Sr Staff Engineer Instrument Architecture

Introduction

As a result of the combination of the BD Biosciences and Diagnostic Solutions business with Waters Corporation (NYSE: WAT), by applying to this role you will be applying for a position with Waters. Waters is a global leader in life sciences, dedicated to accelerating the benefits of pioneering science through analytical technologies, informatics, and service. With a focus on regulated, high‑volume testing environments, Waters’ innovative portfolio harnesses deep scientific expertise across biology, chemistry, and physics.

Waters collaborates with analytical laboratories around the world to advance the release of effective, high‑quality medicines, assure the safety of food and water, and drive better patient outcomes by detecting diseases earlier, managing routine infections, and combatting growing antibiotic resistance. Through a shared culture of relentless innovation, Waters’ passionate team of approximately 16,000 colleagues partner with customers to turn scientific challenges into breakthroughs that improve lives worldwide.

BD is one of the largest global medical technology companies in the world. Advancing the world of health is our Purpose, and it’s no small feat. It takes the imagination and passion of all of us—from design and engineering to the manufacturing and marketing of our billions of Med Tech products per year—to look at the impossible and find transformative solutions that turn dreams into possibilities.

The Senior Staff Engineer works closely with Marketing, HW, SW, Reagents and Verification & Validation to lead complex life science products through every stage of the development. This role includes understanding customer needs and workflows, system architecture and analysis, and ensuring that the various sub‑systems fit and interact to deliver the desired customer function and experience.

The Senior Staff Engineer is responsible for the definition and management of requirements, definition of product architecture, guiding characterization of prototype systems, and successful verification and validation. The engineer will take responsibility for system definition and documentation, including system requirements and architecture, device drivers, interfaces, and communication protocols. The engineer works with the engineering staff to develop and execute experimental protocols and to analyze and report results.

Additional responsibilities include integration of system components, system‑level engineering verification, and planning of validation test activities. The role leverages experience, best practices, and methods to determine the root cause of complex issues and supports the growth of the team through mentorship.

• Define System Architecture:
  Author comprehensive system‑level specifications, interface control documents (ICDs), and functional block diagrams.
• Manage Subsystem Interactions:
  Map and optimize the optical, fluidic, electronic, mechanical, and software interfaces to prevent performance bottlenecks.
• Architect System Control & Real‑Time Coordination:
  Design state machines, control loops, and timing sequences that orchestrate real‑time hardware interactions across fluidic, optical, and electronic modules.
• Design End‑to‑End Data Flow Architecture:
  Map high‑bandwidth data pathways from raw analog detector signals through digitization, FPGA‑based processing, firmware buffers, and high‑speed transport layers up to the software application layer.
• Lead Sub‑Systems Budget Allocation:
  Define and manage system‑level budgets for optical power, signal‑to‑noise ratio (SNR), fluidic timing, and electrical power consumption.
• Conduct Performance Modeling:
  Build mathematical models to simulate system throughput, carryover, fluorophore spillover, and sensitivity.
• Drive Trade‑off Decisions:
  Balance competing requirements between resolution speed, laser power, mechanical footprint, and manufacturing cost.
• Own the end‑to‑end requirements lifecycle including user needs, system requirements, derived requirements, traceability, verification planning, and change management for a program.
• Be…