Spatial Biology Jobs (NOW HIRING)

By joining Bio-Techne, you'll join a company with a powerful and positive purpose of enabling cutting-edge research in Life Sciences and Clinical Diagnostics. Bio-Techne, and all of its brands, provides tools for researchers to further treat and prevent disease worldwide.

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BioTechne is seeking a Head of R&D to lead the Spatial Biology Division's global R&D organization across Newark (CA) and Tolochenaz (Switzerland). SBD delivers an integrated portfolio of multiomic assays and reagents, automation and instrumentation, software and analytics, and applications. These are anchored by RNAscope in situ hybridization technologies and COMET sequential immunofluorescence instrumentation.

This role is accountable for running SBD R&D as one operating system: a unified strategy and roadmap, clear portfolio priorities, disciplined governance, harmonized processes, and reliable execution. The Head of R&D will balance runthebusiness (sustaining, customer enablement, applications support, reliability) with buildthefuture (new products, platform evolution, workflow integration, and clinical expansion) to translate innovation into adoption, pullthrough, and sustainable growth.

BioTechne's Spatial Biology Division has evolved to a single, integrated division with shared leadership and increased customer focus. This is a critical leadership position in that operating model, responsible for the endtoend global R&D portfolio and the systems that make delivery predictable, scalable, and impactdriven.

You will partner closely with Product Management, Marketing, PMO/Program Management, Operations/Quality, Clinical/Medical Affairs, and Commercial leadership - and work with other Bio-Techne cross-divisional leaders and technologies - to ensure SBD's global R&D investments create differentiated customer value and durable business outcomes.

1) Advance the SBD R&D strategy and own the portfolio

• Define and maintain an integrated R&D strategy and roadmap across Newark and Tolochenaz, aligned to SBD business strategy and customer needs

• Own portfolio prioritization and resource allocation across:

  • New Product Introduction (NPI) / platform evolution

  • Sustaining product, technology & lifecycle improvements

  • Applications, evidence generation, and customer enablement

  • Longerhorizon innovation programs

• Make disciplined, transparent tradeoffs across customer value, technical risk, manufacturability, margin/COGS, timetomarket, and strategic differentiation

• Partner with Legal/IP to shape an SBD IP strategy aligned with platform roadmaps and competitive positioning

2) Run a unified R&D operating system

• Establish and lead an operating cadence that makes crosssite delivery predictable through portfolio reviews, gate reviews, roadmap refreshes, and executive updates/readouts

• Ensure strong endtoend program execution for integrated products and workflows (reagents, instruments, and software/analytics), including phasegate discipline, technical risk management, verification/validation, and launch readiness

• Build/strengthen processes that improve speed and quality by ensuring alignment with customer needs, clarifying requirements, and ensuring design transfer readiness

3) Lead, develop, and retain a worldclass crosssite team

• Lead and develop global teams across major capability areas, including assay chemistry and reagents, engineering/instrumentation, software/analytics, and applications

• Build leadership bench strength through succession planning, targeted hiring, and capability development across both sites

• Create a culture of accountability with clear goals, decision ownership, and evidencesupported planning and delivery

4) Drive innovation that converts to adoption and growth

• Translate customer "problemstosolve" into integrated workflow and product requirements, closing the gap between scientific novelty and everyday customer utility

• Map innovation investments across short/mid/long horizons, ensuring continuity from strategy to impact and creating protectable IP

• Strengthen endtoend workflow differentiation (multi-omic assays, automation, analytics, high-value applications) to increase adoption, utilization, and pullthrough

5) Partner crossfunctionally to deliver business outcomes

• Partner closely with Product Management, Marketing, Project Management, Operations, Quality, Clinical/Medical Affairs, and Commercial to ensure priorities and tradeoffs reflect:

  • customer segmentation and adoption barriers

  • manufacturability, quality readiness, and supply chain constraints

  • evidence generation, claims strategy, and clinical pathway considerations

• Leverage BioTechne's crossdivisional technologies (antibodies, dyes, complementary platforms, etc.) to elevate SBD solutions and create differentiated workflows

Education

• Ph.D. in life science, engineering, or a related field (or equivalent combination of advanced degree and industry experience)

Experience

• 12+ years of industry experience in life science tools, diagnostics, or closely related instrumentation/reagent businesses

• 5+ years in senior leadership (Director/Sr. Director/VP) managing multidisciplinary R&D teams and leaders within a global setting

• Demonstrated success taking integrated systems (instrument + consumables/reagents + software) from concept to commercialization

• Significant experience in spatial biology or pathology workflows (e.g., ISH, IHC, IF), including instrumentation and image analysis pipelines

• Experience operating within phase-gate product development systems and partnering effectively with Quality/Regulatory in QMS environments

Leadership capabilities (what we're looking for)

• Portfolio owner: makes principled decisions from best evidence and clearly explains tradeoffs and "the why"

• Operator: advances governance and operating rhythms that drive predictable execution across sites

• Integrator: aligns teams and cultures across geographies and builds shared norms and accountability

• Customercentric leader: connects R&D investments to adoption, workflow fit, and measurable value

• Communicator: translates complex scientific/technical topics for audiences from bench teams to executive leadership to external KOLs and biopharma partners

• One roadmap, one portfolio: Newark and Tolochenaz operate against a single integrated R&D roadmap with clear priorities, decision rights, and transparent resource allocation

• Efficient, predictable execution: defined priorities and consistent governance, phasegates, and risk management improve planning, resource allocation, and delivery

• Enhanced workflow differentiation: R&D outputs increasingly ship as integrated workflows (assays + automation + analytics), improving adoption and pullthrough

• Designed-in quality and manufacturability: new product development, operations readiness, and design transfer are optimized to enhance manufacturing efficiency, robustness, and scale

• Strong team dynamic and technical exchange between R&D sites: best practices for cross-site collaboration, knowledge sharing and innovation with supporting forums, tools, and systems

• Effective crossfunctional alignment: communicate and collaborate with non-R&D functions through a shared vision and mission; functions trust the R&D operating system and are "bought-in" with a clear understanding of the link between investments and outcomes