Principal Reliability Engineer

Medtronic; Mounds View (MN); On-site; USD 132,000 - 198,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, Dental and Vision insurance

401(k) with employer match

Tuition assistance/reimbursement

Paid time off and holidays

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Well-being programs

Job summary

Medtronic's Cardiac Surgery Operating Unit seeks a Principal Reliability Engineer to lead post-market quality activities and risk management across the portfolio.

You will guide health risk assessments, post-market surveillance, and root cause investigations while partnering with cross-functional teams to protect patients and ensure sustained product performance. Onsite four days a week with limited travel.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a technical field with 7+ years of relevant experience or Master’s/PhD with applicable experience.
• Demonstrated expertise in ISO 14971 and risk management for medical devices.
• Proven ability to lead root cause investigations and analyze reliability data.

Responsibilities

• Lead risk assessments and health risk analyses based on post-market data.
• Oversee Post-Market Surveillance to identify trends and issues.
• Drive root cause investigations and corrective actions for field issues.
• Assess design changes, approve FMEAs and validation reports per design control.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to implement improvements.
• Provide technical mentorship and support to colleagues and customers.

Skills

Risk management

ISO 14971

Root cause analysis

Statistical data analysis

Technical writing

Education

Bachelor's degree in Science/Engineering/Math

Master's degree with 5+ years relevant experience

PhD with 3 years relevant experience

Tools

FMEA

Job description

We anticipate the application window for this opening will close on - 28 Aug 2026Careers that change lives start here. Medtronic is a global leader in healthcare technology with a Mission to alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life. Our 95,000 employees work across more than 150 countries to put patients first — developing innovative medical technologies that improve the lives of 72+ million patients each year. Your unique talents will help shape the future of healthcare while building a career grounded in purpose, growth, and impact.A Day in the LifeAt Medtronic, we push the limits of what technology can do to make tomorrow better than yesterday and that makes it an exciting and rewarding place to work. We value what makes you unique. Be a part of a company that thinks differently to solve problems, make progress, and deliver meaningful innovations.The Cardiac Surgery Operating Unit develops and delivers innovative surgical solutions that enable surgeons to treat complex heart conditions, including coronary artery disease, structural heart disease, and cardiopulmonary support needs.In this exciting role as a Principal Reliability Engineer supporting the Post Market Quality organization, you will provide technical leadership across all quality aspects of the commercial portfolio, including Health Risk Assessments, Post Market Surveillance, and Risk Management. You will serve as a key partner to cross functional teams, guiding critical quality decisions that protect patients and ensure sustained product performance.At Medtronic, we bring bold ideas forward with speed and decisiveness to put patients first in everything we do. In-person exchanges are invaluable to our work. We are working onsite a minimum of 4 days per week as part of our commitment to fostering a culture of professional growth and cross-functional collaboration as we work together to engineer the extraordinary. This role will require less than 10% of travel to enhance collaboration and ensure successful completion of projects.Responsibilities may include the following and other duties may be assigned:Risk Management: Support risk assessments and hazard analyses based on post-market data. Lead Health Risk Assessments to determine potential risk and recommend need for Field Corrective Action (FCA).Post-Market Surveillance: Monitor product performance in the field, collect and analyze reliability data, and identify trends and potential issues.Root Cause Investigation and Failure Analysis: Lead investigations into product failures and complaints, utilizing root cause analysis techniques to determine underlying causes. Support complaint trending and investigations of complaint trend excursions or quality signals from the field.Design Control: Assess design and risk impacts of changes; generate, review, and approve FMEAs, test method validations, and verification and validation test reports in compliance with medical device design control requirements.Continuous Improvement: Collaborate with design, manufacturing, and quality teams to implement design, process or supplier changes, corrective and preventive actions that enhance product reliability.Customer Interaction: Provide technical support to customers and field personnel regarding reliability issues and product performance.Coaching: Provide technical mentorship and coaching to junior engineers.Nice to Haves - Preferred QualificationsPrior experience in the medical device industry across product development, operations, or quality functions.Demonstrated expertise in risk management in accordance with ISO 14971.Strong technical writing and communication skills, with the ability to clearly explain complex technical topics to non-technical audiences.Proven ability to lead root cause investigations, solve complex technical problems, and perform statistical