We anticipate the application window for this opening will close on - 21 Mar 2026

 

At Medtronic you can begin a life-long career of exploration and innovation, while helping champion healthcare access and equity for all. You’ll lead with purpose, breaking down barriers to innovation in a more connected, compassionate world.

A Day in the Life

The Airway R&D team exists to help patients and healthcare professionals manage airways more easily by being the most nimble innovator of airway devices. Their expertise lies in designing and developing airway devices such as video laryngoscopes, endotracheal tubes and tracheostomy tubes.

Sr Prin Designer, Design Lead - Airway R&D

Location – Lafayette, CO

Responsibilities may include the following and other duties may be assigned

The Design Lead is responsible for directing the overall vision and innovation strategy to ensure the highest quality of design within Acute Care & Monitoring’s Airway product portfolio. This individual champions human-centered innovation and design excellence by applying thorough knowledge of ethnographic research and behavioral science. This role integrates design thinking methodologies to conceptualize and deliver meaningful user experiences that multiply the impact of our world leading technologies. Additionally, the Design Lead promotes cross-functional collaboration with product team stakeholders, provides mentorship to product designers, and establishes an environment conducive to impactful design results—delivering value to both customers and the business in alignment with strategic objectives and identified market opportunities.

A typical day for the Design Lead:

• Participate in clinical immersion opportunities to observe product use, gather insights, and validate design assumptions.

• Engage with stakeholders—both decision-makers and end-users—to understand their perspectives and challenges.

• Analyze feedback from recent clinical observations and stakeholder interviews.

• Participate in a trio meeting with Product Owner and Technology Lead to refine product value propositions and roadmap priorities.

• Review ongoing product design projects and align with product designers on implementation details.

• Lead brainstorming sessions with the product team to address emerging user needs and market trends.

• Collaborate with marketing to ensure design vision & design strategy aligns with the respective AC&M market strategy.

• Mentor junior designers and facilitate knowledge sharing across teams.

• Review regulatory compliance documentation and ensure all design outputs meet required standards.

• Summarize user research, identify innovation opportunities, update the research database, and prepare action plans for cross-functional meetings.

 

Key Responsibilities:

Product Family & Market Expertise

• Develop a deep understanding of the product family, market landscape, and competitive environment.

• Spend time monthly in clinical settings to observe product use environments, workflows, and stakeholder interactions.

• Build and sustain strong relationships with HCPs and clinical facilities to facilitate ongoing field insights and access.

• Map and understand all stakeholders, including those influencing purchasing decisions and those involved in product use.

Design Leadership & Strategy

• Employ design thinking methodologies within a trio structure (Design Lean, Technology Lead & Product Owner) to create product value propositions that align with identified market opportunities.

• Collaborate as part of a trio to develop a cohesive design strategy for the product family, ensuring alignment with the broader AC&M design strategy.

• Design and lead thoughtful user studies, observations, and inquiries, leveraging behavioral economics, cognitive psychology, and AI generative research.

• Co-create product vision for each item on the roadmap, ensuring strategic fit and user value.

Collaboration & Implementation

• Work with Product Designers to ensure design implementation aligns with product strategy and customer needs.

• Facilitate regular team activities such as journey mapping, insight distillation, persona creation, brainstorming, needs formation, and design sessions to foster creativity and innovation.

• Lead and mentor cross-functional teams, building strong relationships with healthcare professionals and facilities.

• Is an advocate for the user during technology, engineering or cost trade-off to ensure the resolution has the maximum opportunity to delight the customer

• Is a leader in creating and maintaining a culture of customer centricity

Innovation & Research

• Integrate external trends, human insight, technology, and business acumen to define user value and shape impactful innovation directions.

• Lead the development of intuitive electromechanical products that address unmet clinical needs while providing superior user experience.

• Leads the development of user experiences that reduce workflow and cognitive burden, enabling clinicals to focus on clinical practice and their patients.

• Conduct global user studies, observations, and inquiries to identify opportunities rooted in user needs.

• Drive initiatives such as user research databases to inform design decisions.

Compliance & Excellence

• Contribute to patent development and innovative solutions for new product features. 

• Is seasoned at the development cycle of insights to needs, need to user requirements and the work needed to validate them

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Biomedical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering or related field and a minimum of 10 years of experience OR Master's degree with a minimum of 8 years experience OR PhD with 6 years relevant experience.

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.

Join us in our mission to alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life—where your unique background and perspective are valued.

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):$180,000.00 - $270,000.00

 

This 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, and Simple 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), and Capital 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

About Medtronic

We lead global healthcare technology and boldly attack the most challenging health problems facing humanity by searching out and finding solutions.
Our Mission — to alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life — unites a global team of 95,000+ passionate people. 
We are engineers at heart— putting ambitious ideas to work to generate real solutions for real people. From the R&D lab, to the factory floor, to the conference room, every one of us experiments, creates, builds, improves and solves. We have the talent, diverse perspectives, and guts to engineer the extraordinary.

Learn more about our business, mission, and our commitment to diversity here.

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.