{"id":1151739,"url":"https://alion.io/job/abbott-laboratories-principal-human-factors-engineer","title":"Principal Human Factors Engineer","company":{"id":2710,"name":"Abbott Laboratories","domain":"abbott.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/abbott","size_band":"5000+","is_staffing_agency":false,"is_intermediary":false,"ats_vendor":"Workday","truth_index":{"grade":"A","score":100,"open_postings":88,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":0,"repost_share":0.023,"time_to_fill_p50_days":15,"computed_at":"2026-09-24T05:45:00Z"}},"role":"Industrial Engineering","role_family":"Industrial Engineering","seniority":"lead","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Milpitas, United States","Alameda, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":130700,"max":261300,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":261300},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":8,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-09-23T17:58:01Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-09-23","last_verified_at":"2026-09-24T12:45:49Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":0,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":0},"description":"Abbott is a global healthcare leader that helps people live more fully at all stages of life. Our portfolio of life-changing technologies spans the spectrum of healthcare, with leading businesses and products in diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and branded generic medicines. Our 122,000 colleagues serve people in more than 160 countries.JOB DESCRIPTION:\nThe Opportunity:\nWe are seeking a Principal-level Human Factors Engineer to lead the strategic integration of human-centered design across a portfolio of physician-facing medical technologies and patient-facing regulated consumer health solutions. The location for the on-site position can be Milpitas or Alameda, California.\nThis role is ideal for a seasoned expert who thrives at the intersection of clinical safety, usability, behavioral science, and advanced health technology. You will shape experiences that enable physicians to make efficient, safe, and confident clinical decisions and empower patients to make informed, proactive health decisions through intuitive consumer-grade health technology.\nAs a principal individual contributor, you will operate as a technical authority and strategic partner across product, engineering, clinical, regulatory, and executive teams-driving human factors excellence from concept through commercialization and post-market optimization.\nKey Responsibilities\nStrategic Human Factors Leadership\nDefine and drive the human factors vision and strategy across physician and patient-facing medical and digital health solutions.\nServe as a subject matter expert on usability engineering, risk-informed design, and human-centered innovation.\nInfluence product strategy by translating user needs, clinical workflows, and behavioral insights into design and system requirements.\nPartner with executive leadership to ensure human factors considerations shape product roadmap, risk posture, and market differentiation.\nLead and innovate through the ambiguity and tension of user & market needs, technical viability and business timeliness\nRegulatory & Risk-Driven Usability Engineering\nLead human factors activities in compliance with:FDA Human Factors Guidance, 2026\nIEC 62366-1 / IEC 62366-2\nISO 14971 Risk Management\nAAMI HE75 and related standards\nTIR 50\n\nDefine and execute usability engineering plans (UEPs) through human factors validation strategies.\nConduct use-related risk analyses and integrate findings into design controls and risk management files.\nAuthor and review regulatory documentation including usability validation reports and submissions (510(k), De Novo, PMA as applicable).\nUser Research & Insight Generation\nDesign and conduct exploratory, formative and summative usability studies with:Physicians and clinical staff\nPatients and caregivers\nConsumer health users across varying health literacy levels and geographies\n\nApply mixed-method research approaches including contextual inquiry, simulation-based testing, and behavioral analysis.\nTranslate research findings into actionable design and system recommendations that improve safety, efficiency, and user confidence.\nDetermine post-market monitoring methods to demonstrate fulfillment of UX goals\nExperience & Workflow Optimization\nModel and optimize end-to-end workflows across clinical and home environments.\nIdentify cognitive load, decision friction, and safety risks in complex care pathways.\nPartner with design and engineering teams to create intuitive interfaces and interaction models that support rapid, accurate decision-making.\nEnsure alignment between clinical-grade reliability and consumer-grade usability.\nCross-Functional Collaboration\nCollaborate closely with Product Management, Clinical Affairs, Regulatory, Quality, Engineering, Design and other Human Factors team members.\nGuide teams on best practices in human-centered design and usability risk mitigation.\nMentor designers, researchers, and engineers in human factors methods and regulatory expectations.\nAct as a key liaison with external partners including regulatory bodies, research vendors, and clinical advisors.\nInnovation & Continuous Improvement\nIntroduce advanced methods (AI-assisted research, simulation environments, real-world evidence analysis) to elevate human factors practice.\nMonitor post-market data and real-world use to identify opportunities for continuous usability and safety improvements.\nContribute to thought leadership through publications, conference presentations, or standards participation.\nQualifications\nRequired\nBachelor’s or Master’s degree in Human Factors, Human-Computer Interaction, Biomedical Engineering, Psychology, Industrial Engineering, or related field.\n8+ years of human factors/usability engineering experience in regulated medical device, digital health, or combination product environments.\nProven ability to quickly assimilate advanced domain knowledge and effectively influence program teams on HF strategy, HF deliverables for program scope, research strategy across the product development lifecycle and successful deliverable completion within project timelines, inclusive of FDA or global regulatory submissions.\nProven experience interfacing with healthcare professionals and patients in a highly professional manner.\nProven ability to apply user-centered design and human factors engineering principles to product research, development and design; experience in medical device development.\nDeep knowledge of usability engineering standards and risk management integration.\nDemonstrated ability to influence product direction and executive decision-making as a principal individual contributor, inclusive of excellent verbal and written communication and presentation skills.\nStrong research design, facilitation, and synthesis skills across qualitative and quantitative methods.\nExceptional communication skills with ability to translate complex findings into clear design and business implications.\nTeam player: navigates complexity of advocating for user needs while building relationships with program teams.\nPreferred\nExperience designing for both clinical (HCP) and direct-to-consumer health technologies.\nBackground in decision-support systems, AI-enabled health tools, or connected health devices.\nFamiliarity with software as a medical device (SaMD), digital therapeutics, or wearable technologies.\nExperience working with global regulatory environments (EU MDR, Health Canada, etc.).\nAdvanced degree (PhD or MS) in Human Factors or related discipline.\nSuccess Outcomes (First 12-18 Months)\nEstablish a scalable human factors framework integrated into product development lifecycle.\nDeliver successful formative and summative usability studies supporting regulatory submissions.\nDemonstrably reduce use-related risk and improve workflow efficiency across core products.\nElevate organizational maturity in human-centered design and safety-driven innovation.\nStrengthen alignment between clinical performance, user confidence, and product adoption.\nWhy This Role Matters\nThis is a high-impact opportunity to shape technologies that directly influence clinical decision quality, patient safety, and everyday health behaviors. Your work will help ensure that complex medical and consumer health technologies are not only compliant and effective-but deeply intuitive, trusted, and empowering for the people who rely on them.\nThe base pay for this position is\n$130,700.00 - $261,300.00In specific locations, the pay range may vary from the range posted.\nJOB FAMILY:\nProduct DevelopmentDIVISION:\nADC Diabetes CareLOCATION:\nUnited States > Milpitas : 1820 McCarthy BlvdADDITIONAL LOCATIONS:\nUnited States > Alameda : 1360-1380 South Loop RoadWORK SHIFT:\nStandardTRAVEL:\nYes, 20 % of the TimeMEDICAL SURVEILLANCE:\nNot ApplicableSIGNIFICANT WORK ACTIVITIES:\nContinuous sitting for prolonged periods (more than 2 consecutive hours in an 8 hour day)Abbott is an Equal Opportunity Employer of Minorities/Women/Individuals with Disabilities/Protected Veterans.EEO is the Law link - English: http://webstorage.abbott.com/common/External/EEO_English.pdfEEO is the Law link - Espanol: http://webstorage.abbott.com/common/External/EEO_Spanish.pdf","description_format":"text","description_chars":8152,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":8,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"bachelor","optional":false},"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":[],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"United States","iso":"US","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Medical Devices","Diagnostics"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-09-23T17:58:01Z"}],"liveness":{"score":90,"band":"hot","label":"Hiring now","p_open":1,"p_active":0.903,"p_room":1,"age_days":0,"expected_fill_days":15,"reasons":["conf:2","velocity","win:early","comp:brand"],"computed_at":"2026-09-24T05:45:00Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":261300,"is_top_pay":true},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/abbott-laboratories-principal-human-factors-engineer","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/abbott-laboratories-principal-human-factors-engineer.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-09-24T13:59:15Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers"}}