System Engineer

For nearly 75 years, Charles River employees have worked together to assist in the discovery, development and safe manufacture of new drug therapies. When you join our family, you will have a significant impact on the health and well‑being of people across the globe. Whether your background is in life sciences, finance, IT, sales or another area, your skills will play an important role in the work we perform.

In return, we’ll help you build a career that you can feel passionate about.

We are seeking a highly motivated and detail-oriented Systems Engineer to support our Research & Development (R&D) team throughout the product development lifecycle. This role will focus on facilitating cross‑functional collaboration, documenting system requirements and workflows, and ensuring serviceability and risk mitigation are addressed from concept to launch.

• Lead Product Requirements Document (PRD) review sessions with R&D subject matter experts (SMEs) and managers.
• Collaborate with Product Management (PM) to clarify product requirements and expectations.
• Document System Requirements and Technical Specifications (SRTS) by translating PRD items into actionable technical tasks (“how” responses).
• Provide ongoing technical and documentation support to R&D throughout development.
• Ensure cross‑functional team members (R&D SMEs, PMs, Technical Services) have the information they need.
• Lead cross‑functional technical discussions as needed.
• Gather and integrate input from internal stakeholders (Field Service, Production, Service Depots, etc.) to ensure products are designed with serviceability in mind.
• Capture and document user workflows with input from SMEs to ensure user needs are clearly understood and incorporated into design.
• Lead Failure Modes, Effects, and Criticality Analysis (FMECA) work sessions to ensure risks are documented, mitigated, and validated through testing.

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, or related technical field.
• 3–5 years of experience in systems engineering, product development, or technical project coordination.
• Proven ability to translate business and user needs into detailed technical requirements.
• Experience working with cross‑functional teams in an R&D environment.
• Familiarity with FMECA, risk analysis methodologies, and serviceability planning.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and documentation skills.
• Detail‑oriented, proactive, and comfortable managing multiple tasks in a fast‑paced environment.

• Experience in laboratory analytical devices.
• Understanding of product lifecycle processes, from concept through manufacturing.
• Strong analytical thinking and systems‑level problem‑solving skills.

The pay range for this position is $85,000 to $95,000. Please note that salaries vary within the range based on factors including, but not limited to, experience, skills, education, and location.

Our Microbial Solutions business group has a comprehensive portfolio of endotoxin testing, microbial detection and microbial identification products and services is unlike any other, and has been purposefully designed to meet the complex and ever‑changing needs of the industry. We help clients to ensure product safety and quality with easy‑to‑use yet robust testing solutions that satisfy regulatory requirements, support critical decision making and improve operational efficiencies.

Charles River is an early‑stage contract research organization (CRO). We have built upon our foundation of laboratory animal medicine and science to develop a diverse portfolio of discovery and safety assessment services, both Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) and non‑GLP, to support clients from target identification through preclinical development. Charles River also provides a suite of products and services to support our clients’ clinical laboratory testing needs and manufacturing activities.

Utilizing this broad portfolio of products and services enables our clients to create a more flexible drug development model, which reduces their costs, enhances their productivity and effectiveness to increase speed to…