Senior Product Development Engineer

Actalent; Saint Paul (MN); On-site; USD 100,000 - 117,000; Full time

Job summary

Actalent, based in Saint Paul, MN, seeks a Product Development Engineer III to lead catheter design and prototyping from concept to prototype evaluation and refinement. You will translate customer needs into engineering requirements, develop 3D models and 2D drawings, and drive bench-level testing and design verification.

You will collaborate with customers, suppliers, and manufacturing partners, addressing technical challenges and ensuring quality-system compliance through design transfer

Qualifications

• 5+ years of relevant engineering experience; one year may substitute for a graduate degree and three years for a doctorate.
• Experience designing and developing catheter-based medical devices or catheter components.
• Hands-on experience building, modifying, troubleshooting, and evaluating catheter prototypes.
• Experience with 3D CAD modeling, production-quality 2D drawings, and engineering documentation.
• Experience developing or executing bench-level test methods and using data to guide design decisions.
• Understanding of design controls and product development within a regulated quality system.
• Ability to solve complex technical problems, communicate recommendations clearly, and collaborate cross-functionally.

Responsibilities

• Lead hands-on catheter prototype development from concept through evaluation, including planning, design, build, troubleshooting, iteration, and performance assessment.
• Translate customer needs and project objectives into measurable engineering requirements and traceable prototype objectives.
• Generate and evaluate catheter concepts at component, subassembly, and full-device levels with 3D CAD models and drawings.
• Select materials and manufacturing approaches, and build/modify prototypes using appropriate techniques and lab equipment.
• Develop and execute prototype test methods and bench setups to evaluate key performance characteristics.
• Analyze prototype and test data to identify failure modes and drive design decisions using DOE and other analyses.
• Support design verification and risk-management activities with verification plans, protocols, and reports.
• Coordinate technical execution of development programs including plans, schedules, budgets, and deliverables.

Skills

Catheter design

Prototype development

3D CAD modeling

Design verification

DOE / statistics

Cross-functional collaboration

Regulated quality systems

Tools

3D CAD software

Minitab

Job description

Job Description

The primary responsibility of the Product Development Engineer III is to lead and execute catheter design and prototyping activities from early concept through prototype evaluation and design refinement. This includes translating customer needs into engineering requirements; generating and evaluating catheter concepts; developing 3D models and 2D engineering drawings; building, modifying, and troubleshooting catheter prototypes; and conducting bench-level testing of components, subassemblies, and complete devices. The position will work closely with cross-functional teams, customers, suppliers, and manufacturing partners to rapidly iterate designs and address technical challenges. Additionally, the role supports design verification, risk-based decision-making, documentation, and design transfer activities in accordance with quality systems.

Product Development Engineer

The primary responsibility of the Product Development Engineer III is to lead and execute catheter design and prototyping activities from early concept through prototype evaluation and design refinement. This includes translating customer needs into engineering requirements; generating and evaluating catheter concepts; developing 3D models and 2D engineering drawings; building, modifying, and troubleshooting catheter prototypes; and conducting bench-level testing of components, subassemblies, and complete devices. The position will work closely with cross-functional teams, customers, suppliers, and manufacturing partners to rapidly iterate designs and address technical challenges. Additionally, the role supports design verification, risk-based decision-making, documentation, and design transfer activities in accordance with quality systems.

Responsibilities

• Lead hands-on catheter prototype development from concept through evaluation, including prototype planning, component and device-level design, build execution, troubleshooting, design iteration, and performance assessment.
• Translate customer needs, user requirements, and project objectives into measurable engineering requirements and prototype objectives, maintaining traceability among requirements, design outputs, prototype results, risks, and design decisions.
• Generate, model, and evaluate catheter concepts at the component, subassembly, and full-device levels, including creation and maintenance of 3D CAD models, 2D engineering drawings, specifications, and prototype build documentation.
• Select and evaluate materials, components, joining methods, and manufacturing approaches, and build or modify prototypes using appropriate catheter-development techniques, tools, fixtures, and laboratory equipment.
• Develop and execute prototype test methods and bench setups to evaluate key performance characteristics, including dimensional performance, flexibility, torque response, trackability, push-ability, bond integrity, tensile strength, leak performance, and other program-specific requirements.
• Analyze prototype and test data to identify failure modes and drive design decisions, using structured problem-solving and engineering methods such as tolerance stack-ups, material and component evaluations, design of experiments, and other data-driven analyses.
• Support design verification and risk-management activities, including development and execution of verification plans, test protocols and reports, identification of design risks and failure modes, and establishment of critical-to-quality metrics.
• Coordinate technical execution of development programs, including project plans, schedules, budgets, prototype builds, deliverables, and activities required to efficiently advance catheter concepts into further product development.

Essential Skills

• Minimum 5 years of relevant engineering experience required; 1 year of relevant experience may be substituted for a graduate degree and 3 years for a doctorate.
• Demonstrated experience designing and developing catheter-based medical devices or catheter components.
• Hands-on experience building, modifying, troubleshooting, and evaluating catheter prototypes.
• Experience with 3D CAD modeling, production-quality 2D engineering drawings, and engineering documentation.
• Experience developing or executing bench-level test methods and using prototype and test data to guide design decisions.
• Understanding of design controls and product development within a regulated quality system.
• Ability to solve complex technical problems, communicate recommendations clearly, and collaborate cross-functionally with engineering, quality, manufacturing, operations, suppliers, and customers.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Experience with catheter materials, components, and manufacturing processes, including polymer tubing, wire, braid, coils, bonding, thermal forming, molding, extrusion, marker integration, shafts, tips, hubs, balloons, or steering/deflection features, preferred.
• Experience with laboratory prototype tools, fixtures, benchtop test equipment, measurement systems, failure analysis, and root-cause investigation, preferred.
• Experience with engineering analysis tools and methods such as DOE, statistical analysis, tolerance stack-ups, and Minitab, preferred.
• Experience supporting design verification, design transfer, manufacturing scale-up, supplier development, or coaching and mentoring technical staff, preferred.

Job Type & Location

This is a Permanent position based out of Saint Paul, MN.

Pay And Benefits

The pay range for this position is $100000.00 - $117000.00/yr. Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors. $100-117k (10% bonus) flexible with comp. range based on experience

Job Type & Location

This is a Permanent position based out of Saint Paul, MN.

Application Deadline

This position is anticipated to close on Nov 19, 2026.

Workplace Type

This is a fully onsite position in Saint Paul,MN.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email [e-mail] for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.