Senior Principal Engineer – Imaging, Digital Solutions

Abbott Laboratories • Santa Clara, CA

12d • $130,700 - $261,300 • Hybrid

About The Position

This Senior Principal Engineer – Imaging, Digital Solutions position can work out of our Santa Clara, CA location. Responsible for independently leading the development and execution of new and existing products, processes, prototypes, fixtures, and tools. Serves as a recognized technical expert in design engineering, new product development, and design transfer, resolving complex technical challenges and driving continuous quality improvement. Provides architectural leadership and integration for next-generation medical image visualization platforms, focusing on high‑performance rendering, interactive image manipulation (zoom, pan, rotate, window/level, overlays), and DICOM-based workflows. Drives innovation aligned to company goals, shapes long-term technical strategy, and mentors engineers across functions. Acts as a domain authority, ensuring cross-team alignment across imaging, platform, and clinical stakeholders to deliver impactful advancements in patient care.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Electrical/Computer Engineering, or related field; or equivalent experience
• Minimum 10 years of software engineering experience including 5+ years leading Imaging development and architecture
• Background in medical image analysis (CT/MRI/echo), including 3D data processing, mesh handling, and geometric feature extraction
• Experience with scientific and imaging frameworks such as NumPy, SciPy, PyTorch, and VTK
• Deep understanding of algorithm optimization, numerical stability, and rigorous validation methodologies
• Demonstrated success leading architecture and delivery for complex, scalable systems across cloud and/or edge environments
• Demonstrated ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly to cross-functional teams and leadership, and to influence decision-making across organizations

Nice To Haves

• Proven ability to introduce modern engineering practices that improve team velocity and delivery quality
• Proficiency in software and system development tools such as MATLAB, Python, C++, VTK, and Qt/QML
• Experience architecting both on-premises and cloud-based imaging solutions, including integration of AI/ML for computer vision and diagnostic applications
• Experience working in regulated industries (e.g., healthcare); familiarity with software lifecycle and quality standards such as IEC 62304
• Deep expertise in imaging modalities such as CT, ultrasound, MRI, or X-ray
• Knowledge of regulatory and quality frameworks (e.g., FDA, ISO 13485, IEC 60601), including cybersecurity best practices
• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence across Product, Marketing, IT, Security, and Compliance
• Practical experience with MLOps/LLMOps (model selection, fine-tuning, prompt engineering, evaluation, safety, and data governance)
• Track record of building platform capabilities (SDKs, templates, reference architectures) and enabling self-service for product teams
• Experience managing third-party vendors and system integrators, including negotiating technical contracts

Responsibilities

• Leads design and development of new and existing systems/products; defines and improves engineering standards, processes, and procedures.
• Creates requirements, specifications, and designs for medical devices in compliance with regulatory standards.
• Leads subsystem characterization, verification, and validation activities; designs tests, analyzes results, and documents outcomes.
• Applies experimental, empirical, and simulation-based analyses to evaluate designs, mitigate risks, and ensure reliability.
• Develops test methods, simulation models, and technical documentation governing processes and procedures.
• Leads development of product specifications, FMEAs, DOEs, and V&V strategies; manages risk documentation and mitigation.
• Recommends and improves Design Control and quality processes in accordance with FDA guidelines.
• Applies advanced troubleshooting and root cause analysis (RCA) for complex system-level issues.
• Provides technical justification and drives resolution of complex design challenges.
• Establishes technical leadership, identifies program risks, and ensures execution to timelines and schedules.
• Drives process improvements to enhance engineering efficiency across teams.
• Develops products, processes, and design tools for cross-organizational use.
• Defines and owns architecture for medical image visualization systems, including 2D/3D/4D viewers and rendering pipelines (web and device-based).
• Leads design of high-performance 3D visualization (volume rendering, MPR, zoom/pan/scroll, cine playback) and integration with backend systems.
• Establishes best practices for rendering performance, GPU acceleration, and memory management.
• Drives technical decisions across visualization frameworks (OpenGL, Vulkan, WebGL, DirectX, etc.).
• Serves as subject-matter expert in DICOM formats, image data handling, and diagnostic visualization features (window/level, LUTs, annotations, overlays).
• Ensures visualization workflows meet clinical, regulatory, and quality requirements.
• Drives system-level trade-offs across performance, scalability, latency, cost, and image quality.

Benefits

• 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 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.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior