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 Pleasanton, CA location in the Heart Failure Division. In Abbott’s Heart Failure (HF) business, we’re developing solutions to diagnose, monitor and manage heart failure, allowing people to restore their health and get on with their lives.

The Systems Principal Engineer is accountable for delivering entire programs or complex, significant portions of programs with some level of novelty. Also accountable for organizing and managing work, investigating issues, defining behaviors, leading other in the executing of work, applying expertise and validating designs and products for systems. Accountable for applying an expert understanding of applications, customer needs to be addressed, behaviors and architected solutions to streamline product development in addition to ensuring product quality. Ensures the logical and systematic conversion of customer requirements and performance requirements into total systems solutions that acknowledge technical, schedule, and cost constraints. Primarily supports one key major program, but may advise other multiple efforts.

What You’ll Work On

• Lead programs while exercising significant novelty and integration across various disciplines as well as team members. Applies a demonstrated portfolio-centric approach to developing programs which are incorporated into platform strategies that achieve “win/win” scenarios for assigned efforts and platforms.
• Plans and executes the department strategy to deliver upon responsibilities; gathers information, frames problems, devises/executes plans, tracks progress, and adjusts/measures success within scope of responsibility to improve development efforts as well as the organization. Applies skills to planning product development work; capturing requirements, designing solutions, defining behaviors, investigating issues, evaluating trade-offs, and validating output.
• Organizes and manages work to deliver programs, leads in the execution of assigned work. Prioritizes tasks by distinguishing urgent from important tasks and assess cost/benefit trade-offs.
• Develops and applies an expert understand of designated systems as well as serves as a subject matter expert for the development team regarding behaviors, implementation trade-offs, customer needs, satisfaction of customer needs, clinical applications, and the applicable technologies required to solve problems and deliver upon business objectives. Participates in broad cross-functional reviews of work output.
• Fosters collaboration with cross-functional teams, platform architects and other leaders to drive work to completion and resolve issues. Successfully influences stakeholders. Communicates effectively with cross-functional teams and senior management. Keeps leadership informed of progress and issues.
• Innovates within program work to improve the organization, solve technical challenges, and develop intellectual property.
• Complies with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations, other regulatory requirements, Company policies, operating procedures, processes, and task assignments. Maintains positive and cooperative communications and collaboration with all levels of employees, customers, contractors, and vendors.
• Serves as lead systems engineer on 1 or more projects.
• Mentors and develops junior engineers.
• Leads systems engineering efforts.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in software engineering, computer science, or a related engineering field.
• Minimum 10 years of progressively more responsible work experience in a range of software engineering disciplines using a variety of programming methods.

Preferred Qualifications

• 14+ years of relevant work experience.
• Demonstrated ability to apply an expert understanding of systems to issues in order to bring tasks to resolution within assigned projects.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively integrate information from varied disciplines including Clinical Medicine, Engineering, Marketing and Regulatory Affairs required.
• Medical device industry experience.
• Experience working in a broader enterprise/cross-division business unit model.
• Ability to work in a highly matrixed and geographically diverse business environment.
• Ability to work within a team and as an individual contributor in a fast-paced, changing environment. 
• Ability to leverage and/or engage others to accomplish projects.
• Strong verbal and written communications with ability to effectively communicate at multiple levels in the organization.
• Multitasks, prioritizes and meets deadlines in timely manner.
• Strong organizational and follow-up skills, as well as attention to detail.  
• Proficient in SysML.
• Proficient in requirements writing to INCOSE writing rules.
• Proficient in V&V methods.
• Proficient in risk assessments.

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.

Connect with us at www.abbott.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Abbott, and on Twitter @AbbottNews.

The base pay for this position is $148,700.00 – $297,300.00. In specific locations, the pay range may vary from the range posted.