Digital Product Portfolio Head

Work Schedule

Environmental Conditions

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is the world leader in serving science, with annual revenue of more than $40 billion. Our Mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. Whether our customers are accelerating life sciences research, solving complex analytical challenges, increasing productivity in their laboratories, improving patient health through diagnostics or the development and manufacture of life-changing therapies, we are here to support them. Our global team delivers an unrivaled combination of innovative technologies, purchasing convenience and pharmaceutical services through our industry-leading brands, including Thermo Scientific, Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, Fisher Scientific, Unity Lab Services, Patheon and PPD.

The PPD™ clinical research business of Thermo Fisher Scientific is a leading provider of global CRO solutions. We provide comprehensive drug development, laboratory and lifecycle services to customers across pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, academic and government entities. By harnessing innovative technology and expertise, we work to empower our customers to bring therapies to market, faster.

We have an exciting new opening for a Digital Product Portfolio Head (known internally as Executive Director, Digital Product) to own the strategy, prioritization, and value realization for a portfolio of new and existing products supporting areas such as Study Optimization, Clinical Study Execution, Patient/Site and Real World Evidence and Sponsor Insights. This role is responsible for leading Product Managers and UX Designers- and partnering in a matrix with Engineering, Data Science, and Quality— and will incubate internal products and solutions, quantify ROI through measurable efficiency gains, and guide readiness for future external monetization.

Reporting to the Head of Digital Products, you are accountable for domain vision, business-case development, roadmap execution, user outcomes, and regulatory compliance (21 CFR Part 11, ICH-GCP, GDPR, HIPAA).

This is a home-based role for candidates in the US (East Coast preferred) or the UK. Travel is estimated up to 25% for site visits, customer meetings, and team onboarding across Europe, India, and North America.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Roadmap & Vision
Craft a 3-year product vision that differentiates PPD.
Translate vision into rolling 12-month roadmaps aligned to corporate OKRs and business objectives.
Continuously monitor industry trends, competitor strategies, and technological advancements to ensure the product portfolio remains competitive and innovative.

Business-Case & ROI Development
Build investment dossiers (TAM, cost–benefit, payback, NPV) for new initiatives.
Establish value-tracking metrics (cycle-time reduction, FTE hours saved, quality KPIs) and partner with Finance to baseline and report realized gains.
Develop comprehensive financial models with partnership from finance and operations to support strategic decisions and present these models to senior leadership and stakeholders.

Product Life-Cycle & Delivery Oversight
Lead discovery, prioritization, backlog refinement, and acceptance criteria.
Co-own sprint cadence and release readiness with Engineering Leaders.
Ensure robust product lifecycle management processes are in place, from ideation through to product retirement.

People & Org Leadership
Line-manage Product Managers / Senior PMs and UX Leads.
Coach craft mastery, career paths, and a user-centric, data-driven culture across US, UK, Eastern Europe, and India hubs.
Foster a collaborative and inclusive team environment that encourages innovation and continuous improvement.

Stakeholder & Customer Engagement
Serve as a liaison to study teams, investigators, sponsors, and regulatory/quality partners; champion voice-of-customer and usability.
Develop and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders to ensure alignment and support for product initiatives.

Governance & Compliance
Own validation strategy (CSV, Part 11), privacy impact assessments, and security posture with Quality, Security, and Engineering.

Qualified candidates will have a demonstrated record of developing business cases and ROI models for digital initiatives (≥$10M) and steering them through funding gates. Experience partnering with engineering organizations to deliver complex, regulated products will be critical, as well as a deep understanding of clinical-trial operations (recruitment, start-up, clinical operations, data management, RBM, safety) and associated regulations.

Product-Management Leadership Competencies

Strategic Product Visioning: Turn ambiguous goals into a crisp 3-year vision and phased roadmap balancing internal efficiency and future market revenue.

Portfolio Prioritization & Resource Allocation: Apply RICE/WSJF at portfolio scale; reallocate team capacity based on live ROI and risk data.

User-Centric Discovery & Validation: Lead problem interviews, journey mapping, rapid MVP/A-B experiments to de-risk before heavy build.

Data-Driven Decision-Making: Define North-Star & leading metrics; build self-serve dashboards so squads can course-correct.

Product Storytelling & Influence: Craft narratives linking clinical-outcome gains to business value; secure funding via clear storytelling.

Cross-Functional Leadership (no authority): Align Engineering, QA, and Compliance on priorities through shared OKRs; resolve conflicts by influence.

Coaching & Talent Development: Mentor PMs, run product leadership meetings, drive craft reviews and growth culture.

Operational Excellence / Product Ops: Implement intake triage, release readiness, KPI hygiene; partner with Engineering on cycle-time tracking.

Regulated-Market Lifecycle : Integrate Design Controls, CSV, privacy-by-design from ideation onward; balance agility with validation.

Financial & Business-Case Mastery : Build TAM, NPV, payback models; translates cost-avoidance into CFO-grade ROI narratives.

Go-to-Market & Change Management: Shape launch and adoption plans; lead internal change-management playbooks for study teams.

Innovation Scouting: Inject emerging tech (AI/ML, decentralized trials) into roadmap through structured discovery.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelors in Life Sciences, Computer Science, Engineering, or related; MBA / MS preferred.
• Previous experience in product or business management leadership in software/SaaS that provides the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the job (comparable to 15 years’ experience).
• 5+ years’ experience managing staff
• In some cases, an equivalency, consisting of appropriate education, training, and/or directly related experience will be considered sufficient for an individual to meet the requirements of the role.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Leadership experience in a CRO, eClinical tech provider, or digital-health start-up.
• Exposure to AI/ML in commercial software.
• Pragmatic Institute PMC, Agile/Scrum, SAFe or equivalent certification.
• Published thought leadership on digital clinical-trial innovation.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Proven ability to lead and influence engineers, designers, analysts, and stakeholders.
• Experience building intuitive user experiences at scale.
• Experience in AI/ML
• Familiarity with agile tools (e.g., Jira, Aha!, Azure DevOps).
• Demonstrated experience managing detailed product execution within large, matrixed organizations.
• Skilled at managing up and aligning with stakeholders.
• Skilled at executive-level storytelling, roadmaps and tradeoff discussions.
• Exceptional skill in translating complex business requirements into intuitive, impactful software features that exceed customer expectations.
• Deep understanding of clinical trial processes, clinical data management, and leveraging AI technologies to address data complexities.
• Proven ability to leverage user insights and data analytics to drive feature development and continuous improvement.
• Outstanding English communication and stakeholder management abilities, capable of clearly articulating detailed product requirements and vision.

At Thermo Fisher Scientific, we are committed to fostering a healthy and harmonious workplace for our employees. We understand the importance of creating an environment that allows individuals to excel. Please see below for the required qualifications for this position, which also includes the possibility of equivalent experience:

• Able to communicate, receive, and understand information and ideas with diverse groups of people in a comprehensible and reasonable manner.
• Able to work upright and stationary for typical working hours.
• Ability to use and learn standard office equipment and technology with proficiency.
• Able to perform successfully under pressure while prioritizing and handling multiple projects or activities.
• Travel up to 25%

The annual salary range estimated for this position in North Carolina is $180,000- $250,000 USD. This position may also be eligible to receive a variable annual bonus based on company, team, and/or individual performance results in accordance with company policy.