Technical Lead - Value Engineering

Baxter•Round Lake, IL

19h•Onsite

About The Position

This is where your work makes a difference. At Baxter, we believe every person—regardless of who they are or where they are from—deserves a chance to live a healthy life. It was our founding belief in 1931 and continues to be our guiding principle. We are redefining healthcare delivery to make a greater impact today, tomorrow, and beyond. Our Baxter colleagues are united by our Mission to Save and Sustain Lives. Together, our community is driven by a culture of courage, trust, and collaboration. Every individual is empowered to take ownership and make a meaningful impact. We strive for efficient and effective operations, and we hold each other accountable for delivering exceptional results. Here, you will find more than just a job—you will find purpose and pride. Your role at Baxter This is where your expertise helps people. You are a problem solver. Complex projects or unexpected challenges are just opportunities to bring your considerable abilities to use. Whether working independently or with a trusted team, you are always ready to tackle a project and work hard to find solutions. Your talent is needed across a wide variety of industries. As a Technical Cost Out (TCO) Lead, you have a wide array of career choices, but are motivated by the opportunity to work in a company that supports innovation, professional development, and a purposeful mission. Your team We are a team of inquisitive individuals who embrace a collaborative environment to take on sophisticated challenges that meet the needs of our patients. We often need to change directions and respond to issues to avoid disruptions in our fast-paced manufacturing environment. Together, we build and maintain a positive work environment. Our team is dedicated to quality. Delivering life-saving products is about getting them right, and our technical expertise and experience working in a manufacturing environment empower us to meet that challenge. When you join us, you will work with a team of committed individuals who trust each other to deliver on the tasks at hand. We support innovation and out-of-the-box thinking balanced with collaboration across functions and other teams. Our leadership understands the need for continuous education and provides opportunities for further development. The Technical Lead – TCO Engineering is a core member of the TCO (Technical Cost Out) team and is accountable for delivering material and component cost reduction, supply resilience, and margin improvement through technical analysis, specification optimization, alternate sourcing, and cross-functional execution. The role partners closely with Procurement, R&D, Quality, Operations, and Suppliers to identify, validate, and implement cost optimization opportunities while maintaining product performance, regulatory compliance, and supply continuity. This role sits within the TCO team within the ISC organization with strong dotted-line engagement to Procurement, R&D, and Operations. The role is execution-focused and operates within established governance forums.

Requirements

5-8+ years experience with Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Materials, Plastics, Chemicals, Packaging, or Manufacturing engineering or related field.
Proven experience delivering multi-million dollar value engineering savings.
Proven experience leading cross-functional projects end-to-end using structured project management methods.
Working knowledge of GMP, change control, deviation/CAPA concepts, and validation/qualification principles.
Strong analytical capability.
Strong communication skills and cross-functional influence skills.
Applicants must be authorized to work for an employer in the U.S. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment visa at this time.

Nice To Haves

Experience in alternate sourcing and supplier qualification (APQP/PPAP) in regulated manufacturing, with end‑to‑end technical and procurement leadership delivering cost savings.
Experience translating technical changes into measurable business value, insourcing transitions and tech transfer activities.
Experience in value engineering and design for manufacturability.
Experience with cost modelling, should-costing or clean-sheet methodologies.
Lean / Six Sigma certification.

Responsibilities

Identify and evaluate total cost optimization opportunities across materials, components, and processes across ITP sites with specific focus on insourcing, alternate sourcing and process & product value engineering.
Ensure alignment to site and partner with Manufacturing Strategy to align to designed future state.
Perform structured should-cost, clean-sheet, and teardown analyses.
Support category strategies with fact-based cost drivers and benchmarks.
Facilitate cross functional Continuous Improvement, Kaizen and Cost Optimization events to generate and prioritize ideas.
Lead a cross functional technical team through the planning and execution of projects using various engineering and scientific techniques, procedures and criteria.
Construct detailed, accurate schedules, driving and collaborating with a core team, and guiding technical support groups.
Lead or support technical change execution including specification and material substitution.
Coordinate sample builds, trials, and testing.
Support change control processes, validation, and implementation (e.g., cut-in planning).
Partner with Procurement, Quality, R&D, Operations, Strategy, and Finance among others.
Engage suppliers on process capability, readiness, and cost transparency.
Support dual qualification, risk mitigation, and capacity assessments.
Lead and track initiatives end-to-end from opportunity assessment, business case development, full execution and hand over of project and savings to operations.
Maintain documentation of assumptions, risks, and approvals.
Escalate quality, service, regulatory, cost or timeline risks.
Document and leverage best practices as part of the internal TCO center continuous improvement methodology.

Benefits

medical and dental coverage that start on day one
insurance coverage for basic life, accident, short-term and long-term disability, and business travel accident insurance
Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP), with the ability to purchase company stock at a discount
401(k) Retirement Savings Plan (RSP), with options for employee contributions and company matching
Flexible Spending Accounts
educational assistance programs
paid holidays
paid time off ranging from 20 to 35 days based on length of service
family and medical leaves of absence
paid parental leave
commuting benefits
Employee Discount Program
Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
childcare benefits