Staff R&D Engineer-Flexible Circuits Expert

Location: United States - Minnesota - Plymouth

Category: Research & Development

Employment Type: Full time

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 115,000 colleagues serve people in more than 160 countries.

Working at Abbott

At Abbott, you can do work that matters, grow, and learn, care for yourself and your family, be your true self, and live a full life. You’ll also have access to:

• Career development with an international company where you can grow the career you dream of.
• Employees can qualify for free medical coverage in our Health Investment Plan (HIP) PPO medical plan in the next calendar year.
• An excellent retirement savings plan with a high employer contribution
• Tuition reimbursement, the Freedom 2 Save student debt program, and FreeU education benefit - an affordable and convenient path to getting a bachelor’s degree.
• A company recognized as a great place to work in dozens of countries worldwide and named one of the most admired companies in the world by Fortune.
• A company that is recognized as one of the best big companies to work for as well as the best place to work for diversity, working mothers, female executives, and scientists.

The Opportunity

This position works out of our Plymouth, MN location in the EP division.

Leading an active lifestyle is important to the many people we serve. In Abbott’s Electrophysiology (EP) division, we’re advancing the treatment of heart and vascular disease through breakthrough medical technologies, allowing people to restore their health and get on with their lives. 

As Staff R&D Engineer, you will be part of our Electrophysiology catheter research and development team focused on delivering the future in therapy and diagnostic catheters.  This role will involve a range of responsibilities including but not limited to design concept development, prototyping and testing, requirements development, material research, design of test fixtures and test method development, manufacturing support and collaboration with the process development team.

A critical aspect of this role is deep expertise in the design, characterization, and processing of flexible circuits for use in medical devices. You will serve as a subject‑matter expert in design and process development of advanced flexible circuit solutions. This role is critical in supporting product innovation and ensuring manufacturability, reliability of flex circuits across a range of applications.

What You’ll Work On

• Lead the design and development of single- and multi-layer flexible circuits, including rigid-flex designs.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams (mechanical, electrical, manufacturing, quality, and suppliers) to define design requirements and constraints.
• Create and review detailed flex circuit layouts, stack-ups, and material selections using industry-standard CAD tools (e.g., Altium, Mentor Graphics, Cadence).
• Perform design for manufacturability (DFM) and design for assembly (DFA) reviews with suppliers and internal stakeholders.
• Develop and maintain documentation including the source ECAD design data, Gerber files, BOMs, and risk assessments in accordance with design control procedures.
• Support prototype builds, troubleshooting, and root cause analysis of flex circuit issues.
• Interface with flex circuit suppliers to ensure quality, cost, and delivery targets are met. Select materials suitable for medical device applications, considering sterilization, biocompatibility, and long-term reliability.
• Stay current with industry trends, materials, and technologies in flexible electronics.
• Leads technical teams through problem solving based on a structured approach rooted in engineering fundamentals.
• Effectively communicate with internal stakeholders, cross functional team members, external consultants, and physician customers.
• Actively participate in preclinical evaluations and physician engagement activities
• Writes and submits intellectual property.
• Ensure quality system compliance for medical device development.
• Champions design for manufacturability as part of the development process.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical/Electrical Engineering, Material Science, or related field.
• 6+ years of hands on experience in flexible circuit design and development
• Strong understanding of flex circuit materials, flexible conductor materials, stack-ups, impedance control and signal integrity.
• Strong verbal and written communications with ability to effectively communicate at multiple levels in the organization.
• Experience leading and managing complex technical workstreams within a large program.
• Ability to leverage and/or engage others to accomplish projects and influence without authority.

Preferred Qualifications

• Knowledge of thermal management and mechanical stress considerations in flex designs.
• Experience with 3D modeling tools for mechanical integration (e.g., SolidWorks, Creo).
• Experience using industry-standard CAD tools (e.g., Altium, Mentor Graphics, Cadence).
• Experience in regulated industries (e.g., medical devices, aerospace) is a plus.
• Familiarity with supplier qualification and flex circuit manufacturing processes.
• Knowledge of sterilization methods (e.g., EtO, gamma, autoclave) and their impact on materials.
• Experience working in a regulated design control environment (e.g., DHF, FMEA, risk management).
• Experienced and knowledgeable in the design of electromechanical systems
• Experienced with a variety of manufacturing processes and design for manufacturability.

Apply Now

Learn more about our health and wellness benefits, which provide the security to help you and your family live full lives:  www.abbottbenefits.com

Follow your career aspirations to Abbott for diverse opportunities with a company that can help you build your future and live your best life. Abbott is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to employee diversity.

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The base pay for this position is $99,300.00 – $198,700.00. In specific locations, the pay range may vary from the range posted.