Sr. Design Engineer - New Products

About Orthopaedics

Fueled by innovation at the intersection of biology and technology, we're developing the next generation of smarter, less invasive, more personalized treatments. Our Orthopaedics teams help keep more than 6 million people moving each year while delivering clinical and economic value to surgeons and healthcare systems.

Purpose

Sr. Design Engineer – New Products is responsible for supporting the design and development of innovative orthopedic implants, instruments, and associated products from early concept through design transfer and product launch. The role serves as a senior technical contributor within Design Engineering, working closely with Product Development Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Regulatory, suppliers, and other cross-functional partners to translate product requirements and clinical needs into robust, manufacturable product designs.

Key Responsibilities

New Product Design & Development

• Develop innovative concepts and detailed mechanical designs for new orthopedic implants and surgical instruments.
• Create and maintain complex PCT Creo 3D CAD models, assemblies, engineering drawings, and associated product documentation throughout the product development lifecycle.
• Translate product requirements, clinical needs, and engineering inputs into manufacturable product designs.
• Support projects from concept development through design iteration, verification, design transfer, and commercial launch.
• Evaluate alternative design concepts and recommend solutions based on performance, manufacturability, quality, cost, schedule, and technical risk.
• Rapidly iterate designs based on engineering testing, surgeon/user feedback, manufacturing input, and cross-functional design reviews.
• Ensure designs meet applicable internal design and drafting requirements.

Technical Design Excellence

• Apply advanced principles of GD&T and dimensional tolerancing to product designs and engineering drawings.
• Perform and/or support tolerance stack analysis to verify functional requirements and establish appropriate design tolerances.
• Apply Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DFMA) principles to improve producibility, quality, cost, and reliability.
• Apply sound engineering judgment to material selection, manufacturing processes, interfaces, fits, and functional requirements.
• Conduct technical design reviews and provide constructive feedback on designs produced by internal and external Design Engineering resources.
• Identify opportunities to standardize components, design approaches, drafting methods, and engineering best practices.

Cross-Functional Product Development

• Partner closely with Product Development Engineers to convert product concepts and requirements into detailed product definitions.
• Collaborate with Manufacturing Engineering and suppliers to ensure designs can be produced reliably and efficiently.
• Support prototyping, engineering builds, design verification, and product testing.
• Participate in design reviews, risk-management activities, tolerance reviews, and technical problem solving.
• Work directly with suppliers to resolve design, manufacturing, and drawing-related issues.
• Provide technical CAD/design support during product industrialization and design transfer.

CAD, PLM & Design Documentation

• Create and maintain accurate product definition within PCT Creo Parametric CAD and Windchill / PLM systems.
• Ensure engineering drawings, CAD models, specifications, and associated documentation are complete, accurate, consistent, and compliant with applicable procedures and standards.
• Support engineering change activities and maintain appropriate product configuration throughout development.
• Apply established naming, modeling, drawing, revision, and product-structure practices.
• Maintain high standards for CAD model quality and drawing clarity.

Education & Experience Required

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Product Design Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, or a related engineering discipline; or an equivalent combination of technical education and relevant industry experience.
• Alternatively, for Switzerland, a completed technical/design engineering apprenticeship with relevant HF/FH-level advanced education or equivalent professional experience.
• Typically 5+ years of relevant experience in mechanical design, product development, or design engineering.
• Demonstrated experience developing complex orthopedic devices utilizing Creo Parametric CAD software.
• Strong experience creating production-level engineering drawings and applying GD&T.
• Experience supporting products through multiple phases of a structured product-development lifecycle.

Preferred

• Experience within the medical device, orthopedic, surgical instrument, or other highly regulated industry.
• Experience designing orthopedic implants and/or surgical instrumentation.
• Experience working directly with manufacturing suppliers.
• Experience with design verification and product testing.
• Experience supporting geographically distributed or global development teams.

Technical Knowledge & Skills

• PTC Creo Parametric 3D CAD software
• Windchill / PLM systems
• GD&T and engineering drawing standards
• Tolerance stack analysis
• Mechanical design principles
• Design for Manufacturing and Assembly
• Machined and manufactured components
• Metals and polymers commonly used in orthopedic products
• Design verification and engineering testing
• Rapid prototyping
• Engineering change management
• Product configuration and documentation control