Staff Software Engineer
Abbott
Summary
We are looking for a Staff-level technical leader to architect and advance software automation, integration, and quality engineering across the full software development life cycle for safety-critical, connected medical devices. This is a hands-on software engineering leadership role centered on scalable test automation and continuous verification—not a traditional, script-heavy QA position. You will embed quality from requirements and design through implementation, integration, release, and maintenance. You will also apply AI tools responsibly in daily engineering work, using human oversight, traceability, privacy, security, and measurable evidence to improve—not replace—engineering judgment. As a Staff Engineer, you will set technical direction, raise the engineering bar across teams, and mentor others while remaining deeply hands-on.
Job description
What you'll work on
- Set the automation and quality strategy. Define the vision, reference architecture, and roadmap for scalable automation and continuous verification across product lines, and drive adoption as a recognized technical authority.
- Architect lifecycle automation. Design and build reusable frameworks, services, simulators, and engineering tools that enable requirements-based and risk-based verification at the unit, component, integration, system, regression, and release levels.
- Integrate quality into delivery. Embed automated quality controls, traceability, diagnostics, and actionable quality signals into CI/CD pipelines so teams receive rapid, reliable feedback throughout the development life cycle.
- Engineer connected-system integration. Develop robust integration capabilities across embedded devices, clinician applications, interfaces, services, data flows, and representative hardware or simulated environments.
- Apply AI responsibly. Incorporate Abbott's Responsible, Safe, Transparent, Fair, and Impactful AI principles into daily automation and quality engineering. Follow established governance and intended-use boundaries; protect sensitive data; verify generated outputs; preserve source traceability; document limitations; and maintain meaningful human oversight and accountability.
- Advance AI-enabled engineering. Use AI copilots, large language models, and agentic workflows to improve coverage analysis, automation development and maintenance, failure investigation, and engineering productivity where their use is appropriate, validated, reproducible, and auditable.
- Lead technical quality. Partner with software, systems, quality, cybersecurity, and product teams to improve architecture, prevent defects, close coverage gaps, strengthen design reviews, and make quality measurable across programs.
- Ensure safety, compliance, and continuous improvement. Keep automation and AI-assisted engineering aligned with applicable medical device standards, including IEC 62304, ISO 14971, ISO 13485, and 21 CFR 820. Evaluate emerging tools, measure their impact on product quality and delivery, scale proven approaches, and mentor engineers in their effective and responsible use.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in computer science, Software Engineering, or a related technical field; an advanced degree is a plus.
- 10+ years of software engineering experience with a strong focus on automation, software quality, system integration, verification, or platform and tools engineering, including technical leadership of complex initiatives.
- Deep hands-on experience designing test automation architecture, reusable frameworks, and CI/CD-integrated quality capabilities for complex software systems.
- Demonstrated ability to integrate quality across requirements, design, implementation, integration, release, and maintenance using risk-based coverage, traceability, and measurable evidence.
- Strong software engineering fundamentals and proficiency in Python, with the ability to design maintainable production-grade tools, services, and automation.
- Hands-on experience using AI copilots, large language models, or agentic workflows in daily engineering work, with disciplined validation of accuracy, security, privacy, traceability, limitations, and appropriate human oversight.
- A track record of setting technical direction, mentoring engineers, leading design reviews, and influencing decisions across teams and product lines.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience in regulated, safety-critical, or high-reliability software domains such as medical devices, aerospace, automotive, or similar industries.
- Experience with connected products, embedded systems, mobile or desktop applications, cloud services, hardware-in-the-loop environments, or device simulators.
- Familiarity with evaluating AI-assisted engineering workflows, including output quality, hallucination and bias risks, reproducibility, explainability, and ongoing performance monitoring.
- Strong systems thinking with an emphasis on reliability, observability, traceability, explainability, human oversight, and the ability to influence without authority.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in computer science, Software Engineering, or a related technical field
- 10+ years of software engineering experience with a strong focus on automation, software quality, system integration, verification, or platform and tools engineering
- Technical leadership of complex initiatives
- Deep hands-on experience designing test automation architecture, reusable frameworks, and CI/CD-integrated quality capabilities for complex software systems
- Demonstrated ability to integrate quality across requirements, design, implementation, integration, release, and maintenance using risk-based coverage, traceability, and measurable evidence
- Strong software engineering fundamentals and proficiency in Python
- Hands-on experience using AI copilots, large language models, or agentic workflows in daily engineering work
- Disciplined validation of accuracy, security, privacy, traceability, limitations, and appropriate human oversight
- A track record of setting technical direction, mentoring engineers, leading design reviews, and influencing decisions across teams and product lines
Benefits
- Medical coverage
- Retirement savings plan
- Tuition reimbursement
- Student debt program
- Education benefit
- Career development
Company overview
Abbott Laboratories is a global healthcare leader with a 135-year legacy of innovation, dedicated to helping people live healthier, fuller lives through life-changing technologies and products. Headquartered in Abbott Park, Illinois, the company operates in more than 160 countries with a workforce of approximately 114,000 professionals. Abbott's diversified portfolio spans four core business segments: medical devices, diagnostics, nutrition products, and branded generic pharmaceuticals. The company is particularly renowned for its groundbreaking medical devices including cardiovascular technologies, diabetes management systems like the FreeStyle Libre continuous glucose monitor, neuromodulation devices for chronic pain, and the AVEIR DR dual chamber leadless pacemaker system. In diagnostics, Abbott has been instrumental in developing critical tests, including the first licensed HIV test in 1985 that helped secure blood supply safety. The company's nutrition division produces leading infant formulas like Similac, while its pharmaceutical business provides quality branded generic medicines. Abbott consistently ranks among Fortune's Most Admired Companies and maintains a strong commitment to sustainability and corporate responsibility, making it a trusted partner in advancing global healthcare.