Product Development Engineer

We are partnering with an established medical device manufacturer to appoint a Lead R&D Engineer within its New Product Development team.

This is a rare opportunity to own the complete product journey from clinician and end-user insight through concept development, prototyping, design controls, validation, commercialization, and launch.

The role is approximately 60% front-end product development and 40% back-end execution. It would suit a well-rounded, hands-on engineer who can connect customer needs with disciplined technical delivery.

What you’ll do

• Engage directly with clinicians and end users to identify unmet needs.
• Translate customer insight into user needs, design inputs, and product requirements.
• Generate, evaluate, and refine concepts using CAD tools such as SolidWorks.
• Build prototypes and conduct hands-on laboratory testing.
• Own design controls from design inputs through verification and validation.
• Lead cross-functional technical decisions and structured problem-solving activities.
• Manage DHF, risk-management, traceability, testing, and validation documentation.
• Support design transfer, manufacturing readiness, commercialization, and launch.
• Present technical information clearly to peers, senior leaders, and non-technical stakeholders.
• Contribute as a visible technical leader, with the potential to move into people leadership.

What we’re looking for

• Significant medical device product development experience.
• A strong record of taking a meaningful medical device from concept through commercial launch.
• Front-end experience involving clinician or end-user research, customer feedback, user needs, and design requirements.
• Direct ownership of design controls—not simply exposure to the process.
• Experience with risk management, FMEA, DHFs, traceability, verification, and validation.
• Hands-on prototyping, CAD, laboratory testing, and data-analysis experience.
• Experience leading technical decisions within multidisciplinary teams.
• Strong written, verbal, and presentation communication skills.
• A bachelor’s degree in a technical discipline with approximately eight or more years of relevant medical device experience, or a relevant master’s degree with approximately six or more years.

Particularly valuable

• Disposable, single-use, plastic, or polymer medical device experience.
• Familiarity with heat sealing, cooling, adhesives, molding, extrusion, converting, or related manufacturing processes.
• Experience applying DOE, statistical analysis, and structured problem-solving techniques.
• An interest in developing toward formal people leadership.

Why consider it?

You’ll join a collaborative, mission-led organization and have genuine influence across the complete development lifecycle. This is not a narrow design-transfer or sustaining-engineering position it offers meaningful ownership from the first customer insight through successful product launch.

The position requires at least four days per week onsite in Libertyville. Any four days are acceptable, but the minimum is firm. US employment sponsorship is not available. Relocation assistance may be considered after the local candidate pool has been explored.

For a confidential discussion, apply directly below