Research Operations Lead

HEMA Research Operations Lead

DePuy Synthes is recruiting for a HEMA Research Operations Lead, located in West Chester, Pennsylvania or Raynham, Massachusetts or Raritan, New Jersey or Warsaw, Indiana or Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

Johnson & Johnson announced plans to separate our Orthopedics business to establish a standalone orthopedics company, operating as DePuy Synthes. The process of the planned separation is anticipated to be completed within 18 to 24 months, subject to legal requirements, including consultation with works councils and other employee representative bodies, as may be required, regulatory approvals and other customary conditions and approvals. Should you accept this position, it is anticipated that, following conclusion of the transaction, you would be an employee of DePuy Synthes and your employment would be governed by DePuy Synthes employment processes, programs, policies, and benefit plans. In that case, details of any planned changes would be provided to you by DePuy Synthes at an appropriate time and subject to any necessary consultation processes.

Job Overview

DePuy Synthes is seeking a HEMA Research Operations Lead to drive the research operations for the Health Economics, Market Access & Epidemiology (HEMA) organization. This role is central to ensuring that HEMA's research portfolio spanning health economics studies, epidemiological analyses, and market access evidence generation is executed with rigor, efficiency, and strategic alignment. The Research Operations Lead will own the systems, processes, and cross-functional coordination that enable the HEMA team to produce high-quality evidence and insights on time and within budget.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the end-to-end operational management of the HEMA research portfolio, including study tracking, timeline governance, milestone monitoring, and resource allocation across all active health economics, epidemiology, and market access studies
• Drive study start-up and activation activities, including protocol finalization support, data use agreement execution, and site/vendor readiness
• Manage research compliance documentation across all HEMA-sponsored studies, ensuring adherence to internal policies and SOPs
• Design and maintain standardized research operations frameworks, including project management templates, study workflows, and stage-gate processes to ensure consistency and quality across the portfolio
• Build and maintain dashboards and reporting mechanisms to track research deliverables, study milestones, and key performance indicators across the HEMA portfolio
• Deliver regular portfolio status reports to HEMA leadership, proactively identifying risks, bottlenecks, and opportunities to accelerate study timelines
• Own the HEMA research budget lifecycle — from forecasting and allocation to spend tracking and variance analysis, in partnership with HEMA lead and finance
• Manage purchase orders, contracts, and invoicing tied to research activities, ensuring fiscal discipline and compliance with procurement policies
• Support resource planning to optimize allocation of internal and external research capacity
• Manage relationships with external research partners, data providers, and consultants, including contract negotiation support, statements of work, and performance oversight
• Serve as the primary operational liaison with Procurement, Legal, and Compliance for all HEMA vendor engagements and physician collaborations
• Evaluate and onboard new vendors and data sources to expand HEMA's research capabilities as the organization evolves
• Own and continuously optimize the research operations technology stack, including project management platforms, study trackers, shared repositories, and collaboration tools (e.g., SharePoint, Smartsheet, Teams)
• Identify and implement process improvements that reduce cycle times, eliminate inefficiencies, and elevate the quality of research operations
• Develop and maintain standard operating procedures (SOPs) for core HEMA research operations processes
• Serve as the central operational point of contact for cross-functional teams engaging with HEMA research activities

Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Health Administration, Life Sciences, or related field. Three to five years of experience in research operations, project management, or administrative leadership, preferably within a healthcare, MedTech, or pharmaceutical environment. Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, PowerPoint, Teams); experience with project management tools. Experience managing budgets, purchase orders, and vendor contracts. Exceptional attention to detail, multitasking ability, and organizational skills. Strong interpersonal and communication skills; ability to work effectively with diverse teams and external partners.

Other: Fluent in English required. Travel 15% required- Union: Not applicable.- Driver's License: Valid driver's license required where applicable.

Johnson & Johnson is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by federal, state or local law. We actively seek qualified candidates who are protected veterans and individuals with disabilities as defined under VEVRAA and Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act.

Johnson & Johnson is committed to providing an interview process that is inclusive of our applicants' needs. If you are an individual with a disability and would like to request an accommodation, external applicants please contact us via internal employees contact AskGS to be directed to your accommodation resource.