Senior R&D Engineer - Polymers Center of Excellence

Stryker • Irvine, CA

12d • Onsite

About The Position

As a Senior R&D Engineer within Stryker’s Polymer Center of Excellence, you will support the development, characterization, and optimization of polymer materials, coatings, and manufacturing processes for Peripheral Vascular medical devices. The role involves hands-on prototyping, testing, material characterization, and technical problem-solving, working with cross-functional teams to advance products from concept through commercialization.

You will help expand laboratory capabilities, carry out polymer and coating development work, and support product and process decisions through experiments, analysis, and technical documentation. The position is onsite and lists travel of 20%.

Requirements

• Bachelor of Science in Materials Science, Polymer Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related engineering or technical discipline.
• At least 2 years of professional, academic, or research experience working with polymer materials, polymer processing, polymer manufacturing, or polymer-based product development.
• Working knowledge of polymer material science, including polymer properties, material behavior, processing techniques, and their relationship to product or application performance.
• Hands-on experience supporting prototyping, manufacturing or process development, or fabrication involving polymer materials.
• Familiarity with material characterization techniques such as DSC, DMA, FTIR, SEM, surface characterization, and microscopy.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with polymer materials, coatings, materials engineering, and/or medical device product development.
• Hands-on experience with rapid prototyping, experimental design, and development testing in laboratory or manufacturing environments.
• Experience evaluating or selecting materials based on mechanical properties, manufacturability, processing requirements, and product performance.
• Experience using engineering problem-solving methods to investigate material, process, or product performance issues.
• Familiarity with CAD software such as SolidWorks, Creo, AutoCAD, or equivalent.
• Ability to document technical work and communicate engineering findings and recommendations to cross-functional partners.

Responsibilities

• Identify, evaluate, install, and implement equipment, fixtures, and processes to expand Polymer Center of Excellence laboratory capabilities.
• Assemble early-stage prototypes and components using small-scale polymer manufacturing processes for rapid design-build-test iterations.
• Research, develop, evaluate, and optimize polymer materials, coatings, and manufacturing processes for medical device applications.
• Conduct rapid prototyping to evaluate product concepts, materials, and processes and support development decisions.
• Plan and execute material characterization and testing, including mechanical, thermal, chemical, and surface analyses.
• Support root cause investigations involving material, coating, process, and product performance using analytical and data-driven methods.
• Evaluate polymer materials, coatings, and surface treatments against design requirements, biocompatibility considerations, manufacturability, and performance needs.
• Design and execute experiments to understand material behavior, process variability, and product performance using engineering and statistical principles.
• Collaborate with R&D, Quality, Manufacturing, Regulatory, and other partners to develop and transfer polymer and coating processes from concept through commercialization.
• Develop technical reports, test protocols, engineering documentation, and design recommendations supporting engineering decisions, design controls, regulatory requirements, and knowledge sharing.
• Apply engineering principles to solve technical challenges related to materials, processes, prototypes, and product performance.

What This Job Offers

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