Senior R&D Engineer

We anticipate the application window for this opening will close on - 16 Nov 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

Senior R&D Engineer

Careers That Change Lives

At 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.

Medtronic’s Cardiovascular Surgery R&D group is looking for a motivated engineer to be part of a high-performing team that is revolutionizing the design and development of medical devices. In this role, you will leverage both your technical breadth and business acumen to maintain the design integrity of commercially available products. The work you do will impact patients globally and help support Medtronic’s mission of alleviating pain, restoring health, and extending life for millions.

The Senior R&D Engineer will serve as a technical expert, executing and providing guidance to the team in achieving innovative engineering solutions. As a design engineer, you will be responsible for developing and modifying implant and catheter designs, understanding use conditions and boundary conditions, and evaluating interactions with various components, including delivery systems.

In this role, you will collaborate with internal and external stakeholders, including executive leadership, customers, vendors, and regulatory agencies, to ensure the successful development and implementation of cutting-edge technologies. Leveraging advanced engineering expertise and reliability concepts, you will proactively identify and resolve complex technical challenges.

You may provide guidance, coaching, and training to engineers while fostering a culture of innovation and excellence. Additionally, you may lead root cause investigations, developing both short-term and long-term corrective actions in partnership with cross-functional teams.

You will work closely with project teams to develop first-principle models, enabling predictive design performance and ensuring product reliability that meets Medtronic’s high standards.

This position is in Santa Ana, CA. within the Cardiovascular Surgery (CVS) Operating Unit. 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 on-site 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.

We believe that when people from different cultures, genders, and points of view come together, innovation is the result —and everyone wins. Medtronic walks the walk, creating an inclusive culture where you can thrive.

A Day in the Life

In general, the following responsibilities apply for the Senior R&D Engineer role. This includes, but is not limited to the following:

• Apply advanced scientific and engineering principles and theories such as solid mechanics and mechanical design to solve complex technical problems and develop solutions.
• Develop test strategies based on therapeutic requirements derived from voice of customer, and execute on protocol, testing, data analysis, and reports required for regulatory submissions
• Apply mechanical engineering principles and tools to evaluate and analyze mechanical designs and interactions.
• Identify issues, conduct root cause analysis, and map out resolution when evaluating technology, designing parts, components and sub-assemblies using engineering first principles and appropriate test evaluations
• Communicate with internal/external customers and vendors; represent work through internal conferences and collaborations across multiple business units and functions
• Design, develop, analyze, troubleshoot and provide technical skills during research and/or product development.
• Strongly influence the design of new products, processes, standards, or operational plans based on business strategy with a significant impact on functional results.
• Work closely with Release Product Engineering and Quality Engineering for root cause investigations, complaints analysis, supplier change notifications and implement corrective and preventive measures.
• Work closely with Quality Engineering and Facilities to plan, coordinate and execute site transfer activities, including equipment installation and qualification, test method transfer and qualification and site readiness.

Qualifications

Must Have - Minimum Requirements

TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THIS ROLE, PLEASE BE SURE THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS ARE EVIDENT ON YOUR RESUME

· Bachelor’s degree in science, technology, engineering, or math or a related technical discipline and a minimum of 4 years of technical experience OR a Master's degree with a minimum of 2 years technical experience

Nice to Have

• Understanding of Reliability Engineering and Statistical Methods
• CAD experience especially in SolidWorks
• Experience with catheters and stents, especially with Nitinol
• Demonstrated aptitude for assessing emerging technologies
• Demonstrated business acumen, executive presence, and communication skills
• Proven skills in quantitative analysis and data-driven decision making
• Experience with conducting strategic brainstorm sessions and ideation activities
• Flexible and adaptable, comfortable working in a dynamic environment

About Medtronic

Together, we can change healthcare worldwide. At Medtronic, we push the limits of what technology, therapies and services can do to help alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life. We challenge ourselves and each other to make tomorrow better than yesterday. It is what makes this an exciting and rewarding place to be.

We want to accelerate and advance our ability to create meaningful innovations - but we will only succeed with the right people on our team. Let’s work together to address universal healthcare needs and improve patients’ lives. Help us shape the future.

Physical Job Requirements

PHYSICAL JOB REQUIREMENTS - 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. (ADA-United States of America)

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.

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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 AskHR@medtronic.com.

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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):$105,600.00 - $158,400.00

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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

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 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.