Associate Director, Product Management; MDx & Enzymes

Position: Associate Director, Product Management (MDx & Enzymes)
Position: Associate Director, Product Management (MDx & Enzymes)

Department: Marketing

Position Type: Full time

Location: Boulder, CO (preferred)

Experience: MS and +12 years of relevant industry experience, including 2-4 years in people management and a proven track record in product strategy and leadership.

Position SummaryWatchmaker Genomics is seeking a strategic and collaborative Associate Director, Product Management (MDx & Enzymes) to lead our MDx & Enzymes product management team. This individual will play a critical role in advancing product strategy across core molecular diagnostics application specific reagents
-including qPCR, RT-qPCR, PCR, and isothermal amplification-and enzyme technologies supporting both MDx and NGS workflows.

This leader will manage a growing team of Product Managers who drive individual portfolio strategies. While each PM leads their respective portfolio strategy team, the Associate Director will act as a strategic sponsor, ensuring alignment, momentum, and cross-functional connectivity. The role also plays a key part in commercialization planning, customer-centric innovation, and early product discovery within Watchmaker's Product Engine.

This is a highly collaborative role with broad influence across Marketing, R&D, Commercial, and Executive teams. The ideal candidate is a domain expert in MDx and enzymology, an empowering team leader, and a strategic thinker who thrives in fast-paced and OEM environments.

Key Responsibilities

Team Leadership & Development

• Lead, mentor, and grow a high-performing team of Product Managers across the MDx & Enzymes portfolio.
• Set clear goals, drive accountability, and foster a culture of ownership, innovation, and customer centricity.
• Support your team in leading their respective portfolio strategy teams, serving as a strategic sponsor to ensure focus, execution, and alignment with business priorities.

Portfolio Strategy & Market Focus

• Own the overarching MDx & Enzymes product strategy, spanning applications such as qPCR, RT-qPCR, PCR, isothermal amplification, and enzyme use in MDx and NGS workflows.
• Guide multi-year portfolio planning and investment prioritization in partnership with Commercial, R&D, and Executive teams.
• Ensure strategies reflect the needs of key market segments (e.g., point-of-care, decentralized testing, centralized labs) and relevant clinical indications (e.g., infectious disease, oncology).

Product Innovation & Opportunity Development

• Contribute to Watchmaker's Product Engine by supporting market research, customer segmentation, competitive landscaping, and new product opportunity identification.
• Sponsor early-stage discovery efforts, helping your team define unmet needs and align scientific feasibility with market demand.
• Drive clarity and alignment across both MDx and NGS innovation areas.

Commercial Execution & Lifecycle Support

• Guide your team in planning and executing effective product and commercial launches with differentiated positioning, clear messaging, and commercial alignment.
• Partner cross-functionally to ensure go-to-market readiness and long-term product success.
• Support lifecycle management and continuous portfolio optimization to drive sustainable growth.
• Guidance and execution of processes and products to support our OEM channels.

Education and Experience

• MS and +12 years of relevant industry experience, including 2-4 years in people management and a proven track record in product strategy and leadership
• Minimum of 12 years of relevant industry experience in life sciences, diagnostics, or biotechnology.
• 2-4 years in people management
• Demonstrated Product Management experience, with a strong preference for roles involving cross-functional product development and commercial launch.
• Experience participating in or leading NPD core teams is required.
• Customer-facing experience (e.g., field application, sales, customer discovery) is a plus.
• Experience dealing with OEM customers and processes
• Experience in collaboratively developing portfolio strategy.
• Deep expertise in MDx applications and enzyme technologies

Skills and Competencies

• Strategic mindset with strong analytical, market research, and opportunity prioritization skills.
• Strong strategic thinker with a demonstrated ability to define and execute long-term growth strategies.
• Proven leadership and team development capabilities.
• Strong collaboration and communication skills across functions and leadership levels.
• Ability to navigate ambiguity, prioritize with clarity, and drive business results.
• Willingness to travel up to 30% (domestic and international).
• Excellent organizational, prioritization, and decision-making skills.
• Capable of translating complex technical concepts into clear, actionable insights and differentiated product value propositions.
• Proven team leadership, with the ability to coach, develop, and motivate high-performing contributors.
• Customer- and market-focused mindset with strong commercial acumen.

Compensation

The base compensation for the Associate Director, Product…