OverviewBio-Rad’s Clinical Diagnostics Group is executing Diagnostics 2.0 — a deliberate shift from a collection of diagnostic businesses to a unified technology company built on platform reuse, a continuous assay content engine, multiomic biomarker discovery, and AI-native development. Delivering that vision means changing what we build, where we build it, and how we work — simultaneously, across all R&D sites and two continents. The Director, Technical Operations is the person who makes that possible at pace. This role is the strategic partner, operational backbone, and connective tissue for CDG R&D — owning the rhythm of business, translating strategy into sequenced execution, and putting the right data in front of the right decision at the right time. This is an operating leadership role, not an administrative or shadow one. Success is measured by decisions accelerated, mechanisms that stick, and execution that lands — not by meetings attended. The role carries no direct reports at hire and drives almost entirely through influence, credibility, and the quality of the thinking it brings.
How Youll Make an Impact:
Strategy Translation Diagnostics 2.0 into Executable Work
- Own the line from strategy to plan. Convert the Diagnostics 2.0 / Technology Strategy 2030 agenda into a sequenced, owned, and resourced roadmap with clear milestones, dependencies, and decision gates.
- Maintain the single source of truth. Hold the integrated view of R&D commitments across platform, content, discovery, informatics, and quality so leadership debates one picture, not five.
- Keep strategy honest. Test proposed initiatives against the strategys stated logic platform reuse, content velocity, AI-native development and surface where reality is diverging from intent.
- Drive the Gate 0 front end. Support the Technology Readiness Team / Pathfinder framework as a repeatable mechanism for maturing early concepts into funded programs.
Operating Mechanisms the Rhythm of Business
- Design and run the cadence. R&D leadership staff, technology and portfolio reviews, quarterly business reviews, annual and long-range planning, functional deep dives, and R&D all-hands each with a defined purpose, input standard, and decision output.
- Close the loop. Own agendas, pre-reads, decision logs, action tracking, and follow-through. Nothing decided in the room is allowed to evaporate after it.
- Set the goal architecture. Run the OKR/KPI cycle so objectives are few, measurable, tied to named owners, and cascade cleanly from the SVPs agenda to the functions.
- Build light, not bureaucratic. Introduce the minimum mechanism that produces the behavior. Retire mechanisms that have stopped earning their meeting time.
Decision Support, Data & Analysis
- Bring the data set to the decision. Assemble the numbers behind headcount, spend, portfolio, capacity, cycle time, and site cost so choices are made on evidence rather than advocacy.
- Build the models. Scenario and trade-off analysis for resource allocation, capability build vs. buy vs. partner, site capacity, and investment sequencing.
- Make the org legible. Span of control, skill mix, seniority distribution, and capability gaps analyzed with the judgment to know which parts of the organization the standard model does not describe well.
- Instrument what matters. Stand up a small, durable set of R&D operating metrics and the reporting rhythm around them; resist the dashboard that nobody acts on.
Budget, Resource & Portfolio Stewardship
- Partner with Finance. Support annual budget build, quarterly forecast, headcount planning, and capital requests; reconcile the R&D plan to the financial plan and explain variance in plain terms.
- Manage at the top line. Track capacity and spend at the portfolio level so freed resource can be redeployed to the highest-value work regardless of function or site.
- Steward the requisition pipeline. Maintain visibility of open roles, backfills, and redeployments against the approved plan and the transformation sequence.
- Support make/buy/partner decisions. Build the analysis behind third-party, OEM, and center-of-excellence sourcing choices in cyclical disciplines.
Transformation & Site Network Partnership
- Partner on network strategy. Support footprint, capability-consolidation, and site-transformation work across Cressier, Marnes, Hercules, Irvine, and Pleasanton including planning, sequencing, risk management, and the operational detail that determines whether a change lands or stalls.
- Be visible on the ground. Spend real time at the sites. Build the relationships, earn the credibility, and be recognized by site teams as the SVPs operational partner someone who can be given a problem and trusted to carry it.
- Coordinate change delivery. Work with HR, Finance, Legal, Facilities, Quality, and site leadership so that people, communication, compliance, and timing are aligned rather than sequential.
- Handle sensitive work with judgment. Much of this work is confidential and consequential for people. Discretion is a baseline requirement, not a differentiator.
Strategic Projects, Diligence & Integration
- Run the one-offs. Take ownership of ambiguous, high-stakes strategic projects with no natural home scope them, drive them, and land them.
- Support external growth evaluation. Coordinate technical and operational diligence for partnership, licensing, and inorganic opportunities; assemble the fact base, manage the workstreams, and synthesize findings for executive decision.
- Plan for integration. Where opportunities advance, support technical integration planning platform fit, site fit, capability fit, and the realistic cost of getting there.
- Partner externally. Work alongside external strategy partners and consultants without outsourcing the thinking to them.
Innovation Mechanisms & Culture
- Operate the innovation engine. Run the mechanisms behind the Impossible Challenges, innovation sessions, and site-level stretch challenges from framing and facilitation through capture, triage, funding, and follow-through.
- Convert ideas into programs. Ensure good ideas get a route to resourcing rather than a photograph of a whiteboard.
- Champion AI-native ways of working. Help the organization adopt agentic and AI-assisted tooling in how R&D actually works and measure whether it made anything faster.
Executive Communication
- Write for decision. Strategy memos, board and executive materials, functional reviews, and organization-wide communications that compress complexity into a clear recommendation.
- Represent the SVP. Act as a trusted proxy in forums where a decision needs R&Ds position, with the judgment to know when to decide and when to bring it back.
- Keep the organization informed. Support the communication cadence that keeps all sites aligned on where the strategy stands and why.
What You Bring:
- Education: Bachelors degree in engineering, life sciences, computer science, or a related technical discipline; advanced degree (MS, PhD, or MBA) preferred.
- Work Experience: 10+ years of professional experience, including 5+ years in technical operations, R&D program or portfolio management, strategy, management consulting, or an operational chief-of-staff role supporting a senior technical executive.
- Demonstrated ownership of complex, cross-functional programs in an R&D, engineering, or scientific environment, and a track record of building operating mechanisms (planning cycles, portfolio reviews, goal frameworks, executive cadences) that outlasted the person who built them.
- Strong quantitative and analytical skills paired with executive-grade written communication: able to build the model, defend the assumptions, and turn a complex technical debate into a two-page memo that produces a decision.
- Willingness to travel 25 640%, including internationally. Background in diagnostics, medical devices, biotech, or another regulated environment (IVD, LDT, CLIA, ISO 13485, FDA) strongly preferred; US/European multi-site experience a plus.
Location: This position must be based in Hercules, CA and requires the employee to be located within commuting distance of the office.
Total Rewards Package: At Bio-Rad, were empowered by our purpose and recognize that our employees are as well. Thats why we offer a competitive and comprehensive Total Rewards Program that provides value, quality, and inclusivity while satisfying the diverse needs of our evolving workforce. Bio-Rad's robust offerings serve to enrich the overall health, wealth, and wellbeing of our employees and their families through the various stages of an employees work and life cycle.
Benefits: Were proud to offer a variety of options, including competitive medical plans for you and your family, free HSA funds, a new fertility offering with stipend, group life and disability, paid parental leave, 401k plus profit sharing, an employee stock purchase program, a new upgraded and streamlined mental health platform, extensive learning and development opportunities, education benefits, student debt relief program, pet insurance, wellness challenges and support, paid time off, Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), and more!
Compensation: The estimated base salary range for this position is $204,800 to $270,000 at the time of posting. Actual compensation will be provided in writing at the time of offer, if applicable, and is based on several factors we believe fairly and accurately impact compensation, including geographic location, experience, knowledge, skills, abilities, and other job permitted factors. This position is eligible for a variable annual bonus, which is dependent upon achievement of your individual objectives and Company performance.
