Senior) Project Manager - Front End Innovation

vVARDIS is a Swiss-based oral health company founded by Dr. Haley and Dr. Goly Abivardi, dentists, innovators, and award-winning entrepreneurs. vVARDIS is the result of a combined 30 years of dental and entrepreneurial experience, and 20 years of laboratory and clinical research paired with the creative vision of its founders.

At vVARDIS, we are committed to delivering innovative solutions that enhance oral health and well-being, inspired by the vision of our founders to foster preventive rather than reparative dentistry. At the heart of our Company lies its patented, revolutionary biomimetic peptide technology. Scientifically proven in over 200 publications, this unique technology can treat early caries through enamel regeneration, like no other technology can do, offering a non-invasive, pain-free solution for patients of all ages.

We offer a number of oral health products targeting dental professionals and their patients, as well as consumers, all based on our proprietary technology.

We value our people and believe in fostering a positive and collaborative work environment, based on our core values of innovation, excellence, integrity, and empathy.

We are located in Zug, Switzerland, with operations in Europe and the US. Join us on this exciting journey!

Purpose:

As Front End Innovation Project Manager in R&D, you will play a pivotal role in the earliest phases of the innovation process, transforming new ideas into viable projects ready for development. This highly strategic role focuses on identifying unmet medical needs, assessing market needs and technology feasibility, building business cases, elaborating the Regulatory and the Development Strategy and shaping innovation projects from ideation through early prototyping.

Your leadership will enable rapid evaluation, prioritization, and activation of new product opportunities aligned with vVARDIS' strategic vision.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead cross-functional innovation projects from idea intake to proof-of-concept, prior to full product development.
• Conduct thorough assessment of medical needs, market landscape, competitive environment, and commercial potential.
• Evaluate technology readiness: assess internal capabilities, identify technology gaps, and determine whether to develop internally, partner, or acquire technology.
• Identify and evaluate M&A opportunities.
• Analyze Freedom-to-Operate (FTO), intellectual property (IP) landscape, and contribute to IP strategy and filings.
• Develop early-stage business cases, including technical feasibility, regulatory considerations, and financial viability.
• Establish and manage rapid ideation-to-decision processes to ensure timely evaluation and progression of ideas.
• Collaborate closely with R&D, Regulatory, Clinical, Marketing, and Business Development teams to build robust innovation pipelines.
• Define and enable early development strategies, de-risk projects, and prepare them for transition into formal development.
• Drive cross-functional alignment, ensuring clarity of objectives, resource needs, and next steps.
• Maintain clear and proactive communication with senior leadership regarding project status, key risks, and critical decisions.

Required Qualifications:

• Advanced degree (PhD preferred) in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Material Sciences, or related field.
• 5+ years of experience in medical device development, ideally in the dental, pharmaceutical, or life science industry and 3+ years experience in R&D project management.
• Experience in innovation management or product strategy (with a significant part of this being front-end)
• Strong expertise in evaluating new technologies, medical needs, and business opportunities.
• Solid understanding of product development processes, especially in medical devices, dental industry, OTC, or pharma.
• Familiarity with regulatory pathways, quality standards, and clinical evidence generation.
• Experience contributing to IP strategy and technology scouting.
• Excellent problem-solving, analytical, and strategic thinking skills.
• Strong communication, collaboration, and influencing skills across cross-functional teams.
• Self-starter mindset with the ability to manage ambiguity and drive progress in a fast-paced environment.

What This Role Offers You:

• Frontline role in shaping vVARDIS' future product pipeline, in one of the most innovative Med Tech and Oral Health startups in Switzerland.
• Collaborative and entrepreneurial work environment.
• Access to cutting-edge research and global experts, including recently installed dedicated lab facilities in Michigan and Zurich.
• Opportunity to directly impact product strategy and patient outcomes.
• Professional growth within a fast-scaling organization.

Your Personality:

You are energized by innovation, thrive on identifying new opportunities, and excel at translating early ideas into actionable projects. You combine strategic vision with a pragmatic approach to problem-solving. You build strong relationships across teams, lead with humility, and are driven…