Principal Laboratory Engineer

GE HealthCare; Waukesha (WI); On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

GE HealthCare Certification Labs seeks a Principal Engineer to lead global mechanical and environmental testing capabilities, shaping testing strategies and ensuring compliant, high-quality medical devices. The role involves mentoring engineers and guiding cross-functional teams across product development and certification programs.

You will work with design teams to resolve complex issues, develop roadmaps, and translate findings into actionable guidance for leadership and engineers worldwide.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a closely related engineering discipline.
• 5+ years of relevant industry experience in mechanical engineering, product development, testing, or systems engineering.
• Significant experience in product design, development, verification, or testing, preferably within the regulated medical-device industry.
• Demonstrated depth in mechanical design, materials selection, thermal management, acoustic-noise control, environmental and mechanical testing, data-acquisition and measurement systems, or mechanical modeling and analysis.
• Experience providing technical leadership, mentoring engineers, and influencing cross-functional decisions.
• Ability to work effectively in a global, cross-functional team environment.
• Knowledge of new-product-introduction processes and quality-management systems.
• Ability to manage multiple technical priorities and communicate effectively with engineers from different disciplines and experience levels.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership for GE HealthCare’s global mechanical and environmental laboratory capabilities, ensuring that they continue to meet evolving product-development, certification, and business needs.
• Research and evaluate complex medical-device hardware designs against product, system, regulatory, and testing requirements.
• Partner with design teams to identify, investigate, and resolve product-design issues involving material selection, thermal management, acoustic noise, structural performance, mechanical integration, and data-collection systems.
• Develop testing technology strategies and capability roadmaps in collaboration with global, cross-functional engineering teams.
• Translate complex technical strategies, risks, and findings into clear, actionable information for engineers and business leaders.
• Mentor and develop mechanical and electrical engineers through technical reviews, problem-solving activities, and hardware-platform initiatives.

Skills

Cross-functional collaboration

Technical leadership

Problem solving

Mechanical design

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field

Job description

Drives initiatives to improve the effectiveness of the Engineering function and interfaces with other functions to provide effective coordination of metrics, dashboards, functional processes, and cross-functional initiative coordination. Impacts approaches, projects and programs in the functional area or affected business organization and ways of working. Impacts quality, efficiency and effectiveness of own team. Has significant input into priorities. Guided by professional practices and policies that are shaped by the role. The role has moderate autonomy, requiring high levels of operational judgment.

Drives initiatives to improve the effectiveness of the Engineering function and interfaces with other functions to provide effective coordination of metrics, dashboards, functional processes, and cross-functional initiative coordination. Impacts approaches, projects and programs in the functional area or affected business organization and ways of working. Impacts quality, efficiency and effectiveness of own team. Has significant input into priorities. Guided by professional practices and policies that are shaped by the role. The role has moderate autonomy, requiring high levels of operational judgment.

Job Description

Join a Team That Improves The Quality of GE HealthCare Products!

As the GEHC Certification Labs Principal Engineer, you will join a highly talented global engineering team with a proven track record of supporting GE HealthCare product certification, uncovering and resolving complex product-design issues, and improving the quality, reliability, and performance of products used in healthcare environments around the world.

This is a highly visible technical leadership role for an engineer who enjoys solving challenging problems and translating deep technical expertise into practical improvements. You will help define the mechanical and environmental testing technologies, laboratory capabilities, and technical strategies that enable GE HealthCare engineering teams to develop safe, reliable, and high-quality medical devices.

You will work across disciplines and product teams, helping engineers identify issues earlier, understand product behavior more completely, and make better-informed design decisions.

