R&D PMO & Portfolio Delivery Leader

Illumina; San Diego (CA); Hybrid; USD 205,000 - 308,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Genomics sequencing access

Family planning benefits

Health/dental/vision coverage

Retirement benefits

Paid time off

Employee Resource Groups

Job summary

Illumina is seeking a Head of R&D Portfolio & PMO to drive execution excellence across a complex R&D portfolio in the United States. You will design, deploy, and continuously improve PMO standards, governance, and tools, while translating priorities into executable plans and delivery insights.

The role partners with Strategy & Portfolio, Product Management, and business leaders to optimize trade-offs, sequencing, and risk management.

Qualifications

• Typically requires a Bachelor’s degree and a minimum of 20 years of related experience, with 12+ years of management experience.
• Advanced degree in Life Sciences, Business, or related field; MBA or PhD preferred.
• Demonstrated success building PMO capabilities, strengthening delivery performance, and developing PMO talent.
• Experience running development programs that include different product types: instruments, assays, regulated products, and software.
• Advanced understanding of stage-gate product development process and risk management.

Responsibilities

• Lead the R&D PMO to ensure execution rigor, predictable delivery, and operational discipline across a complex R&D portfolio.
• Ensure initiatives are delivered on time, on budget, and to defined quality standards, with strong risk and dependency management.
• Own and continuously improve PMO standards, methodologies, governance and tools, including fit-for-purpose product development and delivery frameworks.
• Integrate AI into PMO processes to increase overall project delivery efficiency.
• Enable effective portfolio governance in partnership with R&D Strategy and Portfolio Operations & Insights, Corporate Strategy, Product Management, and business group leaders.
• Operationalize portfolio priorities into executable programs, roadmaps, and capacity-informed plans.
• Provide execution-based insights to inform portfolio trade-offs, sequencing, and governance decisions.
• Deliver clear, consistent execution reporting, dashboards, and metrics to R&D leadership and cross-functional leadership.
• Serve as trusted execution partner to senior executives and cross-functional leaders, in a complex matrixed environment.
• Drive cross-R&D alignment and collaboration to manage interdependencies and accelerate delivery.
• Champion transparency and accountability through effective reporting and insights.
• Attract, develop, and retain top-tier PMO and R&D talent.
• Coach and mentor PM talent to strengthen core competencies and career progression.
• Foster a high-performing, inclusive culture focused on innovation, adaptability, and measurable outcomes.

Skills

PMO leadership

Portfolio governance

Execution excellence

Data-driven decisions

Change leadership

Global mindset

Stakeholder mgmt

Cross-functional collab

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Advanced degree (MBA/PhD) preferred

PMP or similar certification preferred

Job description

Illumina is seeking a Head of R&D Portfolio & PMO to drive execution excellence across a complex R&D portfolio in the United States. You will design, deploy, and continuously improve PMO standards, governance, and tools, while translating priorities into executable plans and delivery insights.

The role partners with Strategy & Portfolio, Product Management, and business leaders to optimize trade-offs, sequencing, and risk management.