Senior Director, Research & Development
Posted Sep 24, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026
Likely interview questions for this role
Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.
About your past
Walk me through a molecular diagnostic you took from late-stage development through launch under design controls.
What they are checking: Direct leadership of design-controlled IVD or CDx programs, not only early research.
Tell me about an assay transfer from R&D to operations that went poorly. What did you change?
What they are checking: Practical lessons about design transfer, which is a common failure point.
How do you develop and lead a team of senior scientists and managers?
What they are checking: Leadership at director level, including coaching leaders rather than doing their work.
Tell me about a time you had to push back on a launch date for quality reasons.
What they are checking: Integrity and the courage to protect patients and inspection readiness under business pressure.
What would you do
Regulatory, Quality and Clinical disagree on a validation approach and the timeline is at risk. What do you do?
What they are checking: Ability to lead cross-functional partners to a decision without losing compliance.
How would you build systems that make product development scalable and repeatable here?
What they are checking: Process excellence thinking that goes beyond running one program at a time.
About the work
How do the paths differ for an IVD, a CDx, an IUO and an LDT, and how does that change your development plan?
What they are checking: Clear understanding of regulatory categories and how they shape validation and timelines.
How do you plan an analytical validation so it is inspection-ready from day one?
What they are checking: Whether their validation planning, documentation and traceability would hold up to an inspector on any given day.
A post-launch change is needed to a cleared assay. How do you decide what testing and filings it requires?
What they are checking: Judgment about change control and regulatory impact after launch.
How do you manage risk across a portfolio of development programs?
What they are checking: Whether they can see risk, resources and timing across many programs at once, not one at a time.
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As published by Tempus AI.