Principal Test Engineer

Medtronic; Lafayette (CO); On-site; USD 123,000 - 185,000; Full time

Job summary

Medtronic in Lafayette, CO, is seeking a Principal Test Engineer to design and optimize manufacturing processes for complex electromechanical medical devices. You will lead readiness activities for new products, software releases, and design transfers in a highly regulated environment.

The ideal candidate has deep manufacturing engineering expertise, experience with software-enabled products, and a strong continuous improvement mindset.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related technical discipline.
• 7+ years of relevant manufacturing engineering experience, or 5+ years with advanced degree.
• Experience developing, implementing, and optimizing manufacturing processes in a regulated industry.
• Demonstrated experience leading cross-functional manufacturing projects from concept through implementation.
• Strong knowledge of manufacturing systems, process controls, product transfer, and production support activities.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop manufacturing processes, procedures, production layouts, and workflows for complex electromechanical medical device assemblies.
• Lead manufacturing readiness activities for new product introductions, software releases, and design transfer initiatives.
• Develop and optimize production processes to improve efficiency, quality, throughput, and regulatory compliance.
• Evaluate manufacturing equipment, machinery, and tooling performance, identifying and implementing corrective actions to address issues and improve performance.
• Collaborate with engineering teams to influence product designs that support manufacturability, scalability, and efficient production.
• Incorporate inspection, testing, and validation requirements into manufacturing processes and production plans.
• Drive SPC, Lean Manufacturing, and continuous improvement initiatives to enhance operational performance.
• Ensure manufacturing processes, procedures, and documentation comply with regulatory and quality system requirements.

Skills

Bachelor's degree

7+ years experience

Regulated manufacturing

Cross-functional leadership

Manufacturing systems knowledge

25% travel

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Job description

Onsite

Lafayette, Colorado, United States of America

Full time

R74162

We anticipate the application window for this opening will close on - 21 Aug 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

Join Medtronic's Engineering team and help develop the next generation of life-changing medical technologies. This Principal Test Engineer will play a critical role in developing and optimizing manufacturing processes for complex capital equipment products. The role will focus on design transfer, production readiness, software release implementation, process improvement, and manufacturing excellence within a highly regulated medical device environment.

This position partners closely with R&D, Quality, Operations, and Manufacturing teams to ensure efficient and compliant production processes while supporting new product introductions and sustaining engineering activities. The ideal candidate brings deep manufacturing engineering expertise, experience with software-enabled products, and a strong continuous improvement mindset.

Primary Responsibilities

• Design and develop manufacturing processes, procedures, production layouts, and workflows for complex electromechanical medical device assemblies.

• Lead manufacturing readiness activities for new product introductions, software releases, and design transfer initiatives.

• Develop and optimize production processes to improve efficiency, quality, throughput, and regulatory compliance.

• Evaluate manufacturing equipment, machinery, and tooling performance, identifying and implementing corrective actions to address issues and improve performance.

• Collaborate with engineering teams to influence product designs that support manufacturability, scalability, and efficient production.

• Incorporate inspection, testing, and validation requirements into manufacturing processes and production plans.

• Drive statistical process control (SPC), Lean Manufacturing, and continuous improvement initiatives to enhance operational performance.

• Ensure manufacturing processes, procedures, and documentation comply with applicable regulatory and quality system requirements.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or a related technical discipline.

• Minimum of 7 years of relevant manufacturing engineering experience, or an advanced degree with a minimum of 5 years of relevant experience.

• Experience developing, implementing, and optimizing manufacturing processes in a regulated industry.

• Demonstrated experience leading cross-functional manufacturing projects from concept through implementation.

• Strong knowledge of manufacturing systems, process controls, product transfer, and production support activities.

• 25% travel required

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience implementing software releases and test automation solutions within a manufacturing environment.

• Experience supporting production software releases and design transfer activities for software-enabled products.

• Knowledge of capital equipment manufacturing, including low-volume, high-complexity production environments.

• Experience working with motors, sensors, and electromechanical assemblies.

• Lean Manufacturing and continuous improvement expertise, including DMAIC methodology and/or Six Sigma Black Belt certification.

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 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 & 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.

Recruitment Fraud Alert

We 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 & Compensation

Medtronic offers a competitive Salary and flexible Benefits Package

A 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):$123,200.00 - $184,800.00

This 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 plans (https://www3.benefitsolver.com/benefits/BenefitSolverView?page_name=signon&co_num=30601&co_affid=medtronic)

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.

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 (https://www.medtronic.com/content/dam/medtronic-wide/public/united-states/employee-support-services/careers/la-county-legal-notice.pdf) 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.

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

These commitments set our team apart from the rest:

Experiences that put people first

Respect for people is the hallmark of our humanity. It fuels our team to positively impact even a single life. And it means we put our people first at Medtronic as well, creating a culture of belonging and always pushing to get you the career-building resources you need.

Life-transforming technologies

No matter your role, you contribute to technologies that transform lives. What we build empowers patients to live life on their terms.

Better outcomes for our world

Here, it’s about more than the bottom line. Our Mission to improve human welfare drives us. We advance healthcare, society, and equity with every design, inside and outside our walls.

Insight-driven care

Fresh viewpoints. Cutting-edge AI, data, and automation. You're shaping the future of healthcare technology and defining the next generation of breakthroughs in care

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.

For sales reps and other patient facing field employees, going into a healthcare settingis considered an essential function of the job and we expect our employees to comply with all credentialing requirements at the hospitals or clinics they support.

This employer participates in the federal E-Verify program to confirm the identity and employment authorization of all newly hired employees. For further information about the E-Verify program, please click here (https://www.e-verify.gov/employees) .

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