What You Will Do

• Provide technical leadership for GE HealthCare’s global mechanical and environmental laboratory capabilities, ensuring that they continue to meet evolving product-development, certification, and business needs.
• Research and evaluate complex medical-device hardware designs against product, system, regulatory, and testing requirements.
• Partner with design teams to identify, investigate, and resolve product-design issues involving material selection, thermal management, acoustic noise, structural performance, mechanical integration, and data-collection systems.
• Develop testing technology strategies and capability roadmaps in collaboration with global, cross-functional engineering teams.
• Translate complex technical strategies, risks, and findings into clear, actionable information for engineers and business leaders.
• Advocate for effective testing technologies and laboratory capabilities in engineering, business, and customer interactions.
• Identify opportunities to improve engineering methods, testing processes, laboratory capabilities, and product-development outcomes.
• Provide leadership and technical guidance to the global Mechanical Component Review Board, helping teams select appropriate technologies throughout the product lifecycle.
• Stay current with relevant standards, regulations, and laboratory requirements; assess the impact of changes and help engineering teams implement practical, compliant solutions.
• Mentor and develop mechanical and electrical engineers through technical reviews, problem-solving activities, and hardware-platform initiatives.
• Foster an inclusive technical environment in which engineers can openly share ideas, challenge assumptions, and collaborate to solve difficult problems.

Quality And Compliance Responsibilities

• Comply with the GE HealthCare Quality Manual, Quality Management System, Quality Policy, Quality Goals, and applicable laws and regulations.
• Maintain current knowledge of regulatory and accreditation requirements applicable to the laboratory’s areas of responsibility.
• Support laboratory accreditations and implementation of current regulatory requirements.
• Ensure testing is performed in accordance with approved procedures and applicable regulations.
• Complete required Quality and Compliance training within established deadlines.
• Identify and report quality or compliance concerns and support timely corrective action.

The Impact You Will Have

In This Role, Your Work Will Directly Contribute To

• Successful product certification by ensuring that testing strategies and laboratory capabilities effectively support applicable requirements.
• Earlier discovery of design issues through disciplined testing, analysis, and cross-functional technical reviews.
• Faster and more effective problem resolution by connecting product teams with specialized laboratory expertise and objective engineering data.
• Improved product quality and reliability by converting laboratory findings into actionable design improvements.
• Stronger engineering capability through mentoring, technical leadership, and the development of repeatable testing methods.
• Better lifecycle decisions by helping teams select materials, components, architectures, and technologies appropriate for long-term product needs.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a closely related engineering discipline.
• 5+ years of relevant industry experience in mechanical engineering, product development, testing, or systems engineering.
• Significant experience in product design, development, verification, or testing, preferably within the regulated medical-device industry.
• Demonstrated depth in one or more of the following areas:
• Mechanical and structural design
• Material selection
• Thermal management
• Acoustic-noise control
• Environmental and mechanical testing
• Data-acquisition and measurement systems
• Mechanical modeling and analysis
• Experience providing technical leadership, mentoring engineers, and influencing cross-functional decisions.
• Ability to integrate mechanical architectures and testing considerations into complex system designs.
• Knowledge of new-product-introduction processes and quality-management systems.
• Ability to work effectively in a global, cross-functional team environment.
• Strong interpersonal, organizational, communication, and influencing skills.
• Ability to manage multiple technical priorities and communicate effectively with engineers from different disciplines and experience levels.

Preferred Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in product development with demonstrated technical leadership, mentoring, and cross-functional influence
• Working knowledge of GE HealthCare products, design tools, engineering processes, and product-development practices.
• Familiarity with FDA-regulated design practices, risk management, and product safety.
• Knowledge of IEC/EN 60601-1 General, Collateral, and Particular standards.
• Experience supporting or maintaining an accredited testing laboratory, including familiarity with ISO/IEC 17025.
• Demonstrated ability to balance reliability, performance, cost, serviceability, schedule, and delivery objectives.
• Established record of technical publications, patents, innovation, or recognized technical leadership.
• Ability to bring together diverse technical experts and opinion leaders to influence business and technology decisions.
• Adaptability and effectiveness when working with changing information, unexpected circumstances, or ambiguous technical challenges.

We will not sponsor individuals for employment visas, now or in the future, for this job opening.

Additional Information

GE HealthCare offers a great work environment, professional development, challenging careers, and competitive compensation. GE HealthCare is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by law.

GE HealthCare will only employ those who are legally authorized to work in the United States for this opening. Any offer of employment is conditioned upon the successful completion of a drug screen (as applicable).

While GE HealthCare does not currently require U.S. employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19, some GE HealthCare customers have vaccination mandates that may apply to certain GE HealthCare employees.

Relocation Assistance Provided: No