Manager, R&D Projects

Job description

Work Schedule Standard (Mon-Fri) Environmental Conditions Office Job Description As part of the Thermo Fisher Scientific team, you’ll discover meaningful work that makes a positive impact on a global scale. Join our colleagues in bringing our Mission to life every single day to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. We provide our global teams with the resources needed to achieve individual career goals while helping to take science a step beyond by developing solutions for some of the world’s toughest challenges, like protecting the environment, making sure our food is safe or helping find cures for cancer. DESCRIPTION As Manager – Should Costing, Teardown & Benchmarking at Thermo Fisher Scientific, you will lead strategic cost engineering initiatives that drive product competitiveness and margin expansion across a diverse portfolio of advanced instrumentation and technology platforms. This role blends deep technical expertise with people leadership and program execution to deliver data- driven insights that influence design, sourcing, and product strategy. You will build and lead a high- performing team focused on should costing, product teardown, and competitive benchmarking , partnering closely with R& D, sourcing, manufacturing, and product management teams. Your work will directly inform value engineering decisions, enabling cost optimization while maintaining performance, quality, and compliance standards. REQUIREMENTS Lead and scale a team responsible for should costing, product teardown, and competitive benchmarking across complex electro-mechanical and analytical systems Drive cost transparency by developing detailed bottom-up cost models covering materials, manufacturing processes, labor, and supply chain inputs Conduct structured product teardowns to identify cost drivers, design inefficiencies, and value improvement opportunities Establish competitive benchmarking frameworks to assess product positioning, cost structures, and feature-performance trade-offs Partner with R&D and product management to influence design-to-cost (DTC) strategies early in the product development lifecycle Collaborate with sourcing and operations teams to validate cost models, support negotiations, and identify supplier optimization opportunities Lead value analysis/value engineering (VAVE) initiatives to deliver measurable cost savings and margin improvement Standardize tools, methodologies, and best practices for cost engineering and benchmarking across programs Present insights and recommendations to senior leadership, enabling data-driven decision-making Mentor and develop team members, fostering strong technical depth and business acumen MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: Master’s degree with 6+ years of experience, or Bachelor’s degree with 8+ years of experience in cost engineering, product teardown, benchmarking, or value engineering Degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Electronics Engineering, or a related technical discipline PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS Proven experience in should costing, teardown analysis, and competitive benchmarking for complex products or instrumentation Strong understanding of manufacturing processes ( machining, sheet metal, injection molding, PCB/ PCBA, cable assemblies, precision assemblies) Demonstrated success delivering cost savings through VAVE, design- to- cost, and supplier optimization initiatives Experience working with cross- functional teams across R& D, sourcing, manufacturing, and product management Expertise in building detailed cost models, including clean- sheet costing and parametric costing approaches Familiarity with global supply chains, cost drivers, and regional manufacturing considerations Experience with engineering documentation such as FMEAs, specifications, and validation plans Knowledge of quality systems and regulatory requirements in a technology or scientific environment Proficiency with relevant tools ( e. g., Excel- based cost modeling, CAD interpretation, PLM systems) Experience with Agile or hybrid project execution environments KEY COMPETENCIES Strong commercial and technical acumen with a focus on cost competitiveness Data- driven decision- making and structured problem- solving Influencing and stakeholder alignment across global teams People leadership, coaching, and capability development Strategic thinking with strong execution discipline Clear and compelling communication with senior stakeholders