Associate Director, R&D Portfolio Operations, Insights

Role Overview

• Lead the design, standardization, and continuous improvement of portfolio management processes across the R&D organization.
• Enable integrated planning, improving predictability, and driving portfolio transparency through scalable PMO frameworks, data infrastructure, analytics, and reporting.
• Serve as a strategic operations partner to R&D, Finance, and PMO Leadership, ensuring a single-source of truth to enable portfolio insights and decisions.
• Design and implement standardized PMO processes, tools, and governance frameworks across R&D.
• Establish integrated planning processes that connect strategy, resource planning, timelines, and execution milestones.
• Drive adoption of best practices for stage-gate governance, risk management, and cross-functional alignment.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives to enhance operational rigor, predictability, and accountability.
• Develop and maintain enterprise-level portfolio planning models that enable scenario planning and trade-off analysis.
• Partner with R&D, Engineering, Regulatory, Finance to align roadmap assumptions and resource forecasts.
• Implement forecasting and tracking mechanisms to improve milestone predictability and delivery confidence.
• Monitor portfolio performance and proactively surface risks, dependencies, and capacity constraints.
• Own and evolve the R&D portfolio management database, ensuring data accuracy, integrity, and usability.
• Define data standards, KPIs, and portfolio health metrics.
• Lead vision for automated dashboards and trending analyses to provide real-time insights to leadership.
• Create portfolio views to support investment decisions, resource allocation, and strategic trade-offs.
• Work with PMO portfolio leads to develop executive-ready reporting packages (monthly/quarterly) highlighting progress, risks, and trends.
• Translate complex data into clear, actionable insights for senior stakeholders.
• Serve as a thought partner to PMO and R&D leadership on operational effectiveness.
• Provide key inputs into cross-functional portfolio review forums and governance meetings.
• Influence without authority across scientific, clinical, regulatory, and commercial product management teams.
• Lead and mentor portfolio operations team members as the function scales.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Biology or equivalent. MS or PhD in Biological Sciences preferred.
• Minimum of 10 years of program management experience in biotech space and educational background in molecular biology or genetics testing.
• Certification or formal training in Program or Project Management and experience using resource management tools is a big plus.
• Strong knowledge of creative workflows, project management tools and processes.
• Experience compiling GANTT charts and project plans.
• Experience with product development.
• Familiar with design control is a plus.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to establish and build productive relationships.
• Excellent communication within the project teams as well as with diverse stakeholders, including top level management.
• Excellent organization and time management/multi-tasking skills (comfortable in an ambiguous and fast-paced environment, operating at both strategic and tactical levels).

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life and disability plans for eligible employees and their dependents.
• Free testing in addition to fertility care benefits for Natera employees and their immediate families.
• Pregnancy and baby bonding leave.
• 401k benefits.
• Commuter benefits.
• Generous employee referral program.