Ventaris Surgical, Inc. Director of Marketing (Upstream) San Carlos, CA · Full time

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About the Role

Ventaris Surgical is seeking a Director of Marketing (Upstream) to own and build the company's upstream marketing and product management function. This is a hands-on, strategic role for someone who can bridge the voice of the customer and the product development process, translating deep clinical insight into clear, actionable product direction that guides R&D and shapes the commercial strategy.

The Director will be the primary owner of Voice of Customer (VOC) activities at Ventaris, developing a structured and ongoing process for gathering clinician and market insight and feeding it systematically into the R&D organization. We are looking for someone with legitimate upstream product management experience who understands how to define products, prioritize the roadmap, and partner closely with engineering to move from user needs to design inputs.

The scope includes identifying new products and indication opportunities, guiding next-generation platform development, and managing the lifecycle of the current platform. In the near term, the role will focus heavily on VOC methodology, product definition, and roadmap development. Over time, this leader will help build the product marketing function and prepare the organization for downstream commercialization as the company scales.

This role is ideal for a builder who thrives in early-stage environments and enjoys creating rigorous product strategy, programs, and tools from the ground up.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and lead a structured, ongoing VOC program that captures clinician needs, workflow insights, treatment gaps, and unmet needs from the field
• Conduct clinician interviews, field observations, advisory board sessions, and engagement with key opinion leaders to generate actionable product insight
• Synthesize and translate qualitative and quantitative VOC data into clear product requirements, user needs, and development priorities for the R&D team
• Serve as the primary liaison between clinical stakeholders and the R&D organization, ensuring market insight is systematically embedded in the product development process
• Define and maintain the product strategy and roadmap across the current platform and future product opportunities
• Identify and evaluate new product concepts, next-generation platform enhancements, and potential clinical indication expansions
• Partner closely with engineering and R&D to convert user needs and VOC findings into design inputs, product specifications, and development priorities
• Support lifecycle management of existing products including enhancements and indication expansion
• Lead product launch planning and cross-functional readiness activities
• Develop core product messaging, positioning, and product-related commercial materials grounded in clinical evidence and customer insight
• Build the foundation for the product marketing function, including VOC processes, product management frameworks, and tools that support both product development and future commercialization
• Partner closely with clinical, engineering, regulatory, and commercial teams to ensure alignment between product strategy and market execution
• This role reports to the VP of Clinical and Commercial Strategy.

Requirements

• At least 10 years of experience in upstream product management or product marketing within the medical device industry; downstream or communications-only backgrounds will not be considered
• Demonstrated experience building and running a VOC program and translating customer insight into product requirements and R&D inputs
• Proven upstream product management skills: customer insight generation, product definition, roadmap development, and design input development
• Proven ability to work cross functionally with engineering, clinical, and commercial teams throughout the product development lifecycle
• Ability to translate clinical and user insights into product requirements and development priorities
• Strong communication skills with the ability to engage credibly with physicians, surgeons, and clinical stakeholders
• Experience operating in fast-moving or early-stage environments with limited infrastructure
• Experience working with capital and disposable surgical device models is highly desired

Education

• Bachelor's degree required, preferably in engineering, life sciences, biomedical engineering, or a related field
• Advanced degree such as an MBA, MS, or other relevant graduate degree preferred

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in urology or related procedural specialties
• Experience developing surgical or interventional medical technologies
• Track record of building upstream product management or product marketing capabilities within a growing organization
• Experience working directly with R&D and engineering teams to translate VOC into formal design inputs and product specifications