Principal Process Engineer, Injection Molding - NMPH - Rice Creek/Fridley, MN (Onsite)
Careers that change lives start here. Medtronic is a global leader in healthcare technology with a Mission to alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life. Our 95,000 employees work across more than 150 countries to put patients first - developing innovative medical technologies that improve the lives of 72+ million patients each year. Your unique talents will help shape the future of healthcare while building a career grounded in purpose, growth, and impact.
A Day in the Life
Medtronic Neuroscience is transforming care for patients with neurological, spinal, chronic pain, bladder, and bowel conditions. Through meaningful innovation, advanced neuromodulation technologies, and strong clinical partnerships, we empower clinicians to deliver targeted therapies that restore function, relieve symptoms, improve quality of life, and help patients regain confidence, independence, and greater control over their health.Within Advanced Manufacturing Engineering, this role supports early-stage manufacturing development for next-generation implantable medical devices, partnering closely with research and development teams to evaluate manufacturability, establish scalable process concepts, and accelerate the transition from product concept to manufacturing readiness.
This position is based at the Rice Creek facility in Fridley, Minnesota and requires a minimum of four days onsite each week in a laboratory and engineering development environment. The role includes collaboration with internal product development teams, manufacturing sites, contract manufacturers, tooling suppliers, and external development partners. <25>
Check us out on LinkedIn: Medtronic Brain Modulation and Pain Interventions
Check us out on LinkedIn: Medtronic Pelvic Health
As Principal Process Engineer, Advanced Manufacturing Engineering (AME), you will provide technical leadership for manufacturing feasibility, rapid prototyping, and process development efforts supporting emerging implantable device technologies. This role focuses on developing and maturing manufacturing processes for complex implantable assemblies, identifying process risks, and establishing scalable manufacturing approaches that support future commercialization. The position serves as a key manufacturing partner to research and development teams while influencing manufacturing strategy, technical standards, and organizational capability development.
Primary Responsibilities
Lead manufacturing feasibility assessments and process development activities for novel implantable medical device concepts and emerging therapies.
Develop and evaluate proof-of-concept manufacturing methods for implantable assemblies, stimulation leads, and miniature electromechanical components.
Drive rapid prototyping and iterative experimentation to assess manufacturability, process capability, failure mechanisms, and design tradeoffs.
Provide technical leadership in micro-insert molding, over-molding, precision injection molding, mold tool design, implantable lead assembly, and precision assembly technologies.
Partner with research and development teams to apply Design for Manufacturability (DFM) and Design for Assembly (DFA) principles during product development.
Establish process characterization strategies, design of experiments (DOE), process windows, and manufacturing readiness assessments to support process maturation.
Collaborate with manufacturing sites, contract manufacturers, tooling vendors, and automation suppliers to transition prototype processes into scalable production solutions.
Mentor engineers and influence technical decision-making across cross-functional teams to strengthen manufacturing capability and engineering rigor.
Required Qualifications
Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, or related engineering discipline and a minimum of 7 years of experience in manufacturing engineering, OR
Master's degree in manufacturing engineering, process development, or medical device manufacturing and a minimum of 5 years of relevant experience, OR
PhD with minimum of 3 years of relevant experience
Demonstrated expertise in micro-insert molding and over-molding, including mold tool design, process development, and molding process optimization.
Experience developing, characterizing, and troubleshooting manufacturing processes for precision-engineered products or assemblies.
Experience designing and executing process characterization studies and Design of Experiments (DOE) to establish process capability and operating windows.
Preferred Qualifications
Experience with implantable lead manufacturing, conductor assembly, or other implantable medical device manufacturing processes.
Experience with precision assembly automation, fixture design, and advanced manufacturing technologies.
Experience supporting early feasibility manufacturing, rapid prototyping, and iterative product development environments.
Experience transferring manufacturing processes from development or pilot environments into commercial-scale production.
Experience working with contract manufacturers, tooling suppliers, and external development partners to develop scalable manufacturing solutions.
For Baccalaureate degrees earned outside of the United States, a degree that satisfies the requirements of 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A) is required.
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.
U.S. Work Authorization & Sponsorship
At Medtronic, we are committed to fostering an environment where employees can thrive and make a meaningful impact. In alignment with our enterprise-wide workforce planning approach, U.S. work authorization sponsorship (H-1B, TN, J, etc.) is offered exclusively for Principal-level roles and above, where specialized expertise aligns with long-term business needs. Roles below the Principal level require candidates to possess unrestricted U.S. work authorization at the time of hire and for the duration of employment.
Recruitment Fraud Alert
We are aware of phishing scams targeting job seekers. Please keep the following in mind:
Apply only through official Medtronic channels. All legitimate Medtronic recruiting communications come from approved Medtronic platforms and official @medtronic.com email addresses.
Medtronic will never ask for payment or sensitive personal information (such as bank account or Social Security details) during early stages of the hiring process. Any such requests are not legitimate.
If you receive a suspicious message claiming to be from Medtronic, do not respond, click links, or open attachments.
If you have any questions, concerns regarding the authenticity of a communication alleged to have been made by or on behalf of Medtronic, please contact us immediately at [email protected].
Benefits & Compensation
Medtronic offers a competitive Salary and flexible Benefits Package
A commitment to our employees lives at the core of our values. We recognize their contributions. They share in the success they help to create.We offer a wide range of benefits, resources, and competitive compensation plans designed to support you at every career and life stage.
Salary ranges for U.S (excl. PR) locations (USD):$128,800.00 - $193,200.00This position is eligible for a short-term incentive called the Medtronic Incentive Plan (MIP).The base salary range is applicable across the United States, excluding Puerto Rico and specific locations in California. The offered rate complies with federal and local regulations and may vary based on factors such as experience, certification/education, market conditions, and location. Compensation and benefits information pertains solely to candidates hired within the United States (local market compensation and benefits will apply for others).The following benefits and additional compensation are available to those regular employees who work 20+ hours per week: Health, Dental and vision insurance,Health Savings Account,Healthcare Flexible Spending Account,Life insurance, Long-term disability leave,Dependent daycare spending account,Tuition assistance/reimbursement, andSimple Steps (global well-being program).
The following benefits and additional compensation are available to all regular employees:Incentive plans, 401(k) plan plus employer contribution and match,Short-term disability,Paid time off,Paid holidays,Employee Stock Purchase Plan,Employee Assistance Program,Non-qualified Retirement Plan Supplement (subject to IRS earning minimums), andCapital Accumulation Plan (available to Vice Presidents and above, or subject to IRS earning minimums).
Regular employees are those who are not temporary, such as interns. Temporary employees are eligible for paid sick time, as required under applicable state law, and the Employee Stock Purchase Plan. Please note some of the above benefits may not apply to workers in Puerto Rico.
Further details are available at the link below:
Medtronic benefits and compensation plans
It is the policy of Medtronic to provide equal employment opportunity (EEO) to all persons regardless of age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law. In addition, Medtronic will provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities.
If you are applying to perform work for Medtronic, Inc. (“Medtronic”) in any position which will involve performing at least two (2) hours of work on average each week within the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County, you can find here a list of all material job duties of the specific job position which Medtronic reasonably believes that criminal history may have a direct, adverse and negative relationship potentially resulting in the withdrawal of a conditional offer of employment. Medtronic will consider for employment qualified job applicants with arrest or conviction records in accordance with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act.