data analysis.Must Haves: Required QualificationsRequires a Baccalaureate degree in Science, Technology, Engineering, Math or a related technical discipline with a minimum of 7 years of relevant experienceORMaster's degree with a minimum of 5 years relevant experienceORPhD with 3 years relevant experienceFor Baccalaureate degrees earned outside of the United States, a degree that satisfies the requirements of 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A) is required.Physical Job RequirementsThe above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees assigned to this position, but they are not an exhaustive list of all the required responsibilities and skills of this position.The physical demands described within the Responsibilities section of this job description are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. For Office Roles: While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to be independently mobile. The employee is also required to interact with a computer, and communicate with peers and co-workers. Contact your manager or local HR to understand the Work Conditions and Physical requirements that may be specific to each role.U.S. Work Authorization & SponsorshipAt Medtronic, we are committed to fostering an environment where employees can thrive and make a meaningful impact. In alignment with our enterprise-wide workforce planning approach, U.S. work authorization sponsorship (H-1B, TN, J, etc.) is offered exclusively for Principal-level roles and above, where specialized expertise aligns with long-term business needs. Roles below the Principal level require candidates to possess unrestricted U.S. work authorization at the time of hire and for the duration of employment. Recruitment Fraud AlertWe are aware of phishing scams targeting job seekers. Please keep the following in mind:Apply only through official Medtronic channels. All legitimate Medtronic recruiting communications come from approved Medtronic platforms and official @medtronic.com email addresses.Medtronic will never ask for payment or sensitive personal information (such as bank account or Social Security details) during early stages of the hiring process. Any such requests are not legitimate.If you receive a suspicious message claiming to be from Medtronic, do not respond, click links, or open attachments.If you have any questions, concerns regarding the authenticity of a communication alleged to have been made by or on behalf of Medtronic, please contact us immediately at [e-mail] . Benefits & CompensationMedtronic offers a competitive Salary and flexible Benefits PackageA commitment to our employees lives at the core of our values. We recognize their contributions. They share in the success they help to create. We offer a wide range of benefits, resources, and competitive compensation plans designed to support you at every career and life stage.Salary ranges for U.S (excl. PR) locations (USD):$132,000.00 - $198,000.00This position is eligible for a short-term incentive called the Medtronic Incentive Plan (MIP).The base salary range is applicable across the United States, excluding Puerto Rico and specific locations in California. The offered rate complies with federal and local regulations and may vary based on factors such as experience, certification/education, market conditions, and location. Compensation and benefits information pertains solely to candidates hired within the United States (local market compensation and benefits will apply for others).The following benefits and additional compensation are available to those regular employees who work 20+ hours per week: Health, Dental and vision insurance , Health Savings Account , Healthcare Flexible Spending Account , Life insurance, Long-term disability leave , Dependent daycare spending account , Tuition assistance/reimbursement , and Simple Steps (global well-being program).The following benefits and additional compensation are available to all regular employees: Incentive plans, 401(k) plan plus employer contribution and match , Short-term disability , Paid time off , Paid holidays , Employee Stock Purchase Plan , Employee Assistance Program , Non-qualified Retirement Plan Supplement (subject to IRS earning minimums) , and Capital Accumulation Plan (available to Vice Presidents and above, or subject to IRS earning minimums).Regular employees are those who are not temporary, such as interns. Temporary employees are eligible for paid sick time, as required under applicable state law, and the Employee Stock Purchase Plan. Please note some of the above benefits may not apply to workers in Puerto Rico.Further details are available at the link below:Medtronic benefits and compensation plansIt is the policy of Medtronic to provide equal employment opportunity (EEO) to all persons regardless of age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law. In addition, Medtronic will provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities.If you are applying to perform work for Medtronic, Inc. (“Medtronic”) in any position which will involve performing at least two (2) hours of work on average each week within the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County, you can find here a list of all material job duties of the specific job position which Medtronic reasonably believes that criminal history may have a direct, adverse and negative relationship potentially resulting in the withdrawal of a conditional offer of employment. Medtronic will consider for employment qualified job applicants with arrest or conviction records in accordance with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act.