefs.

• Experience operating in Agile/SAFe or hybrid delivery models; ability to drive project resource and schedule planning.

• Strong in RAID management and structured escalation; ability to drive mitigation actions and decisions to closure.

LOCATION & TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS

• Primary location: Boston, MA, US.

• Hybrid work model with minimum 3 days per week onsite.

• Estimated travel up to 15%, domestic and international.

The Company maintains highly competitive, performance-based compensation programs.  Under current guidelines, this position is eligible for an annual performance bonus in accordance with the terms of the applicable plan.  The annual performance bonus is a cash bonus intended to provide an incentive to achieve annual targeted results by rewarding for individual and the corporation’s performance over a calendar/performance year.  Bonuses are awarded at the Company’s discretion on an individual basis.

Employees and/or eligible dependents may be eligible to participate in the following Company sponsored employee benefit programs: medical, dental, vision, life insurance, short- and long-term disability, business accident insurance, and group legal insurance.

Employees may be eligible to participate in the Company’s consolidated retirement plan (pension) and savings plan (401(k)).

Employees are eligible for the following time off benefits:

• Vacation – up to 120 hours per calendar year.

• Sick time - up to 40 hours per calendar year.

• Holiday pay, including Floating Holidays – up to 13 days per calendar year.

• Work, Personal and Family Time - up to 40 hours per calendar year.

For additional general information on Company benefits, please go to:  https://www.careers.jnj.com/employee-benefits.

This job posting is anticipated to close on 8/18/26.  The Company may however extend this time-period, in which case the posting will remain available on https://www.careers.jnj.com to accept additional applications.

For more information on how we support the whole health of our employees throughout their wellness, career and life journey, please visit www.careers.jnj.com. 

Johnson & Johnson is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by federal, state or local law. We actively seek qualified candidates who are protected veterans and individuals with disabilities as defined under VEVRAA and Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act. 

Johnson & Johnson is committed to providing an interview process that is inclusive of our applicants’ needs. If you are an individual with a disability and would like to request an accommodation, please contact us via https://www.jnj.com/contact-us/careers or contact AskGS to be directed to your accommodation resource.

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Required Skills:

Project Management

 

 

Preferred Skills:

Design Controls, Problem Solving, Product Development

 

 

The anticipated base pay range for this position is :

$92,000.00 - $148,350.00

Additional Description for Pay Transparency:

Subject to the terms of their respective plans, employees are eligible to participate in the Company’s consolidated retirement plan (pension) and savings plan (401(k)).

Subject to the terms of their respective policies and date of hire, employees are eligible for the following time off 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 period10 days

Volunteer Leave – 32 hours per calendar year

Military Spouse Time-Off – 80 hours per calendar year

For additional general information on Company benefits, please go to: - https://www.careers.jnj.com/employee-benefits