OverviewAs Sr. Principal, Change Management, you are the senior change leader embedded within the Enterprise Transformation team - responsible for leading the organizational change strategies and execution that make capability improvement programs land and stick across the business. You bring the enterprise CoE's framework to life on the ground: adapting it to the specific programs, stakeholders, and organizational contexts of the Transformation portfolio.
This is a hands-on senior role with significant executive visibility. You will be the change management voice in every major Transformation initiative - from the early stages of program design through sustained adoption - and a critical partner to program leaders, business sponsors, and the enterprise CoE. You will also play a central change leadership role on our PLM implementation, one of the most complex and cross-functional programs in Waters' near-term pipeline.
Responsibilities - Change Strategy & Planning: Design and lead tailored change strategies for major Transformation initiatives using the enterprise CoE framework, and build change plans into each program from day one.
- PLM & R&D Transformation: Lead change management for Waters' Product Lifecycle Management implementation and related R&D process and portfolio redesign across R&D, Quality, Regulatory, and Commercial teams.
- Stakeholder & Sponsor Engagement: Help senior leaders across business units and regions understand and fulfill their sponsorship roles. Use two-way dialogue to surface resistance and risks early.
- Readiness & Impact Assessment: Assess the people, process, role, and technology impacts of each program. Flag conflicts between concurrent initiatives and advise on sequencing and pacing.
- Communications & Change Narrative: Develop audience-specific communication strategies that connect each initiative's "why" to business outcomes, and keep messaging consistent with corporate communications.
- Training & Capability Building: Oversee targeted, measurable training that is built into adoption plans, and build internal capability so new processes and tools are sustained after go-live.
- Adoption & Value Tracking: Define and track adoption metrics beyond training completion. Report on change health and recommend course corrections.
- CoE Partnership: Contribute field insights and practitioner input to the Change Management CoE to keep the enterprise framework practical and improving.
QualificationsRequired - 12+ years of progressive change management experience, including at least 5 years leading change on complex, large-scale transformation programs; demonstrated track record of driving successful adoption in matrixed, enterprise environments.
- Experience working within or alongside a Change Management CoE - comfortable applying enterprise frameworks while adapting them to program-specific contexts, and contributing constructively to their improvement.
- Proven ability to manage multiple concurrent change workstreams across a transformation portfolio, recognizing and proactively addressing change collisions and organizational capacity constraints.
- Deep expertise in structured change management methodologies (Prosci/ADKAR, Kotter, or equivalent) with the experience and judgment to adapt these frameworks for complex, ambiguous program environments.
- Strong business acumen: ability to ground change strategies in commercial and operational outcomes, and clearly articulate the link between adoption and value realization.
- Exceptional executive communication and facilitation skills - able to build trust, manage resistance, and influence senior leaders across business units and geographies.
- Demonstrated ability to design and execute targeted communication strategies and change narratives for diverse organizational audiences.
- Experience defining and tracking adoption metrics that go beyond activity completion to measure behavioral and operational change.
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Organizational Development, Human Resources, Industrial-Organizational Psychology, or a related field.
- Prosci Certification, CCMP (ACMP), or equivalent formal change management credential.
Preferred / Strong Plus - Direct experience leading change management for a Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) system implementation (e.g., PTC Windchill, Siemens Teamcenter, Dassault ENOVIA, Arena, or equivalent).
- Experience managing change in R&D process redesign, portfolio management transformation, or New Product Introduction (NPI) process improvement programs.
- Familiarity with MedTech, IVD, Life Sciences, or other regulated-industry environments - including the intersection of change management with Quality, Regulatory, and Compliance functions.
- Experience with enterprise system implementations (ERP, PLM, CRM) in a change leadership capacity, with demonstrated ability to manage both the technical and cultural dimensions of adoption.
- Post-merger integration experience: ability to navigate and align change approaches across legacy organizational cultures and harmonize ways of working across newly combined entities.
- Exposure to organizational network analysis, digital adoption platforms (e.g., WalkMe, Whatfix), or AI-enabled change analytics.
- Master's degree in Organizational Development, Business Administration, or a related discipline.
- PMP or equivalent program management certification.
Company DescriptionWaters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) is a global leader in life sciences and diagnostics, dedicated to accelerating the benefits of pioneering science through analytical technologies, informatics, and service. With a focus on regulated, high-volume testing environments, our innovative portfolio harnesses deep scientific expertise across chemistry, physics, and biology. We collaborate with customers around the world to advance the release of effective, high-quality medicines, ensure the safety of food and water, and drive better patient outcomes by detecting diseases earlier, managing routine infections, and combating antibiotic resistance. Through a shared culture of relentless innovation, our passionate team of ~16,000 colleagues turn scientific challenges into breakthroughs that improve lives worldwide.
Diversity and inclusion are fundamental to our core values at Waters Corporation. It benefits our employees, our products, our customers and our community. Waters complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws. Qualified applicants are considered without regard to sex, race, color, ancestry, national origin, citizenship status, religion, age, marital status (including civil unions), military service, veteran status, pregnancy (including childbirth and related medical conditions), genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, legally recognized disability, domestic violence victim status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Waters is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. All hiring decisions are based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs at the time.
Key WordsChange Management, Prosci, Transformation
