Principal R&D Engineer, Neuromodulation Therapeutic Areas

LivaNova; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 160,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

401K

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Bonus Referral Program

Job summary

LivaNova, a leader in neuromodulation, seeks a senior R&D Principal Engineer in NM Therapeutic Areas to translate neurostimulation therapies from concept through early clinical validation. You will lead technical direction, define architecture, and align clinical insights with product strategy in a role that blends clinical impact with engineering excellence.

The position is based in Houston, TX, with up to 10% travel.

Qualifications

• 15+ years in medical device development with clinical-facing tech.
• 3+ years at Principal level or higher preferred.
• Proven track record of driving execution and alignment for medical device launches across multidisciplinary teams without formal authority.
• Strong background in neuromodulation, stimulation-based therapies, implantable medical devices.
• Experience in system-level product development and clinical-facing technologies.
• Experience applying clinical insight to product definition, system design, therapy development, or technology strategy.
• Proven ability to lead technical strategy, architecture, feasibility, and risk-based decision making.
• Excellent written, verbal, and visual communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the technical-clinical lead for innovation and development initiatives, defining and driving technical direction.
• Define and communicate technical strategy aligned with product, clinical, and business objectives.
• Lead system architecture across hardware, software, sensing, stimulation, data, and clinical interfaces.
• Balance clinical value, technical feasibility, and risk in decision-making.
• Provide hands-on technical leadership to resolve complex engineering challenges and unblock teams.
• Ensure external deliverables align with system architecture and product intent.

Skills

Medical device development

Neuromodulation

System-level design

Clinical workflows

Technical leadership

Risk-based decision making

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related field

MS or PhD preferred

Job description

As a global medtech company, we are driven by our Vision of changing the trajectory of lives for a new day and our Mission to create ingenious solutions that ignite patient turnarounds. Our relentless commitment to patients and strong legacy of innovation in healthcare are the foundation of our future. If you're looking for a new chance, a new beginning, a new trajectory, LivaNova is where your talent can truly thrive. Join our talented team members worldwide to become a pioneer of tomorrow - because at LivaNova, we don’t just treat conditions - we aspire to alter the course of lives.

The R&D Principal Engineer, NM Therapeutic Areas – is a senior technical lead, product-oriented technical and clinical engineer responsible for shaping clinical outcomes and clinical workflows, translating neurostimulation therapies for Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) from concept through early clinical validation.

The technical lead owns the intersection of clinical insight, product definition, system architecture, and technical feasibility, ensuring therapy concepts are grounded in real-world clinical needs, deliver meaningful patient outcomes, and are executable within a robust technical framework.

This is an individual contributor role, exercising influence through technical authority, decision ownership, and cross-functional leadership with the NM R&D organization. The role operates with a high degree of autonomy and judgment and serves as a trusted technical authority and escalation point for complex technical and clinical decisions. The successful candidate will bring deep expertise in neuromodulation systems, stimulation-based therapies, implantable medical devices, and clinical application, applying this expertise to guide product and technical direction.

General Responsibilities

• This role is reserved for biomedical engineers demonstrating enterprise-level technical-clinical influence without formal people management. Focused on innovation and early-to-mid stage product development; may support later development phases as needed.
• Serve as the technical-clinical lead for innovation and development initiatives, defining and driving technical direction.
• Define and communicate technical strategy aligned with product, clinical, and business objectives.
• Balance clinical value, technical feasibility, and risk in decision-making
• Serve as the escalation point for complex cross-domain design decisions
• Maintain deep product and clinical understanding of therapy behavior, workflows, and user needs.
• Lead system architecture across hardware, software, sensing, stimulation, data, and clinical interfaces.
• Bring broad systems-level understanding spanning therapy, clinical workflows, sensing, software, human factors, and data-driven product capabilities while effectively integrating specialist expertise.
• Drive identification, evaluation, and mitigation of key technical risks using disciplined, evidence-based approaches.
• Generate and evaluate technical options to support informed decision-making at critical milestones.
• Leverage expertise in neuromodulation and implantable systems to shape product concepts.
• Translate clinical insights and unmet needs into viable technical solutions.
• Drive execution across multidisciplinary functions within the product core teams
• Ensure effort focuses on the most critical technical-clinical risks at the right time.
• Provide hands-on technical leadership to resolve complex engineering challenges and unblock teams.
• Exercise judgment to balance technical rigor, risk and program timelines.
• Accountable for technical quality, integration readiness, and architectural alignment of externally developed systems and components.
• Lead and oversee externally executed engineering work through direction, review, and integration oversight.
• Ensure external deliverables align with system architecture and overall product intent.
• Drive generation of intellectual property and future technology direction.

Minimum Qualifications

• 15 or more years experience in medical device development with significant exposure to clinical-facing technologies
• 3 years or more at Principal level or higher is preferred.
• Proven track record of driving execution and alignment for medical device launches across multidisciplinary teams without formal authority.
• Strong background in neuromodulation, stimulation-based therapies, implantable medical devices, or related active implantable technologies.
• Demonstrated experience in system-level product development and clinical-facing technologies.
• Demonstrated experience applying clinical insight to product definition, system design, therapy development, or technology strategy.
• Proven ability to lead technical strategy, architecture, feasibility, and risk-based decision making.
• Excellent written, verbal, and visual communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Direct experience with neuromodulation or stimulation-based therapies.
• Experience developing implantable medical devices and associated clinical workflows.
• Experience working closely with clinicians and translating clinical feedback into product design and clinical workflows.
• Familiarity with regulated product development environments and design control practices.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or related field with extensive industry experience; advanced degree (MS or PhD) preferred.

Location & Travel Requirements

• This position is based in Houston, TX
• This position may require up to 10% business travel

Pay Transparency

• A reasonable estimate of the annual base salary for this position is $160,000 - 180,000 plus discretionary annual bonus. Pay ranges may vary by location and are awarded based on experience.

Employee Benefits Include

• Health benefits - Medical, Dental, Vision
• Personal and Vacation Time
• Retirement & Savings Plan (401K)
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan
• Training & Education Assistance
• Bonus Referral Program
• Service Awards
• Employee Recognition Program
• Flexible Work Schedules

Valuing Different Backgrounds

LivaNova values equality and diversity. We are committed to ensuring that our recruitment process is fair, transparent and free from unlawful discrimination. Our selection process is driven by the key demands/requirements for the role rather than bias or discrimination on the basis of a candidate’s sex, gender identity, age, marital status, veteran status, non-job-related disability/handicap or medical condition, family status, sexual orientation, religion, color, ethnicity, race or any other legally protected classification.