Distinguished Scientist

MiniMed

$186K — $316K *
Pharmaceuticals & Biotech
11 - 15 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree with 15+ years or advanced degree with 13+ years relevant experience.
  • Significant experience in glucose or electrochemical sensor development.
  • Demonstrated expertise in structured experimentation and data-driven decision making.
  • Excellent communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex ideas to technical and senior audiences.
  • PhD or MS in relevant engineering or scientific discipline.

Responsibilities

  • Provides technical leadership for next-generation CGM sensor design.
  • Leads development of new sensor technologies for multi-analyte sensing and cost efficiency.
  • Applies understanding of glucose sensor behavior for performance evaluation.
  • Designs and guides experiments to assess sensor feasibility.
  • Recommends advancements in materials and manufacturing approaches.
  • Solves complex sensor performance issues through technical leadership.
  • Mentors team members to foster innovation and rigorous design practices.

Benefits

  • Flexible benefits package including health, dental, and vision insurance.
  • 401(k) plan with company match and employee stock purchase plan.
  • Paid time off and holidays, plus short-term disability coverage.
  • Access to health savings accounts and flexible spending accounts.
  • Participation in long-term incentive plans and employee assistance programs.
Full Job Description
We anticipate the application window for this opening will close on - 30 Jul 2026

About the Role

This Distinguished Scientist is responsible for providing senior technical and scientific leadership for the research, design, and development of next-generation continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) sensors.

The Distinguished Scientist will serve as a glucose sensor expert with deep first-principles understanding of electrochemical sensing, enzyme systems, membrane design, diffusion and mass transport, tissue interface, signal generation, sensor stability, and system-level design tradeoffs.

This individual will help define and advance the MiniMed sensor technology roadmap by translating scientific insight into practical sensor architectures, materials, experiments, design requirements, and product concepts. The role will focus on technologies that enable longer wear, improved accuracy, multi-analyte sensing, improved reliability, lower cost, better manufacturability, and scalable commercial execution.

The Distinguished Scientist will partner across engineering, chemistry, algorithm, clinical, regulatory and other cross functional teams to solve complex technical problems and move promising technologies from ideation through feasibility and product development. This role is intended for a recognized technical leader who can mentor strong teams, influence senior decisions, and help strengthen MiniMed's culture of innovation, collaboration, and patient impact.

Responsibilities may include the following and other duties may be assigned:
  • Provides technical leadership for next-generation CGM sensor design, research, and development.
  • Leads ideation, feasibility, and development of new sensor technologies that may enable multi-analyte sensing, longer wear, improved accuracy, improved reliability, lower cost, and improved manufacturability.
  • Applies first-principles understanding of glucose sensor behavior, including electrochemistry, enzyme-mediated sensing, mass transport, membrane design, tissue interface, interferents, drift, and stability.
  • Designs, guides, and interprets benchtop, in-vitro, pre-clinical, clinical, and product-level experiments to evaluate sensor performance and design feasibility.
  • Recommends new materials, chemistries, electrode designs, enzyme systems, membranes, manufacturing approaches, and external technologies to strengthen future sensor platforms.
  • Leads technical aspects of solving complex sensor performance issues, root cause investigations and risk assessments.
  • Partners with engineering, algorithm, clinical, regulatory, quality, and manufacturing teams.
  • Supports design reviews, verification and validation strategy, and product improvement activities.
  • Contributes to intellectual property strategy through invention disclosures, patent support, publications, technical reports, and external technology assessments.
  • Serves as a principal technical expert for sensor science and sensor design with senior leaders, cross-functional teams, suppliers, and external collaborators.
  • Mentors scientists and engineers to promote rigorous experimental design, and strengthens first-principles technical decision making across Sensor R&D.
  • Ensures work is performed in compliance with applicable quality system requirements, design controls, medical device standards, and regulatory expectations.


Basic Qualifications:

Bachelor's degree with 15+ years of relevant experience; or advanced degree with 13+ years of relevant experience.

Preferred Qualifications:

  • Significant experience in glucose sensor, biosensor, electrochemical sensor, or related medical device sensor development.
  • Demonstrated expertise in sensor design, first-principles problem solving, structured experimentation, and data-driven decision making.
  • Knowledge of medical device product development, design controls, risk management, quality systems, and regulated development environments.
  • Proven ability to influence technical and business decisions across cross-functional teams.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to clearly communicate complex technical topics to senior leaders and technical teams.
  • PhD or MS in Chemical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Bioengineering, Materials Science, Chemistry, Electrochemistry, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or related discipline.
  • Commercial CGM, wearable biosensor, implantable sensor, electrochemical sensor, or multi-analyte sensor development experience.
  • Expertise in one or more of the following: enzyme systems, electrochemistry, electrode design, polymer membranes, diffusion-limited sensing, coatings, biofouling, tissue response, sensor drift, interference mitigation, or signal stability.
  • Experience developing technologies for CGM extended wear, improved accuracy, reduced cost, improved yield, manufacturability, miniaturization, or improved patient usability.
  • Experience evaluating external technologies, suppliers, academic collaborations, or business development opportunities.
  • Strong track record of innovation through patents, invention disclosures, publications, technical reports, or successful product launches.
  • Experience working across R&D, clinical, regulatory, quality, manufacturing, supplier engineering, and business development functions.
  • Recognized as a leading technical expert by peers within the industry.


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.

Benefits & Compensation

MiniMed offers a competitive salary and flexible benefits package

Salary ranges for U.S (excl. PR) locations (USD):$167,000.00 - $285,000.00

For roles located in California, Seattle WA, Washington DC, Boston MA, and New York City, the salary range is $186,000.00 - $316,000.00 USD.

Actual compensation may vary based on factors including experience, education, certifications, skills, market conditions, internal equity, and geographic location. Compensation and benefits information pertains solely to candidates hired within the United States (local market compensation and benefits will apply for others).

This position is eligible for a short-term incentive called the Short Term Incentive (STI).This position is eligible for an annual long-term incentive plan.

At MiniMed, we are committed to supporting the well-being and financial security of our employees. Regular employees working 20 or more hours per week are eligible for a robust benefits package, including health, dental, and vision insurance, as well as access to a Health Savings Account, Healthcare Flexible Spending Account, life insurance, long-term disability leave, and a dependent daycare spending account. In addition, all regular employees enjoy incentive plans, a 401(k) plan with company match, short-term disability coverage, paid time off and holidays, participation in our Employee Stock Purchase Plan, and access to our Employee Assistance Program. Eligible employees may also benefit from our Non-qualified Retirement Plan Supplement and Capital Accumulation Plan, subject to IRS minimum earnings requirements. Please note that "regular employees" refers to those who are not temporary staff, such as interns, and some benefits may not apply to employees in Puerto Rico.

For further details about our comprehensive benefits, we encourage you to visit the link below.

MiniMed Benefits Overview

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