Principal Tissue Materials R&D Engineer, Hybrid (Santa Ana, CA).

Careers that Change Lives

This is an exciting opportunity to join Medtronic's Structural Heart and Aortic operating unit to work with a passionate team focused on early phase technology strategic exploration, exploratory proof of principle work and product development excellence.

This role serves the long-term needs of multiple therapy areas across the portfolio including transcatheter aortic valve intervention, mitral & tricuspid valve intervention and aortic endovascular repair.

In this role, the Principal Leaflet Tissue Materials Engineer will be working on the landscaping, surveillance, and development of heart valve leaflet materials.

This includes assessment of current and future chemical process technology, identification of areas of opportunity for improvement and leadership of execution of tissue technology development work.

A Day in the Life

• Research, explore, identify, and assess leaflet tissue chemical processes for improvements and innovation
• Translates recommendations and discoveries into usable and marketable components for heart valve systems
• Create wholistic opportunity assessments for potential technology including business case, product development strategy and portfolio fit
• Create a framework to landscape, prioritize and evaluate potential new approaches to leaflet materials engineering
• May oversee external technology development partners through milestone based collaborations
• Author technical summaries and position papers outlining technical learnings, shortcomings and recommendations
• Develop work instructions, test methods, engineering models and drawings / prototypes to characterize potential product and process specifications
• Develop test strategy based on therapeutic requirements derived from voice of customer, and execute on protocol, testing, data analysis, and reports required for future regulatory submissions
• Identify issues, conduct root cause analysis, and map out resolution when evaluating technology, designing processes, components and sub-assemblies using engineering first principles and appropriate test evaluations
• Develop project plan to manage the work individually and across multiple team members
• Contributes to defining the direction for new products, processes, standards, or operational plans based on business strategy
• Communicates with internal and external customers and vendors at various levels; represent work through internal conferences and collaborations across multiple business units and functions
• Foster and influence generation of intellectual property. Contribute to the assessment of IP submissions. Coordinate IP landscapes to identify gaps and new opportunities.

Must Have : Minimum Requirements

• Bachelors degree required in Chemical Engineering, Materials Engineering, Chemistry or related Scientific Discipline
• Minimum of 7 years of relevant experience, or advanced degree with a minimum of 5 years relevant experience
• Demonstrated aptitude for assessing chemical process technology
• Demonstrated business acumen, executive presence, and communication skills
• Proven skills in quantitative analysis and data-driven decision making
• Demonstrated skills in influence management.

Nice to Have

• Chemical or Materials related Engineering Degree
• Advanced Degree in Engineering Discipline
• Class 3 implantable device design and testing experience
• Experience with tissue fixation chemical processes and fundamentals
• Experience with glutaraldehyde based chemical fixation of natural materials
• Experience with tissue engineered materials
• Experience with soft-tissue biomechanics
• Experienced in intellectual property fundamentals and strategic planning
• Good problem-solving skills
• Knowledge of statistical methods
• Ability to work well with others
• Ability to communicate well through written and verbal means
• Skilled in project management and planning
• Self-starter and driver able to execute effectively
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
• Flexible and adaptable, comfortable working in a dynamic environment
30+ days ago