Job Description

The Director of R&D is responsible for the overall leadership and hands-on management and supervision of an R&D team located in the USA and UK. This position, in collaboration with Product Management and senior leadership, establishes the strategic product development plan and areas of scientific focus for the Enzymes, Genotyping, Molecular Reagents, and NGS portfolios. Working with other senior management, the Director plays a number of key roles in the successful growth of the business, including opportunity analyses, successful product development, and setting research goals and the plans to achieve those goals.  

The Director is also charged with identifying areas to develop novel technology, initiating research projects/programs sought at growing the business, improving operating efficiencies, and meeting quality objectives while ensuring delivery of R&D critical metrics. It is intended that the Director will provide to the Innovation Hub, by driving broader technical network development and contributing to strategy and execution of established objectives.  

The ideal candidate will be encouraged to demonstrate or be able to develop knowledge in the following areas.  

NGS: 

1. Knowledge of NGS technologies and the platforms used for short and long read sequencing, including sample preparation aspects to be considered for a successful sequencing outcome
2. Application space of NGS, notably tGBS (targeted genotyping by sequencing) and whole-genome sequencing, with understanding of their utilization in clinical and applied markets. Have familiarity with the competitive landscape, advantages and disadvantages of different methodologies, and how customers decide between them.  
3. Understand NGS data analysis to collaborate with bioinformaticians in new product development.  

Genotyping and PCR:  

1. Application space of PCR for MDx and Applied markets, including genotyping, expression analysis, detection of biological agents, etc.  
2. Use of PCR to genotype polymorphism, such as implemented in KASP.  
3. Amplification technologies outside of PCR (RCA, LAMP, NEAR).  
4. Knowledge of approaches to genotype various polymorphisms (SNPs, InDels, SV, PAV, CNV).  
5. Understanding of principles of assay design for the above, including primer and probe design.  

Enzymes and Molecular Reagents:  

1. Use of enzymes in all the above.  
2. Optimization of buffers and components to build Molecular Reagents.  
3. Knowledge of enzyme development and engineering.  

Qualifications

• M.Sc.(required) or Ph.D. (preferred) in a related life sciences field.  
• 10+ years of experience carrying out R&D, leading laboratory, and managing teams, preferably in an industry setting.  
• Experience managing research groups and releasing new products.  

Proficiences and Behaviors

• Demonstrated ability to stay current with the field and innovate.  
• Demonstrated ability to work cross-functionally and within a cross-cultural team.  
• Proven track record to clearly set goals and optimally handle concurrent activities, delivering results timely and within budget.  
• A track record of successfully achieving goals and solving problems in the relevant field.  
• Ability to communicate difficult concepts, ideas, and solutions to project teams and leadership.