Principal Research & Development Engineer

Medtronic plc; California; On-site; USD 131,000 - 197,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, Dental and Vision Insurance

401(k) with company match

Tuition assistance

Job summary

Medtronic CST in San Diego, CA, is seeking a Principal R&D Engineer to translate customer needs into product requirements for spinal implants and instrumentation. You will drive system-level design, verification and validation, and collaborate across surgeons, clinical specialists, manufacturing, quality, and regulatory teams.

The role emphasizes risk management, design reviews, and supporting technical decision-making throughout product development life cycle.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering or equivalent with strong design experience.
• Proficiency in Creo, SolidWorks or similar 3D CAD tools and GD&T experience.
• Experience in medical device design and regulated product development is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead design and development of spinal implant and instrumentation systems from concept to market release.
• Translate VOC insights into stakeholder and system requirements.
• Develop mechanical designs using 3D CAD tools and ensure GD&T accuracy.
• Define and mitigate technical risks through design reviews, testing, and analysis.
• Plan and execute verification/validation and bench testing to confirm product performance.

Skills

Creo

SolidWorks

3D CAD

GD&T

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Master's degree in Engineering

PhD in Engineering (optional)

Tools

Windchill

Job description

We anticipate the application window for this opening will close on - 19 Oct 2026 Careers 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 Life

The Cranial & Spinal Technologies (CST) operating unit develops implants, instrumentation, navigation, biologics, and enabling technologies used in the surgical treatment of degenerative, deformity, tumor, and trauma-related spinal conditions. The team partners closely with surgeons, clinical specialists, manufacturing, quality, regulatory, and marketing functions to translate customer insights into products that support procedural efficiency and improved patient outcomes.

Check us out on LinkedIn: Medtronic CST

This position is based within the Medtronic Spine Hub in San Diego, California, supporting CST product development initiatives across the spinal portfolio. The role collaborates with cross‑functional teams, surgeons, and development partners throughout the product development lifecycle. Domestic travel is expected to be approximately 1‑2 days per month (less than 10%) to support customer engagements, testing activities, cadaver labs, and project needs.

As a Principal R&D Engineer, you will contribute to the development of spinal implant and instrumentation systems from concept through commercialization. This role is responsible for translating customer and stakeholder needs into product requirements, developing system‑level design solutions, executing verification and validation activities, and supporting technical decision‑making throughout the product development process.

Primary Responsibilities

• Lead the design and development of spinal implant and instrumentation systems from concept through market release in accordance with New Product Introduction processes.
• Translate Voice of the Customer insights into stakeholder requirements, system requirements, design specifications, and engineering concepts.
• Develop and refine mechanical designs using 3D computer‑aided design tools while ensuring compliance with engineering drawing standards and geometric dimensioning and tolerancing requirements.
• Define, assess, and mitigate technical and system‑level risks through structured design reviews, testing, and analysis activities.
• Plan and execute verification, validation, bench testing, and experimental evaluations to confirm product performance and user needs.
• Collaborate with cross‑functional teams, suppliers, consultants, and clinical stakeholders to support project execution and product delivery.
• Document technical decisions, design tradeoffs, test results, and development activities through engineering reports and presentations.
• Mentor less experienced engineers and contribute to technical knowledge development within the spinal product portfolio.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a minimum of 7 years of relevant experience OR Master's degree with a minimum of 5 years of relevant experience OR PhD with 3 years of engineering design and product development experience, including 2+ years of medical device experience in spine, trauma, orthopedics, or dental applications.
• Proficiency with Creo, SolidWorks, or a comparable 3D computer‑aided design platform.
• Demonstrated experience creating engineering drawings, applying geometric dimensioning and tolerancing, and performing tolerance stack analyses.
• Experience designing and developing surgical instruments within a regulated product development environment.
• Experience working within the United States Food and Drug Administration, International Organization for Standardization, and Quality System Regulation requirements.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master of Science degree in Engineering.
• Experience with systems engineering methodologies, including requirements development, allocation, traceability, verification, and validation.
• Knowledge of spinal anatomy, spinal surgical procedures, and clinical application of spinal technologies.
• Experience with Agile product development tools and Windchill product lifecycle management systems.
• Knowledge of manufacturing processes, including machining, additive manufacturing, and rapid prototyping methods.
• For 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 Requirements

The 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 job. 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.

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.

U.S. Work Authorization & Sponsorship

At 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.

This employer participates in the federal E‑Verify program to confirm the identity and employment authorization of all newly hired employees.

Benefits & Compensation

Salary ranges for U.S (excl. PR) locations (USD): $131,200.00 - $196,800.00

This position is eligible for a short‑term incentive called the Medtronic Incentive Plan (MIP). The base salary range applies across the United States, excluding Puerto Rico and certain 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).

• 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
• Simple Steps (global well‑being program)
• 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)
• 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.

Equal‑Employment Opportunity

It 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.

Workplace Culture & Impact

We lead global healthcare technology and boldly attack the most challenging health problems facing humanity by searching out and finding solutions. Our Mission — to alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life — unites a global team of 95,000+ passionate people. We are engineers at heart— putting ambitious ideas to work to generate real solutions for real people.

From the R&D lab, to the factory floor, to the conference room, every one of us experiments, creates, builds, improves and solves. We have the talent, diverse perspectives, and guts to engineer the extraordinary. We change lives. Each team member, each day, helps to improve and redefine how the world treats the most pressing health conditions, from heart disease to diabetes. Our industry leadership comes from the passion and ingenuity of our people. That’s who we are.

Working alongside one another, we use science, medicine, and a profound understanding of the human body to build extraordinary technologies that can transform lives. We build extraordinary solutions as one team. With one Medtronic Mindset defining how we work. Speed and decisiveness run through our DNA. Diverse perspectives inspire our bold answers to any challenge that comes our way. And we deliver results the right way, breakthrough after patient breakthrough.

This life‑changing career is yours to engineer. By bringing your ambitious ideas, unique perspective and contributions, you will… Build a better future, amplifying your impact on the causes that matter to you and the world Grow a career reflective of your passion and abilities Connect to a dynamic and inclusive culture that welcomes the challenge of life‑long learning.