Director, R&D – Surgical Intelligence

Stryker; Freiburg im Breisgau; On-site; EUR 108,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Stryker is seeking a Director of R&D – Surgical Intelligence in Germany to build and lead a new organization transforming procedural, imaging, device, and outcomes data into intelligent software, analytics and AI-enabled solutions. You will drive data acquisition, engineering platforms, and predictive intelligence while partnering with product, clinical experts, and external research institutions.

You will lead cross-functional teams across data science, engineering, and clinical analytics to

Qualifications

• 12+ years in AI, ML, analytics or digital health.
• Experience building data products and analytics platforms.
• Experience developing clinical AI solutions.
• Experience with large-scale data systems.
• Experience using data to support business and clinical decision making.

Responsibilities

• Data Acquisition Strategy: establish strategies for acquiring procedural, device, workflow and outcome data.
• Data Engineering & Intelligence Platforms: lead development of clinical and procedural data pipelines and data models.
• Procedure Intelligence & Clinical Insights: develop analytics and benchmarking, generate actionable insights.
• AI & Predictive Intelligence: own segmentation, image analysis, predictive models and decision support engines.
• Outcome & Fleet Intelligence: own outcome analytics, ecosystem utilization and fleet intelligence.
• Med Device Compliance: influence regulatory requirements and design controls.

Skills

AI & ML leadership

Data products

Clinical AI solutions

Large-scale data systems

Data-driven decision making

Education

Bachelor of Science in Engineering or technical field

Master’s or PhD preferred

Job description

Director, R&D – Surgical Intelligence

Position Summary

The Director, R&D – Surgical Intelligence will build and lead a new organization responsible for transforming procedural, imaging, device, operational and outcome data into intelligent software, analytics and AI-enabled solutions that improve clinical decision making, workflow efficiency and patient outcomes.

This role will establish the strategy, organization, talent and technology foundations for Surgical Intelligence, creating the capabilities required to turn data into actionable insights across the full care pathway. The organization will serve as the learning engine of a connected neurotechnology ecosystem, ensuring every procedure contributes to continuous improvement in future planning, execution and outcomes.

As a builder and leader, the Director will develop a multidisciplinary team spanning data acquisition, data engineering, analytics, machine learning, computer vision, predictive intelligence and outcome analytics while partnering closely with product development, clinical experts, software engineering and external research institutions.

Key Responsibilities

Data Acquisition Strategy

• Establish strategies for acquiring procedural, device, workflow and outcome data.
• Develop data partnerships with healthcare institutions and research organizations.
• Expand access to real-world clinical datasets.
• Support generation of longitudinal outcome evidence.

Data Engineering & Intelligence Platforms

• Lead development of clinical and procedural data pipelines.
• Establish scalable intelligence platforms and data models.
• Drive data quality, data access and data governance.
• Partner with GIC to leverage enterprise data infrastructure.

Procedure Intelligence & Clinical Insights

• Develop procedure analytics and workflow insights.
• Create benchmarking and performance analytics.
• Generate actionable clinical intelligence.
• Support product and ecosystem investment decisions through data-driven insights.

AI & Predictive Intelligence

Own development of:

• Segmentation algorithms
• Image analysis capabilities
• Planning intelligence services
• Predictive outcome models
• Clinical decision support engines
• Workflow optimisation algorithms
• AI copilots and intelligent assistants

While partnering closely with Clinical Applications and Blueprint to ensure these capabilities solve meaningful clinical problems and are delivered through compelling user experiences.

Outcome & Fleet Intelligence

• Own outcome analytics and real-world evidence platforms.
• Own ecosystem utilisation and fleet intelligence.
• Generate operational, utilisation and performance insights.
• Support future service and ecosystem business models.

Technical / Managerial Responsibilities

• Execute a robust talent offense, including management of a talent bench, for a department by attracting, developing, retaining, and engaging top talent while driving personal/professional growth of individuals, the team and delivering high quality results with passion, energy and drive.
• Lead and mentor others in driving positive outcomes to abstract technical, business, and personnel problems based the application of problem-solving and process improvement methodologies.
• Make independent decisions for program or portfolio level issues.
• Leverage strong listening skills and written / verbal communication to influence and convey complex business, regulatory compliance, and/or technical ideas to customers, employees, peers, external partners, and senior leaders.
• Lead a culture of diversity, inclusion, and belonging at a department level in hiring and staff development.
• Direct others leading high complexity projects and initiatives within or across business units, with responsibility for planning, budgeting, meeting project goals and adequately staffing with talent.
• Lead and mentor others in complex cooperative efforts across cross-functional teams and business units, influencing multiple technical areas of expertise and building key relationships, to drive innovation and ensure achievement of business goals.
• Establish department Objectives, Goals, Strategy and Mission for direct reports to support overall business goals.

Business Responsibilities

• Drive culture of financial accountability across the team for multiple projects and at a site level. Lead multiple cost center budget creation, projections, and tracking activities over a 1-2 year span.
• Lead the strategy and execution of customer facing activities like clinical solutions, KOL (key opinion leaders) interactions, and customer centered research across business units. May maintain KOL relationships relevant to current and emerging product portfolios.
• Champion emerging business opportunities considering synergies across multiple business units.
• Drive financial modeling efforts on new capabilities or emerging technologies and lead strategy and execution for multiple product segments / business function.
• Owns data acquisition, data engineering, procedure analytics, outcome analytics, fleet intelligence, AI models, clinical insights platforms, and decision support engines.

Med Device Compliance

• Influence internal regulatory requirements and industry standards such as FDA and EU for development of medical devices and for regulatory submissions.
• Oversee and advise on design control procedures like design controls within the quality management system.
• Review and approve (or delegate) technical documentation and deliverables across a department.

Qualifications

Technical Skills:

• Broad and comprehensive understanding of, experience in, and ability to mentor in one or more technical / functional disciplines.
• 12+ years in AI, machine learning, analytics or digital health
• Experience building data products and analytics platforms
• Experience developing clinical AI solutions
• Experience with large-scale data systems
• Experience using data to support business and clinical decision making

Leadership Experience:

• Talented performance coach who is skilled at providing actionable feedback to team members, setting clear performance objectives and managing team member performance.
• Advanced understanding that contributes to the overall business strategy relative to the healthcare market and competitors, conversant in clinical issues of relevance to Stryker.
• Experience executing a talent and performance management strategy.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate complex plans and technical information to team members and executive leaders across divisions.
• Proven ability to deliver programs or other business goals on time, on quality and within budget.

Education Requirements

• Bachelor of Science degree or higher in Engineering or applicable technical field.
• Master's or PhD strongly preferred
• 12+ years applicable experience, with 6+ years direct people management experience preferred.

Germany Pay Ranges

• Freiburg/Stetten 39Std: €8.467 - €14.077 EUR Monthly
• Berlin/Duisburg/Waghäusel/field-based 40Std: €107.700 - €179.500 EUR Annual

Ireland Pay Ranges

• Ireland: €107,000 - €178,000 EUR Annual

At Stryker, we believe transparency helps candidates make confident decisions about their next career step. Compensation is an important part of that process and we want to be clear about how pay is determined. The compensation information posted for this role may be presented as a salary range or a fixed amount depending on the role. In addition to base salary, this role may be eligible for incentive compensation (such as bonus and/or commissions where applicable), along with Stryker’s comprehensive benefits package.

Stryker is a global leader in medical technologies and, together with its customers, is driven to make healthcare better. The company offers innovative products and services in MedSurg, Neurotechnology, Orthopaedics and Spine that help improve patient and healthcare outcomes. Alongside its customers around the world, Stryker impacts more than 150 million patients annually.