Sr. Principal Ultrasound Engineer, Mounds View, MN

Senior Principal Ultrasound Engineer

Medtronic is seeking a Senior Principal Ultrasound Engineer to serve as a recognized technical leader in ultrasound and acoustic design. This individual will set architectural direction, drive innovation through model-based design, and collaborate with external experts to integrate ultrasound with the Affera platform. They will also be responsible for building internal ultrasound engineering talent while shaping next-generation diagnostic and therapeutic ultrasound platforms.

This role is based onsite in Mounds View, MN and will require up to 25% travel time.

Key Responsibilities:

• Define and own transducer architecture, balancing acoustic performance, power, thermal, cost, form factor, and regulatory constraints.
• Establish technical roadmaps that align with multi-year product and platform strategies.
• Lead architectural trade-off studies and make build/buy/partner recommendations for critical subsystems.
• Provide technical oversight of key suppliers and contract manufacturers.

Cross-Functional Influence and Mentorship:

• Partner with senior leaders in firmware, software, algorithms, systems, regulatory, and clinical to align technical direction.
• Lead design reviews, architectural reviews, and technical risk reviews across programs.
• Mentor and coach engineers; actively develop technical career paths and build organizational depth.
• Influence hiring, technical onboarding, and competency development for the broader engineering community.

Innovation, IP, and External Engagement:

• Drive innovation pipelines, generate patentable IP, and grow Medtronic's ultrasound patent portfolio.
• Contribute to publications in peer-reviewed venues (posters, abstracts, journal articles) represent Medtronic at industry conferences when appropriate.
• Engage with academic partners, key suppliers, and standards bodies (IEC, AIUM, IEEE) to shape technology direction.

Quality, Compliance, and Manufacturing:

• Serve as a technical authority during regulatory submissions and audits.

Level Expectations:

• Excellent collaboration and communication skills with internal (cross-functional and leadership) and external partners.
• Recognized internally (and ideally, externally) as a subject matter expert in ultrasound transducers and system architecture.
• Operates with broad autonomy on the most complex, ambiguous, and high-impact technical challenges.
• Influences technical strategy across multiple programs, business units, or operating units.
• Mentors principal, senior, and staff engineers; develops the next generation of technical leaders.
• Represents Medtronic in industry forums, standards bodies, academic collaborations, and key supplier engagements.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Physics, or a related discipline with 10+ years of relevant experience; or Master's degree with 8+ years; or PhD with 6+ years.

Preferred Qualifications:

• PhD in a relevant discipline with publications in ultrasound, acoustics, or medical imaging.
• Expertise with piezoelectric arrays, CMUTs, and/or PMUTs, including FEA-driven co-design with electronics.
• Demonstrated architectural ownership of ultrasound transducers and system interfaces across multiple product generations.
• Deep, hands-on experience with ultrasound system and electronics simulation software, including several of the following:
• Field II and k-Wave for acoustic field, beam pattern, and pulse-echo simulation
• FOCUS for transducer and acoustic propagation modeling
• PZFlex / OnScale for piezoelectric transducer and coupled acoustic-structural FEA
• COMSOL Multiphysics for multiphysics modeling of transducers and acoustic media
• ANSYS (Mechanical, HFSS, SIwave, Icepak ) for structural, electromagnetic, signal/power integrity, and thermal analysis
• Proven ability to lead technical teams, mentor senior engineers, and influence without direct authority.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with experience presenting to executive leadership and external stakeholders.
• Experience leading ASIC or custom silicon programs for ultrasound front-ends, knowledge in back-end digital design, including high-speed digital interfaces and digital beamforming.
• P…