Principal Engineer, Early Innovation R&D

jj; Raritan (NJ); On-site; USD 117,000 - 201,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision benefits

401(k) plan and long-term incentive

Paid time off and holidays

Job summary

Johnson & Johnson MedTech Surgery in Raritan, NJ seeks a Principal Engineer to join the R&D Innovation & Partnerships team onsite. You will assess external technologies, translate clinical needs into system requirements, and advance high-potential technologies through due diligence and feasibility planning.

You will collaborate with R&D, marketing, business development, regulatory, quality, and external partners to accelerate patient-centered innovations in surgical and wound-closure

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in systems/EE/ME/electromechanical/robotics/biomedical engineering or related field.
• 8+ years in medical device R&D, systems engineering or related roles.
• Experience leading front-end innovation activities and customer discovery.
• Experience evaluating external technologies and making evidence-based recommendations.
• Knowledge of medical device design controls, risk management, QMS, and regulated development.
• Strong ability to communicate complex information to executives and collaborators.

Responsibilities

• Identify external technologies and partnerships aligned to surgical wound closure and healing strategies.
• Perform due diligence on startups, licenses, and collaborations focusing on clinical need and feasibility.
• Develop technology landscapes and competitive intelligence across surgical, devices, software, and digital spaces.
• Translate customer and clinical insights into system requirements and architecture considerations.
• Engage clinicians, academics, and external partners to maintain a robust innovation pipeline.
• Lead front-end innovation activities from discovery to feasibility and prototype evaluation.
• Collaborate across functions to de-risk, integrate, and transition opportunities to development.

Skills

Systems engineering

Medical devices

Front-end innovation

Technical due diligence

Regulatory compliance

Leadership to senior leaders

Education

Bachelor’s degree in engineering or related field

Advanced degree preferred

Tools

MBSE

Design thinking

Six Sigma

Job description

At Johnson & Johnson,we believe health is everything. Our strength in healthcare innovation empowers us to build aworld where complex diseases are prevented, treated, and cured,where treatments are smarter and less invasive, andsolutions are personal.Through our expertise in Innovative Medicine and MedTech, we are uniquely positioned to innovate across the full spectrum of healthcare solutions today to deliver the breakthroughs of tomorrow, and profoundly impact health for humanity.Learn more at jnj.com

As guided by Our Credo, Johnson & Johnson is responsible to our employees who work with us throughout the world. We provide an inclusive work environment where each person is considered as an individual. At Johnson & Johnson, we respect the diversity and dignity of our employees and recognize their merit.

Job Function:

R&D Product Development

Job Sub Function:

R&D Software/Systems Engineering

Job Category:

Scientific/Technology

All Job Posting Locations:

Raritan, New Jersey, United States of America

Job Description:

Johnson & Johnson MedTech Surgery is currently seeking a Principal Engineer to join our R&D Innovation & Partnerships team located onsite at our Raritan, NJ location.
#LI-Onsite

About Surgery

Fueled by innovation at the intersection of biology and technology, we’re developing the next generation of smarter, less invasive, more personalized treatments.

Are you passionate about improving and expanding the possibilities of surgery? Ready to join a team that’s reimagining how we heal? Our Surgery team will give you the chance to deliver surgical technologies and solutions to surgeons and healthcare professionals around the world. Your contributions will help effectively treat some of the world’s most prevalent conditions such as obesity, cardiovascular disease and cancer. Patients are waiting.

Your unique talents will help patients on their journey to wellness.

Learn more at https://www.jnj.com/medtech

JOB SUMMARY

This role will help shape the next generation of surgical, wound closure, digitally enabled, and engineered system solutions by identifying and assessing external innovation, translating clinical and customer unmet needs into system-level requirements, and advancing high-potential technologies through structured due diligence, concept generation, feasibility planning and assessment, and early development. The Principal Engineer will partner across R&D, Global Strategic Marketing, Business Development, Clinical, Medical Affairs, Regulatory, Quality, Supply Chain, Digital, and external partners to support portfolio decisions and accelerate meaningful innovation for patients and customers.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

• Identify, assess, and recommend external technologies, platforms, and partnership opportunities aligned to J&J MedTech Surgery’s Wound Closure & Healing strategy and innovation pipeline.
• Conduct technical due diligence on startups, academic innovations, licensing opportunities, and strategic collaborations, including evaluation of clinical need, technical feasibility, intellectual property, regulatory pathway, quality considerations, scalability, and strategic fit.
• Develop technology landscapes, target scans, competitive intelligence, and evidence summaries across priority surgical, wound closure, engineered systems, electromechanical, connected device, automation, sensing, software, and digital solution spaces.
• Translate customer, clinical, workflow, and technology insights into problem statements, user needs, system requirements, subsystem requirements, architecture considerations, risk profiles, and evidence-based recommendations.
• Engage clinicians, key opinion leaders, academic collaborators, suppliers, incubators, accelerators, and external innovation partners to maintain a robust innovation pipeline.
• Lead front-end innovation activities, including customer discovery, unmet need definition, opportunity framing, concept generation, system architecture exploration, feasibility planning, prototype evaluation, integration testing, and proof-of-concept execution.
• Partner cross-functionally to advance opportunities from assessment through technology de-risking, system integration, prototype builds, verification strategy, and transition to formal product development, as appropriate.
• Prepare and communicate technical assessments, business cases, risk profiles, and recommendations to senior leaders and governance forums to support portfolio prioritization and investment decisions.
• Follow all applicable laws and regulations, J&J policies and procedures, design control expectations, quality system requirements, health, safety, and environmental practices.
• Up to 20% travel may be required.

EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION

• A minimum of a bachelor’s degree in systems engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electromechanical Engineering, Robotics, Biomedical Engineering, or a related technical discipline is required.
• A minimum of 8 years of progressive experience in medical device R&D, systems engineering, electromechanical product development, connected devices, digital health, software-enabled products, advanced engineering, external innovation, or related technical roles is required.
• Experience leading front-end innovation activities, including customer discovery, unmet need definition, concept development, architecture definition, feasibility testing, prototype development, technical de-risking, and transition to development programs is required.
• Experience evaluating external technologies and partners, conducting technical due diligence, and making evidence-based recommendations is required.
• Working knowledge of medical device design controls, systems engineering, risk management, verification and validation, requirements management, quality systems, and regulated product development is required.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate complex technical, clinical, and business information clearly to senior leaders, clinicians, technical teams, and external partners is required.
  

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, ABILITIES, CERTIFICATIONS & AFFILIATIONS

• Advanced degree in systems engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, electromechanical engineering, robotics, biomedical engineering, or a related technical discipline is preferred.
• Experience with engineered medical systems, electromechanical platforms, connected medical devices, sensors, actuation, automation, software-driven products, data platforms, AI/ML-enabled solutions, digital health technologies, or clinical decision support tools is preferred.
• Experience integrating hardware, software, sensing, data, user interface, and disposable or device components into regulated medical device systems is preferred.
• Prior experience in strategic partnerships or external innovation is preferred
• Design Excellence, Six Sigma, TRIZ, Design Thinking, Stanford Biodesign, or other structured innovation and problem-solving methodology experience
• Active network within medical device engineering, digital health, connected device, software, automation, robotics, health technology, or relevant startup ecosystems.

Benefits Summary:

• Employees and/or eligible dependents may be eligible to participate in the following Company sponsored employee benefit programs: medical, dental, vision, life insurance, short- and long-term disability, business accident insurance, and group legal insurance.
• Employees may be eligible to participate in the Company’s consolidated retirement plan (pension) and savings plan (401(k)).
• This position is eligible to participate in the Company’s long-term incentive program.
• Employees are eligible for the following time off benefits:
  • Vacation – up to 120 hours per calendar year
  • Sick time - up to 40 hours per calendar year; for employees who reside in the State of Washington – up to 56 hours per calendar year
  • Holiday pay, including Floating Holidays – up to 13 days per calendar year
  • Work, Personal and Family Time - up to 40 hours per calendar year

Additional information can be found through the link below! https://www.careers.jnj.com/employee-benefits

Required Skills:

Preferred Skills:

Coaching, Critical Thinking, Innovation, Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE), Organizing, Project Management, Report Writing, Requirements Analysis, Research and Development, Researching, SAP Product Lifecycle Management, Scripting Languages, Software Acquisitions, Software Development Management, Software Engineering Practices, Software Quality Assurance (SQA), Systems Development Lifecycle (SDLC), Technologically Savvy, Training People

The anticipated base pay range for this position is :

$117,000.00 - $201,250.00

Additional Description for Pay Transparency:

The Company maintains highly competitive, performance-based compensation programs. Under current guidelines, this position is eligible for an annual performance bonus in accordance with the terms of the applicable plan. The annual performance bonus is a cash bonus intended to provide an incentive to achieve annual targeted results by rewarding for individual and the corporation’s performance over a calendar/performance year. Bonuses are awarded at the Company’s discretion on an individual basis.