Staff Program Manager Jobs in Portland, OR (NOW HIRING)

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Job Description

About Thermo Fisher Scientific

At Thermo Fisher Scientific, our Mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. We help our customers accelerate scientific discovery, improve human health, advance technology, and solve complex challenges across life sciences, materials science, semiconductor manufacturing, industrial research, and applied markets.

As part of our Analytical Instruments Group, the Materials and Structural Analysis Division develops advanced electron microscopy solutions that help customers see and understand the world at micro-, nano-, and atomic scales. Our technologies support breakthrough work in areas such as life sciences research, semiconductor innovation, materials characterization, and industrial problem-solving.

About the Role

We are seeking a Senior Staff Program Manager to join our Electron Microscopy Research & Development organization. In this strategic leadership role, you will lead complex, cross-functional technology programs within the Semiconductor Business Unit from concept through commercialization.

You will work closely with R&D, Operations, Service, Product Marketing, Quality, Regulatory, and other key partners to deliver advanced electron microscopy products and solutions to customers around the world. This role requires strong technical program leadership, excellent stakeholder management, disciplined execution, and the ability to drive alignment across global, matrixed teams.

This is an opportunity to shape product development programs that support some of the world’s most advanced scientific and industrial workflows, including life sciences research, materials analysis, and semiconductor manufacturing.

What You Will Do

• Lead large-scale, multi-disciplinary programs from concept through development, launch, and commercialization.
• Establish and manage program governance, including scope, milestones, budgets, resources, risks, decision forums, and executive reporting.
• Partner with R&D, Operations, Service, Product Marketing, Quality, Regulatory, and other stakeholders to ensure successful product development and launch readiness.
• Drive alignment across global teams to ensure program objectives, timelines, and business outcomes are clearly understood and actively managed.
• Translate complex technical, operational, and commercial considerations into clear program plans and leadership-level recommendations.
• Identify program risks early, develop mitigation plans, and escalate critical decisions with clear options and business impact.
• Manage complex budgets and resource plans across multiple workstreams or projects.
• Support product roadmap execution by ensuring programs are aligned to customer needs, technical feasibility, business priorities, and commercialization requirements.
• Facilitate cross-functional problem-solving across engineering, manufacturing, serviceability, compliance, and launch readiness.
• Build strong relationships with internal teams and external partners to support program success.
• Mentor, guide, or influence project and program team members to strengthen execution discipline and decision-making.
• Ensure program activities are conducted in alignment with applicable quality, regulatory, and compliance standards.
• Manage multiple high-priority initiatives simultaneously in a fast-paced, global environment.
• Report status of the program to stakeholders and management on regular reviews.

How You Will Make an Impact

In this role, you will help turn advanced technology ideas into customer-ready solutions. Your work will help ensure that complex electron microscopy programs move efficiently from R&D into products that can be manufactured, launched, supported, and used by customers globally.

By bringing structure, clarity, and cross-functional alignment to highly technical programs, you will help Thermo Fisher deliver innovations that enable customers to make critical discoveries, improve product quality, advance semiconductor and materials research, and accelerate scientific progress.

What You Bring

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Physics, Life Sciences, Business Administration, or a related technical field with 8+ years of experience in program management within complex technical environments; or advanced degree with 6+ years of relevant experience.
• Proven experience leading large-scale, cross-functional technical programs from concept through delivery.
• Strong technical acumen with the ability to understand, communicate, and make decisions around complex technical concepts.
• Demonstrated experience managing program budgets, resources, schedules, risks, and executive-level reporting.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, including the ability to influence without direct authority in a matrixed organization.
• Experience working with global, geographically dispersed teams.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, communication, and presentation skills.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple high-priority initiatives simultaneously.
• Proficiency with project management tools and software.
• Ability to travel up to 30% as business needs require.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree in Engineering, Physics, Life Sciences, Business Administration, or a related technical discipline.
• PMP certification or equivalent project/program management certification.
• Experience with project management methodologies such as Agile, Critical Chain, Stage Gate, or similar structured development processes.
• Experience in scientific instrumentation, semiconductor equipment, life sciences tools, advanced hardware/software systems, or a similarly complex technical industry.
• Experience supporting product commercialization, launch readiness, or new product introduction.
• Understanding of regulatory requirements, compliance standards, quality systems, or controlled product development environments.
• Experience mentoring, developing, or leading program/project team members.
• Experience working across R&D, Operations, Service, Product Management, Marketing, Quality, and Regulatory functions.

Key Success Factors

The successful candidate will be able to:

• Bring structure to complex, ambiguous technical programs.
• Build alignment across teams with different priorities and perspectives.
• Use informal influence without direct managerial control
• Communicate clearly with both technical experts and senior business leaders.
• Balance speed, quality, budget, risk, and customer impact.
• Anticipate downstream needs across manufacturing, service, commercialization, and customer support.
• Make program risks visible early and drive practical mitigation plans.
• Operate with urgency while maintaining discipline, quality, and accountability.

Why Join Us

You will join a collaborative, innovation-driven team working on technologies that help customers solve some of the world’s most complex scientific and industrial challenges. This role offers the opportunity to influence advanced product programs, partner with accomplished professionals across the organization, and help bring breakthrough electron microscopy solutions to customers globally.

At Thermo Fisher Scientific, your work will contribute to our Mission of enabling our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer.