[Hiring] Principal R&D Project Manager @Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine

Role 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. We are searching for the best talent for Principal R&D Project Manager to be based out of Boston, MA and Gieres, France.

The Principal R&D Project Manager – Navigation Platform is responsible for planning and executing assigned projects within the Navigation 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 – Navigation, 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.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Life Sciences, or related field.
• 5+ years of project management experience within regulated class II and product development environments (medical device, robotics, navigation, 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.
• 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.
• Strong in RAID management and structured escalation; ability to drive mitigation actions and decisions to closure.
• Strong in project controls including budget baselining, forecasting, and earned value management (EVM) concepts.

Requirements

• Experience with Class II or Class III medical devices, robotics, navigation, or software-enabled products.

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 period.
• Volunteer Leave – 32 hours per calendar year.
• Military Spouse Time-Off – 80 hours per calendar year.