Principal R&D Engineer: NPD for Cranial, Spinal Technologies

Careers that change lives start here. Medtronic is a global leader in healthcare technology with a Mission to alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life. Our 95,000 employees work across more than 150 countries to put patients first — developing innovative medical technologies that improve the lives of 72+ million patients each year. Your unique talents will help shape the future of healthcare while building a career grounded in purpose, growth, and impact.

About the Role

At Medtronic Neuroscience, we are redefining what's possible in neurological and spinal care, bringing together innovation, expertise, and partnership to improve lives around the world. At Medtronic CST, we bring together innovative technologies that empower surgeons and improve outcomes in complex spine and cranial procedures.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership within cross-functional product development teams and help drive engineering decisions that align with customer needs, business objectives, product strategy, and system-level design goals.
• Lead the development of system architectures, interface definitions, functional decompositions, and technical specifications to enable successful product realization.
• Collaborate with Marketing, Clinical, Regulatory, Quality, Manufacturing, Service, and R&D teams to translate stakeholder inputs into clear product requirements and technical solutions.
• Lead the synthesis of user needs, clinical needs, business requirements, regulatory requirements, and technical constraints into measurable and verifiable product, system, and subsystem requirements.
• Perform engineering analyses, technical trade studies, and feasibility assessments to evaluate alternative concepts and optimize product performance, usability, reliability, manufacturability, and cost.
• Develop, maintain, and communicate requirements traceability from user needs through design inputs, verification activities, risk controls, and design outputs.
• Develop and test prototypes, evaluate system performance, and troubleshoot complex technical and integration issues across hardware, software, firmware, disposables, accessories, and manufacturing processes.
• Analyze engineering and test data to determine whether product designs satisfy functional, performance, reliability, and safety requirements and recommend design improvements when necessary.
• Support updates and improvements to Quality Management System (QMS) procedures.
• Evaluate the impact of external standard changes on products and their Design History Files (DHFs).
• Lead or support risk management activities including hazard analyses, Failure Mode and Effects Analyses (FMEA), risk assessments, and implementation of risk control strategies throughout the product lifecycle.
• Provide test reports, drawings, and other requirements to Regulatory Affairs necessary for preparing regulatory notifications and submissions (510(k)s and PMAs) for domestic and international approvals as required.
• Define realistic start and finish dates for project-critical action items, submit them to the project team leader, and update the project schedule as needed.
• Serve as a technical leader with a broad range of duties including determining resource needs, availability, or limitations, in advance of issues, to minimize schedule deviations.
• Identify areas for improvement of manufacturing and lab tooling and technical processes in all project phases and recommend changes to appropriate management.
• Provide production line support when required.
• Provide technical training for appropriate Lab and Production personnel as needed.
• Provide process and systems training to other functional areas as necessary.
• Review appropriate technical literature for necessary background on specific assignments.
• Perform all activities in compliance with the Quality System.
• Perform duties in compliance with environmental, health, and safety-related site rules, policies, or government regulations.
• Mentor and coach junior engineers in technical and soft skills and advise on projects.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering or a related STEM discipline.
• 7+ years of technically related experience with a bachelor’s degree, OR 5+ years of technically related experience with an advanced degree.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with motor control theory and implementation, power management, sensors and instrumentation, IEC-60601 standards.
• Experience with data acquisition and statistical analysis software.
• Experience planning and implementing projects from concept to completion.
• Experience with design of mechanical and/or electromechanical devices.
• Experience with manufacture of components for prototypes or production.
• Experience developing test methods, test execution, and report writing.
• Experience with QMS procedures, regulations, and standards.
• Experience with Risk Management.
• Experience with computer software: MS Office, ProEngineer, etc.
• Demonstrated understanding and application of statistical methods/techniques.
• Experience with material selection.
• Familiarity with working in an ISO 13485 and FDA regulated environment.
• Experience with tolerance analysis, GD&T.

Skills

• FMEA
• Risk management
• Design verification
• Test method development
• Tolerance analysis
• GD&T
• Statistical analysis

Benefits

• Health, Dental, and Vision insurance
• Health Savings Account
• Healthcare Flexible Spending Account
• Life insurance
• Long-term disability leave
• Dependent daycare spending account
• Tuition assistance/reimbursement
• Simple Steps (global well-being program)
• Incentive plans (Medtronic Incentive Plan - MIP)
• 401(k) plan plus employer contribution and match
• Short-term disability
• Paid time off
• Paid holidays
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan
• Employee Assistance Program
• Non-qualified Retirement Plan Supplement (subject to IRS earning minimums)
• Capital Accumulation Plan (available to Vice Presidents and above, or subject to IRS earning minimums)

Pay

Salary ranges for U.S. locations (USD): $131,200.00 - $196,800.00.

Schedule

Standard full-time schedule.

For Baccalaureate degrees earned outside of the United States, a degree that satisfies the requirements of 8 C.F.R. 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A) is required.

Medtronic sponsors H-1B visas for Principal-level roles and above, where specialized expertise aligns with long-term business needs. U.S. work authorization is required at the time of hire and for the duration of employment.