Principal Research & Development Engineer

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 position.

…