Director, Upstream Marketing

Job description

Saluda Medical is a commercial‑stage medical device company focused on developing treatments for chronic neurological conditions using its novel closed‑loop neuromodulation platform. The company’s proprietary technology senses and measures neural responses to stimulation and automatically adjusts therapy based on real‑time neurophysiological feedback. Saluda Medical’s first product, the Evoke® System, is designed to deliver known, consistent, and personalized spinal cord stimulation therapy by objectively measuring neural responses and maintaining therapy within a prescribed therapeutic window. Saluda Medical is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. At Saluda, we challenge boundaries. We innovate and think beyond the conventional. Our focus is to revolutionize the standard of care in neuromodulation to positively impact patient’s lives. The Director / Sr. Director of Upstream Marketing will own Saluda's global product portfolio strategy and the pipeline of new products, serving as the voice of the market inside the company. This leader will define where Saluda plays next — identifying unmet clinical needs, shaping product requirements, building business cases, and guiding new products from concept through development to launch readiness. Reporting to the VP of Marketing, this role partners closely with R&D, Clinical, Regulatory, and Finance to prioritize the pipeline, and with Downstream Marketing and Sales to ensure a seamless handoff from development to commercialization. It is a high-visibility role that directly shapes Saluda's multi-year growth trajectory. What You’ll Do: Portfolio Strategy & Roadmap Own the multi-year global product portfolio strategy and roadmap across the Evoke platform and adjacent opportunities, aligned to corporate growth objectives Continuously assess portfolio performance, lifecycle position, and white-space opportunities; recommend investment, sustain, and sunset decisions Lead portfolio planning and prioritization with executive leadership, balancing near-term line extensions against longer-horizon platform bets Maintain a rigorous view of competitive pipelines, emerging technologies, and clinical trends in neuromodulation and adjacent therapy areas New Product Pipeline & Development Identify and validate unmet needs through voice-of-customer research, KOL engagement, procedural observation, and market analysis Translate market insights into clear product requirements, target product profiles, and user needs documents for R&D Build and defend business cases for new product concepts, including market sizing, adoption modeling, pricing assumptions, and financial projections Serve as the marketing lead on core/phase-gate development teams, representing the customer and commercial perspective through design, verification, and validation Partner with Clinical and Regulatory on evidence strategy and claims development to ensure new products launch with a compelling, defensible value proposition Launch Readiness & Commercial Handoff Define global launch strategy, positioning, and geographic sequencing for pipeline products well ahead of commercialization, spanning U.S. and OUS markets Lead the structured handoff to Downstream Marketing and Sales, ensuring launch plans, claims, and training foundations are in place Support limited market releases and early evaluator programs; capture feedback and drive iteration before full launch Market Insight & Cross-Functional Leadership Serve as the company's authority on global market dynamics: market models, share tracking, customer segmentation, and procedural trends Build and manage KOL and physician advisory relationships to pressure-test concepts and shape the pipeline Mentor and develop upstream marketing talent as the function scales; manage direct reports as assigned Champion the voice of the customer in executive forums, portfolio reviews, and board-level discussions as required What You’ll Bring: Required Bachelor's degree in business, engineering, or life sciences; MBA or advanced degree preferred 10+ years of progressive medical device marketing experience with significant upstream/portfolio responsibility; neuromodulation, spine, or active implantable experience strongly preferred Demonstrated success taking multiple products from concept through development to launch as the upstream marketing lead Experience operating within a design control / phase-gate development process and partnering effectively with R&D Strong command of market modeling, business case development, and financial analysis Proven voice-of-customer and KOL engagement skills, including physician advisory boards and field-based research Experience assessing, prioritizing, and supporting launches in markets outside the U.S., including regulatory and reimbursement considerations by geography Executive presence and communication skills; comfortable presenting portfolio strategy to senior leadership Preferred Experience with data-driven or closed-loop technologies, digital health, or products with a software/data component Prior work in a growth-stage company scaling from a single platform to a broader portfolio Competencies for Success: Market-back thinker: starts with the customer and clinical problem, not the technology Strategic and rigorous: builds business cases that hold up under CFO scrutiny and board review Influencer without authority: aligns R&D, Clinical, and executive stakeholders around portfolio priorities Bias for action: thrives in a growth-stage company where the playbook is still being written Our Core Values: People – Our first responsibility is to the patients we serve. Integrity – Do the right thing Pioneering – Lead Boldly, Change Lives, Disrupt the Status-Quo Performance – Win together – Deliver with Excellence. Saluda Medical embraces diversity and equal opportunity. We are committed to building a team representative of a variety of backgrounds, perspectives and skills. We believe people are the source of our inspiration and innovation. Saluda Medical does not accept non-solicited resumes or candidate submittals from search/recruiting agencies not already on Saluda Medical’s approved agency list. Unsolicited resumes or candidate information submitted to Saluda Medical by search/recruiting agencies not already on Saluda Medical’s approved agency list shall become the property of Saluda Medical.