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 Staff Project Manager Advanced Technology to join our J&J Orthopaedics (DePuy Synthes) team. This position can be based in Boston, MA or Gières, France, depending on business needs and candidate location.
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.
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Please note that this role is available across multiple countries and may be posted under different requisition numbers to comply with local requirements. While you are welcome to apply to any or all of the postings, we recommend focusing on the specific country(s) that align with your preferred location(s):
United States - Requisition Number: R-087902
France - Requisition Number: R-101072
Remember, whether you apply to one or all of these requisition numbers, your applications will be considered as a single submission.
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Purpose:
The Staff Project Manager Advanced Technology is responsible for managing the advanced technology pre-charter funnel and for planning and executing assigned projects within the Advanced Technology group in Digital R&D, ensuring delivery against scope, schedule, cost, and quality in a regulated medical device environment. A primary focus of this role is to run the pre-charter intake process, prioritize and govern the funnel of advanced technology opportunities, track their progress and maturity, and ensure that projects are correctly managed and transferred into New Product Development (NPD) when they reach charter readiness. Reporting to the Platform Program Manager, 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, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, systems engineering, clinical, internal cross-functional partners, external partners, and drives disciplined controls to enable predictable delivery outcomes.
You will be responsible for:
- Manage the advanced technology pre-charter funnel, owning the intake process for new opportunities, ensuring requests are captured, assessed, and tracked through a consistent and transparent pipeline.
- Prioritize pre-charter opportunities in partnership with platform leadership and key stakeholders, applying agreed criteria to rank and sequence the funnel and to inform resourcing and investment decisions.
- Track and report the progress and maturity of pre-charter activities, maintaining funnel visibility (status, gating criteria, decisions, and next steps) and driving items toward charter readiness or disposition.
- Ensure pre-charter projects are correctly managed and seamlessly transferred into New Product Development (NPD) when they meet charter readiness, including handoff of scope, plans, risks, and deliverables to the receiving NPD team with clear ownership and continuity.
- Own project planning and baseline management for assigned advanced technology 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 project core team meetings, drive action/decision tracking, and ensure timely follow-through across cross-functional contributors.
- 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.
- Execute assigned project(s) and provide data-driven recommendations and inputs.
- Lead 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.
- Responsible for ensuring that subordinates follow all Company guidelines related to Health, Safety and Environmental practices and that all resources needed to do so are available and in good condition, if applicable.
- Responsible for ensuring personal and Company compliance with all Federal, State, local and Company regulations, policies, and procedures
- Support project resource and schedule planning.
- Performs other duties assigned as needed.
Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Life Sciences, or related field.
- 5+ years of project management experience within regulated class II or class III and product development environments (medical device, robotics, advanced technology, or software-enabled products preferred).
- Experience with phase-gate execution and design controls documentation in a QMS environment.
- Deep understanding of regulated medical device product development and phase-gate execution, including FDA 21 CFR 820.30 / ISO 13485 design controls.
- 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.
- Excellent knowledge of Agile, Lean, SAFe, or hybrid execution models.
- 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.
- Experience running an intake/pipeline or pre-charter funnel process, including opportunity triage, prioritization, and structured transition of projects into New Product Development (NPD).
- Strong in project controls including budget baselining, forecasting, and earned value management (EVM) concepts.
Location & Travel Requirements
- Primary locations: Boston, MA or Gières, France.
- Hybrid work model with minimum 3 days per week onsite.
- Estimated travel up to 20%, domestic and international.
External Interaction
- Work closely with Health Care Professionals (Surgeons), to conduct preclinical, formative, summative and validation studies throughout the innovation process.
- Interactions with Health Care Professionals (Surgeons, Clinical Staff) Field Sales, Commercial Education, and Professional Education.
- 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 requirements.
Required Skills:
Preferred Skills:
Computer Programming, Critical Thinking, Data Science, Industry Analysis, Innovation, Problem Solving, Process Improvements, Relationship Building, Research and Development, Robotic Automation, Robotic Control Software, SAP Product Lifecycle Management, Technical Credibility, Technologically Savvy
The anticipated base pay range for this position is :
$109,000.00 - $174,800.00
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
