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Systems Architect, Instrumentation R&D Lead

Alcon

Lake Forest, CAOnsitePosted 5 days ago$254,150 - $328,900/year
Full TimeSenior LevelResearch & ScientistMedical Device
Original posting ↗

Summary

The Lead Systems Architect is responsible for defining and governing the technical architecture strategy across the Instrumentation R&D portfolio. This leader enables scalable, modular, and reusable products and technologies that accelerate innovation, improve development efficiency, and increase leverage across platforms.

Job description

Enterprise Architecture Leadership

  • Establish and maintain the Instrumentation R&D architecture strategy, principles, and roadmap.
  • Define future-state product and technology architectures across the portfolio.
  • Connect business strategy, product roadmaps, technology investments, and architecture priorities.
  • Lead architecture reviews and governance for major development programs.
  • Serve as the escalation and decision authority for cross-platform architecture matters.

Systems Engineering Excellence

  • Establish systems engineering methods, practices, and standards across the organization.
  • Drive adoption of model-based systems engineering (MBSE) and systems-thinking approaches.
  • Develop frameworks for requirements management, functional decomposition, interface management, integration, verification, and validation.
  • Improve the consistency and effectiveness of systems engineering across sites and product teams.
  • Mentor engineering leaders and practitioners in architecture and systems engineering.

Platform Strategy and Reuse

  • Identify and prioritize architecture reuse opportunities across products, programs, and technology platforms.
  • Define modular architectures that support scalability, flexibility, serviceability, and future product evolution.
  • Establish reusable system building blocks, common interfaces, and reference architectures.
  • Balance product-specific requirements with enterprise reuse and lifecycle considerations.
  • Track reuse adoption and the value delivered through shared architecture assets.

Cross-Functional Technical Leadership

  • Partner with product-platform leaders to ensure architecture supports portfolio and program objectives.
  • Facilitate technical trade-off decisions involving performance, risk, cost, schedule, and reuse.
  • Resolve architectural conflicts across programs and engineering disciplines.
  • Lead architecture forums and technical decision reviews.

Technical Standards and Governance

  • Establish architecture standards, decision criteria, and review processes.
  • Maintain documentation of architecture decisions, interfaces, and technical rationale.
  • Monitor adoption of architectural standards and address justified exceptions.
  • Partner with Communities of Practice to translate enterprise architecture into discipline-level methods and standards.

Capability Building

  • Assess systems engineering and architecture capability needs across the organization.
  • Develop technical talent through coaching, mentoring, and targeted learning.
  • Support recruitment and development of systems engineering expertise.
  • Build a culture of technical rigor, reuse, and enterprise learning.

Preferred Qualifications

  • 15+ years of engineering experience in complex product development environments, including substantial leadership in systems engineering, architecture, platform development, or advanced technology development.
  • Experience in medical devices or another regulated product development environment strongly preferred.
  • Demonstrated ability to lead architecture across hardware, software, electronics, firmware, optics, mechanical systems, and system integration boundaries.
  • Experience with systems engineering, MBSE, SysML, requirements management, architecture modeling, interface management, design verification, risk management, and configuration management.

Requirements

  • Bachelor's Degree or equivalent years of directly related experience (or high school +18 yrs; Assoc.+14 yrs; M.S.+7 yrs; PhD+6 yrs)
  • Ability to fluently read, write, understand and communicate in English
  • 10 years of relevant experience
  • 15+ years of engineering experience in complex product development environments (preferred)
  • Substantial leadership in systems engineering, architecture, platform development, or advanced technology development (preferred)
  • Experience in medical devices or another regulated product development environment (preferred)
  • Demonstrated ability to lead architecture across hardware, software, electronics, firmware, optics, mechanical systems, and system integration boundaries (preferred)
  • Experience with systems engineering, MBSE, SysML, requirements management, architecture modeling, interface management, design verification, risk management, and configuration management (preferred)

Benefits

  • Health Insurance
  • Life Insurance
  • Retirement Planning
  • Flexible Time Off

Company overview

Alcon Inc. is the global leader in eye care, dedicated to helping people see brilliantly. Founded in 1945 as a small pharmacy in Fort Worth, Texas, the company has grown into the world's largest eye care device company with complementary businesses in Surgical and Vision Care. As a Swiss-American multinational corporation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland with major operations in Fort Worth, Texas, Alcon operates in 60 countries and serves patients in over 140 countries. The company's Surgical segment focuses on ophthalmic products for cataract surgery, vitreoretinal surgery, refractive laser surgery, and glaucoma surgery, including implantables, consumables, and surgical equipment. The Vision Care segment comprises daily disposable, reusable, and color-enhancing contact lenses, along with a comprehensive portfolio of ocular health products for dry eye, contact lens care, and ocular allergies. With over 75 years of heritage, Alcon has a long history of industry firsts and makes substantial annual investments in research and development to meet evolving customer needs and advance patient care. The company became an independent publicly-traded entity in 2019 after spinning off from Novartis.

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