R&D Manager - Front End Innovation Technical Development

Overview

Solventum is a new healthcare company with a long legacy of solving big challenges that improve lives and help healthcare professionals perform at their best. At Solventum, people are at the heart of every innovation we pursue. Guided by empathy, insight, and clinical intelligence, we collaborate with the best minds in healthcare to address our customers’ toughest challenges. Our Privacy Policy applies to any personal information submitted, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.

R&D Manager – FEI Technology Development

3M Health Care is now Solventum. At Solventum, we enable better, smarter, safer healthcare to improve lives. As a new company with a long legacy of creating breakthrough solutions, we pioneer game-changing innovations at the intersection of health, material and data science that change patients’ lives while enabling healthcare professionals to perform at their best. We focus on people’s wellbeing as the core of scientific advancement.

We partner closely with the brightest minds in healthcare to ensure that every solution melds the latest technology with compassion and empathy. We never stop solving for you.

As a R&D Manager
, you will have the opportunity to tap into your curiosity and collaborate with diverse, innovative teams. You will make an impact by:

• Assisting in the identification and prioritization of front-end innovation (FEI) and technology exploration programs that shape future products, platforms, and technology strategies
• Allocating resources across exploratory programs to balance speed, risk, and potential impact
• Driving early technical de-risking by guiding direct reports to identify critical unknowns, design focused experiments, and generate data that clarifies feasibility, scalability, and differentiation
• Energizing work groups by fostering curiosity, experimentation, calculated risk-taking, learning from failure, and strong teamwork while developing technical talent for early-stage, uncertain environments
• Collaborating with Product Development, Marketing, Medical Affairs, Manufacturing, Quality, and Regulatory to ensure FEI solutions are actionable and positioned for seamless transition to new product development
• Developing and maintaining deep awareness of external technologies, emerging science, startup activity, and academic research relevant to the organization’s future technology landscape and integrating external insights into FEI programs and roadmaps

To set you up for success in this role from day one, Solventum requires (at a minimum) the following qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in a science or engineering discipline (completed and verified prior to start) from an accredited institution
• 7 years of relevant experience in a regulated industry (medical devices preferred), utilizing design controls to design, develop, verify, validate, and commercialize new products

Additional qualifications that could help you succeed

• Master’s degree or higher in an applicable technical field
• Previous experience managing people, leading teams, and developing/managing budgets
• Expertise in project technical leadership with the ability to oversee multiple projects simultaneously
• Demonstrated ability to evaluate, mentor, and grow talent
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills, familiarity with strategizing on early technical innovations
• Broad technical depth across relevant disciplines including materials, engineering, and biology
• Experience collaborating with marketing, laboratory, quality, regulatory, and other functions common in Med Tech
• Experience in evaluating technology readiness
• Proficiency in MS Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), strong written and verbal communication skills, ability to read and understand technical drawings

Work location: Hybrid – on-site at Maplewood, MN/Eagan, MN (moving in a couple of months) or San Antonio, TX office on a weekly basis.

Travel: May include up to 25%…