R&D Engineering Co-op, Human Factors and Usability

Fresenius Medical Care•Lawrence, MA

About The Position

The co-op supports product and process development related to the development, design, research, and manufacturing of new and existing NxStage Medical products. As part of the R&D team, the co-op participates in research, testing, documentation, sample building, and other project activities, with a focus on supporting the Human Factors and Usability Engineering team. The role contributes to new medical equipment and disposable products, product upgrades, technical documentation and analyses, user-interface evaluations, and user evaluations. The co-op helps ensure design and testing activities are documented and conform to design controls, and works in compliance with applicable internal and external standards, good manufacturing practices, and quality system regulations.

Requirements

Be a candidate for a BS or MS in Industrial, Systems, Biomedical, Human Factors/Usability, System Safety Engineering, Human-Centered Design and Engineering, Kinesiology/Biomechanics, or Engineering Psychology.
Have completed at least the sophomore year of a bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline.
Have a beginning understanding of system design, electronics, mechanical and software integration, and manufacturing processes.
Have excellent technical communication skills and attention to detail, including the ability to create and edit technical research, analyses, protocols, and reports.
Have excellent organization skills, including the ability to create databases and mine large data sources.
Take a constructive approach to teamwork and collaboration.
Demonstrate interest in the medical device or pharmaceutical industries.
Commit to performing all tasks with quality and integrity.

Nice To Haves

Entry-level understanding of product and process development for medical devices.
Basic understanding of task analyses, usability testing, and iterative development.
Basic knowledge of rapid prototyping processes.
CAD experience.

Responsibilities

Participate in development of new medical equipment or disposables and upgrades to existing products.
Assist with major projects or project phases to resolve advanced and complex technical problems.
Support Human Factors and Usability Engineering by developing and writing Human-Systems Interaction technical documentation, revising existing documentation, and contributing to technical analyses.
Create comprehensive profiles of devices currently on the market, including task analyses and video walkthroughs.
Assist with heuristic reviews of current hardware, disposable, and display user interfaces.
Use perception, cognition, and action principles to evaluate and document current user interfaces.
Prepare, organize, and document observations from user evaluations as required.
Create and organize data using spreadsheet management tools.
Ensure design activities conform to design controls and that analysis, design, and testing activities are properly documented.
Participate in identifying and appropriately addressing design and process shortcomings.
Assist the product development team in adopting and using best practices and design methodologies.
Provide technical support for product engineering, design development, integration, test, and evaluation.
Investigate the feasibility of new projects, systems, or approaches.
Learn about and work in compliance with internal and external standards, good manufacturing practices, and quality system regulations.