Edwards Lifesciences Corp

Senior Distinguished Engineer, R&D

Edwards Lifesciences Corp$191K — $271K *
Healthcare
11 - 15 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's or Master's Degree in Engineering or Scientific field with 11-15+ years of relevant experience, OR a Ph.D. with 11 years of experience.
  • Proficiency in Solidworks or similar CAD software.
  • Strong leadership and mentoring abilities.
  • Recognized subject matter expert in engineering principles relevant to medical devices.
  • Ability to communicate complex concepts to diverse audiences.

Responsibilities

  • Lead development of early-stage catheter delivery systems from concept through feasibility.
  • Solve complex engineering problems using established principles and judgment.
  • Drive prototyping, testing, and risk assessments to refine product designs early in development.
  • Collaborate with various stakeholders to create innovative solutions addressing unmet clinical needs.
  • Establish technical vision and oversee multi-workstream projects with minimal oversight.
  • Mentor engineering teams to enhance innovation quality and technical standards.
  • Support teams in overcoming late-stage development and commercialization challenges.

Benefits

  • Wide variety of benefits programs to support employees and families.
  • Performance-based incentives are included alongside competitive salaries.
  • Commitment to Environmental Health and Safety guidelines in the workplace.
Full Job Description
As part of our R&D Engineering team, you will work closely with our Quality and Manufacturing teams to develop the latest tools and technologies to address significant, unmet clinical needs that impact patients' lives around the world.

Patients with mitral and tricuspid heart valve disease often have complex conditions with limited treatment options. Our Transcatheter Mitral and Tricuspid Therapies (TMTT) business unit is boldly pursuing an innovative portfolio of technologies to address a patient's unmet clinical needs. It's our driving force to help patients live longer and healthier lives. Join us and be part of our inspiring journey.

How you will make an impact:

The Senior Distinguished R&D Engineer position within the Transcatheter Mitral and Tricuspid Therapies (TMTT) division at Edwards Lifesciences offers a unique opportunity to contribute in all phases of product development across multiple generations, supporting a major therapy within the business unit. The successful candidate will play a primary role in leading the development of an early stage, highly novel catheter delivery system and provide on an as-needed basis, support to the established therapies in next generation product development. This position is ideal for someone who is self-sufficient and can manage product development tasks with minimal supervision.

Early-Stage Architecture, Innovation, and System Ownership (Primary Focus)
  • Owns delivery system and implant programs from unmet clinical need identification through feasibility and early development, defining system architecture and technical strategy.
  • Serves as system-level hands-on technical lead, solving complex, ill-defined problems through rigorous application of engineering principles and judgment.
  • Provides deep manufacturing understanding across extrusion, braiding, molding, reflow, bonding, and assembly, enabling robust design-for-manufacturing decisions early in the development process.
  • Drives rapid prototyping, clinically relevant benchtop test development, and bench/clinical testing to accelerate learning and de-risk key technical assumptions.
  • Partners closely with strategy, marketing, clinical, and physician stakeholders to translate unmet needs into differentiated platform solutions.
  • Establishes technical vision and drives execution across complex, multi-workstream programs with minimal oversight.


Development, Technical Risk Reduction, and Organizational Leadership
  • Applies disciplined, data-driven problem solving to development challenges, design maturation, and validation readiness.
  • Leads ad hoc, cross-functional teams through critical technical decisions, balancing risk, schedule, and clinical impact.
  • Mentors and develops senior and junior engineers, raising technical rigor, innovation quality, and decision-making standards across R&D.


Lifecycle Enablement and Enterprise Impact
  • Trusted technical authority supporting teams through critical technical challenges during late-stage development, scale-up, and commercialization.
  • Unblocks high-impact system, design, or process challenges through deep product, process, and clinical understanding.
  • Serves as a recognized subject matter expert across R&D, influencing technical strategy beyond direct programs.
  • Communicates complex technical concepts clearly to executive, clinical, and cross-functional audiences to enable alignment and decisive action.


What you'll need (Required):

  • Bachelor's Degree in Engineering or Scientific field with a minimum of 15 years of experience, including either industry or industry/education -OR- Master's Degree or equivalent in Engineering or Scientific field with a minimum of 14 years of experience, including either industry or industry/education -OR- Ph.D. or equivalent in Engineering or Scientific field with a minimum of 11 years of experience, including either industry or industry/education


What else we look for (Preferred):

  • Proficiency in the usage of relevant computer software (Solidworks)
  • Excellent documentation and communication skills
  • Excellent interpersonal relationship skills including negotiating and relationship management skills
  • Recognized as an expert within field and within the organization, both within and beyond own function
  • Expert knowledge and understanding of principles, theories, and concepts relevant to Engineering
  • Advanced problem-solving, organizational, analytical and critical thinking skills
  • Expert understanding of processes and equipment used in assigned work
  • Strong leadership skills and demonstrated ability to influence change across the organization
  • Knowledge of and adherence to Edwards Environmental Health and Safety and Quality guidelines as they relate to department clean room medical device manufacturing
  • Strict attention to detail
  • Ability to interact professionally with all organizational levels
  • Ability to manage competing priorities in a fast paced environment
  • Advises management and customers on advanced technical research studies and applications
  • Adhere to all company rules and requirements (e.g., pandemic protocols, Environmental Health & Safety rules) and take adequate control measures in preventing injuries to themselves and others as well as to the protection of environment and prevention of pollution under their span of influence/control


Aligning our overall business objectives with performance, we offer competitive salaries, performance-based incentives, and a wide variety of benefits programs to address the diverse individual needs of our employees and their families.

For California, the base pay range for this position is $191,000 - $271,000 (highly experienced).

The pay for the successful candidate will depend on various factors (e.g., qualifications, education, prior experience). Applications will be accepted while this position is posted on our Careers website.

About Edwards Lifesciences Corp

Edwards Lifesciences is an American medical technology company headquartered in Irvine, California, specializing in artificial heart valves and hemodynamic monitoring. It developed the SAPIEN transcatheter aortic heart valve made of cow tissue within a balloon-expandable, cobalt-chromium frame, deployed via catheter. The company has manufacturing facilities at the Irvine headquarters, as well as in Draper, Utah; Costa Rica; the Dominican Republic; Puerto Rico; and Singapore; and is building a new facility due to be completed in 2021 in Limerick, Ireland.
Learn more about Edwards Lifesciences Corp
Size
15,700 employees
Market Cap
$45.6 billion
Industry
Net Income
$823.4 million
Founded
1958
5 Year Trend
+12%
Revenue
$4.3 billion
NASDAQ

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