Senior Program Manager, R&D

Senior Program Manager, R&D Vision

We are searching for the best talent to join our Vision team as a Senior Program Manager, R&D located in Milpitas, CA.

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 vision treatments? Ready to join a team that's reimagining how vision is improved? Our Vision team solves the toughest health challenges. Help combine cutting-edge insights, science, technology, and people to encourage eye care professionals and patients to proactively protect, correct and enhance healthy sight for life. Our products and services address these needs from the pediatric to aging eye in a patient's lifetime.

Your unique talents will help patients on their journey to wellness.

Purpose: The Senior Program Manager is responsible for end-to-end leadership and delivery of global new product development programs with a specialized mandate to lead Vision R&D initiatives (computer vision, imaging systems, and ML-based vision solutions). This role is the execution owner and integrator for highly matrixed, cross-functional teams, ensuring programs are strategically aligned, delivered on schedule and within budget, and meet rigorous quality, safety, and regulatory requirements in a regulated healthcare environment. Working closely with Technical Leads, Data Scientists, Systems Engineers, Clinical and Regulatory stakeholders, and Business Leaders, the Senior Project Manager translates strategy into disciplined execution, identifies and mitigates technical and programmatic risk, and drives outcomes that benefit patients, customers, and the enterprise. This role demonstrates strong business judgment, fosters collaboration, upholds compliance and quality standards, and leads with a Credo-based, patient-centric mindset.

You will:

• End-to-End Vision R&D Program Leadership
• Lead complex, global Vision R&D programs from concept through commercialization, including imaging hardware, optics, embedded software/firmware, and machine learning components.
• Own program execution for vision-enabled products and features, ensuring alignment to business strategy, platform objectives, data governance, and quality/regulatory expectations.
• Define and manage roadmap, deliverables, success metrics and acceptance criteria specific to vision systems (e.g., accuracy, robustness, explainability, latency, power/thermal constraints on embedded platforms).
• Coordinate cross-functional design and integration activities across optics, sensor selection and characterization, data collection & annotation, model training/validation, MLOps, edge/cloud deployment, and clinical validation.

Program Planning, Execution & Governance

• Develop and maintain integrated project artifacts:
• Project charter, scope, technical and clinical acceptance criteria
• Detailed schedules and stage-gate milestones (GNPP), with embedded ML/vision specific milestones (data readiness, annotation plan, model freeze, transfer to verification)
• Budget and resource forecasts, including external vendor and labeling partner plans
• Risk, issue and dependency management plans (algorithm drift, dataset bias, hardware-software integration risks)
• Apply disciplined project management, governance, and stage-gate rigor to deliver predictable, high-quality outcomes in regulated environments.
• Prepare and present clear, data-driven program updates and GNPP stage gate materials to senior management and executive sponsors.

Cross-Functional Leadership & Influence

• Act as primary program point-of-contact, partnering with:
• Technical Leads (vision algorithms, optics, embedded/firmware, systems integration)
• Data Science/ML Engineering (data strategy, model validation, performance monitoring)
• Functional Managers (resource planning, procurement, external partners)
• Clinical, Regulatory, Quality, and Manufacturing teams for validation and commercialization
• Facilitate effective collaboration across R&D, Clinical, Quality, Regulatory, Operations, and Commercial functions to enable timely decision-making and release readiness.
• Lead program meetings to drive clarity, accountability, and timely resolution of actions.

Risk, Issue & Problem Resolution

• Proactively identify program, technical, regulatory, data, and operational risks (including algorithmic bias, data privacy, model performance under varied conditions).
• Lead cross-functional risk mitigation and recovery plans; negotiate trade-offs and escalate appropriately.
• Ensure plans for post-market surveillance and model performance monitoring are defined and actionable.

Quality, Compliance & Enterprise Mindset

• Ensure programs comply with Design Control Regulations, quality systems, and applicable standards (e.g., ISO 13485, IEC 62304/62366, ISO 14971) and regulatory requirements for vision-enabled medical products and SaMD where applicable.
• Advocate for appropriate allocation of budget and resources aligned to program priorities and enterprise value.
• Promote data privacy, security, and ethical AI practices (data governance, labeling standards, consent, de-identification).
• Model Johnson & Johnson leadership behaviors (integrity, accountability, inclusion) and support environmental, health, safety, and sustainability policies.
• Mentor and provide oversight to junior project managers and team members; contribute to capability building for Vision R&D project practices.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business or a Science related field required
• Advanced degree or Project Management certification (PMP or equivalent) preferred
• 10+ years of professional experience with a strong emphasis on project or program management in regulated environments (medical devices highly preferred)
• Experience coordinating hardware-software integration (sensors/optics + embedded systems) and managing external vendors/partners (labeling vendors, cloud providers, contract manufacturers)
• Proven track record leading complex, cross-functional technical teams by influence in a global matrixed organization
• Deep understanding of product development lifecycles, design controls, risk management, and regulatory expectations for vision-enabled and software-driven medical products
• Strong stakeholder management, executive communication, and presentation skills comfortable driving decisions at senior leadership levels
• Ability to balance speed, quality, compliance, cost, and technical risk to drive pragmatic outcomes
• Demonstrated resilience, sound judgment, and a continuous improvement mindset.
• Experience with data privacy/compliance requirements relevant to healthcare data (e.g., HIPAA awareness) and ethical AI practices strongly preferred
• Experience in ophthalmology project management preferred

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 and 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 email the Employee Health Support Center ([email protected]) or contact AskGS to be directed to your accommodation resource.

Required Skills:

Preferred Skills:

Agility Jumps, Business Alignment, Collaboration, Continuous Improvement, Mentorship, Operational Excellence, Organizing, Performance Measurement, Process Control, Project Management Methodology (PMM), Project Management Office (PMO), Project Reporting, Project Schedule, Quality Control (QC), Research and Development, Technical Credibility

The anticipated base pay range for this position is :

$157,000.00 - $271,400.00

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 yearSick 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 yearHoliday pay, including Floating Holidays 13 days per calendar yearWork, Personal and Family Time - up to 40 hours per calendar year