POSITION SUMMARY:
As a market leader in cfDNA-based diagnostics, we are expanding our Early Cancer Detection (ECD) portfolio to deliver transformative clinical impact at scale. The Senior Director, ECD Product Strategy & Lifecycle will lead the strategy, development, and lifecycle management of a portfolio of ECD products, from concept through launch, growth, and optimization.
This role is accountable for defining product vision and strategy, translating unmet clinical and customer needs into differentiated products, and driving execution through strong cross-functional leadership. The Senior Director will build and manage a high-performing product management team and partner closely with R&D, clinical, regulatory, commercial, medical affairs, and operations to ensure successful delivery of business and patient outcomes.
POSITION LOCATION:
This position can be out of our San Carlos, CA office or Remote, USA.
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:
Product Strategy & Portfolio Leadership
- Own the product vision, strategy, and roadmap for the Early Cancer Detection portfolio, aligned with corporate strategy and long-term growth objectives
- Lead annual and multi-year strategic planning for ECD products, including investment prioritization, sequencing, and resource allocation
- Identify, size, and segment new market opportunities using top-down and bottom-up analyses, incorporating clinical, commercial, and customer insights
- Define clear value propositions and differentiation strategies based on competitive intelligence, customer needs, and evolving standards of care
Product Lifecycle Management
- Lead products across the full lifecycle, from concept and feasibility through development, launch, post-launch optimization, and eventual sunset
- Drive definition of product requirements, success metrics, and launch readiness in partnership with cross-functional teams
- Guide trade-off decisions across performance, features, timelines, and investment, particularly in technically complex genomic and algorithm-driven products
Customer & Market Insights
- Lead qualitative and quantitative customer research with clinicians, health systems, payers, partners, and internal stakeholders
- Translate insights into clear product requirements, roadmap decisions, and business cases
- Monitor competitive landscape, emerging technologies, and regulatory or reimbursement changes impacting early cancer detection
Financial & Business Planning
- Build and oversee robust business cases, including revenue forecasts, unit economics, ROI, and NPV analyses for new and existing products
- Pressure-test assumptions, evaluate sensitivities, and make data-driven investment recommendations
- Partner with finance and commercial leadership to align product strategy with financial objectives
People & Cross-Functional Leadership
- Lead, and develop a team of Product Managers supporting innovation and lifecycle initiatives within Early Cancer Detection
- Establish and scale product management best practices, processes, and metrics
- Act as a senior product leader and influencer across R&D, clinical, regulatory, medical affairs, commercial, and executive leadership
- Clearly communicate product vision, strategy, and priorities to align stakeholders and inspire teams
QUALIFICATIONS:
- Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree (PhD, MD, or MBA) strongly preferred
- 10+ years of experience in product management, product strategy, consulting, or related roles within diagnostics, biotechnology, medical devices, or health technology
- Prior experience with early cancer detection products strongly preferred
- Demonstrated experience managing products across the full lifecycle, including successful product launches
- Proven people leadership experience, including hiring, coaching, and developing product managers
- Experience developing regulated clinical products and working closely with clinical trials and regulatory pathways
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:
- Strategic, analytical thinker with the ability to translate complex data into clear product and business decisions
- Strong market research capabilities, including customer interviews and quantitative analysis
- Comfortable diving deep into technical, algorithmic, and molecular concepts and translating them into customer-facing product features
- Hands-on financial modeling and business case development expertise
- Exceptional cross-functional leadership, communication, and influence skills
- Entrepreneurial mindset with a bias toward action, accountability, and results
OUR OPPORTUNITY
Natera™ is a global leader in cell-free DNA (cfDNA) testing, dedicated to oncology, women’s health, and organ health. Our aim is to make personalized genetic testing and diagnostics part of the standard of care to protect health and enable earlier and more targeted interventions that lead to longer, healthier lives.
The Natera team consists of highly dedicated statisticians, geneticists, doctors, laboratory scientists, business professionals, software engineers and many other professionals from world-class institutions, who care deeply for our work and each other. When you join Natera, you’ll work hard and grow quickly. Working alongside the elite of the industry, you’ll be stretched and challenged, and take pride in being part of a company that is changing the landscape of genetic disease management.
WHAT WE OFFER
Competitive Benefits - Employee benefits include comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life and disability plans for eligible employees and their dependents. Additionally, Natera employees and their immediate families receive free testing in addition to fertility care benefits. Other benefits include pregnancy and baby bonding leave, 401k benefits, commuter benefits and much more. We also offer a generous employee referral program!
For more information, visit www.natera.com.
Natera is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to ensuring a diverse and inclusive workplace environment, and welcome people of different backgrounds, experiences, abilities and perspectives. Inclusive collaboration benefits our employees, our community and our patients, and is critical to our mission of changing the management of disease worldwide.
All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply, and will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, age, veteran status, disability or any other legally protected status. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with applicable laws.
If you are based in California, we encourage you to read this important information for California residents.
Link: https://www.natera.com/notice-of-data-collection-california-residents/
Please be advised that Natera will reach out to candidates with a @natera.com email domain ONLY. Email communications from all other domain names are not from Natera or its employees and are fraudulent. Natera does not request interviews via text messages and does not ask for personal information until a candidate has engaged with the company and has spoken to a recruiter and the hiring team. Natera takes cyber crimes seriously, and will collaborate with law enforcement authorities to prosecute any related cyber crimes.
For more information:
- BBB announcement on job scams
- FBI Cyber Crime resource page