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Clinical Development Engineer Jobs (NOW HIRING)

$77K - $105K/yr

As a Clinical Development Engineer, you will play a crucial role in the design, development, and implementation of Capstan Medical's medical robotics technology for transcatheter structural heart ...

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Clinical Development Engineer information

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$40.5K

$93.7K

$136K

How much do clinical development engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Sep 11, 2026, the average yearly pay for clinical development engineer in the United States is $93,700.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $70,000.00 and $109,500.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a clinical development engineer?

A Clinical Development Engineer is a professional who works at the intersection of engineering, clinical research, and healthcare. They are responsible for designing, developing, and evaluating medical devices or technologies used in clinical settings. Their role often involves collaborating with clinicians, conducting clinical trials, ensuring compliance with regulations, and translating clinical needs into engineering solutions. These engineers help bridge the gap between innovative technology and patient care, ensuring that devices are safe, effective, and user-friendly.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a clinical development engineer, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Clinical Development Engineer, you need a solid background in biomedical engineering or a related field, along with experience in clinical trials and medical device development. Familiarity with regulatory standards (such as FDA or ISO), clinical data management systems, and proficiency in technical documentation tools are typically required. Strong problem-solving abilities, attention to detail, and effective communication skills help you excel in cross-functional teams and stakeholder interactions. These skills ensure safe, compliant, and innovative product development that meets both clinical and regulatory requirements.

What are some typical challenges a clinical development engineer faces when transitioning medical devices from prototype to clinical trials?

A Clinical Development Engineer often encounters challenges related to regulatory compliance, ensuring the device meets stringent safety and efficacy standards before clinical trials can proceed. Coordinating between cross-functional teams—such as R&D, regulatory affairs, and clinical operations—can also present difficulties, as aligning timelines and requirements is crucial. Additionally, adapting the prototype based on feedback from preclinical and pilot studies requires flexibility and technical problem-solving skills. Successfully navigating these challenges is essential for advancing medical devices to market.

What is the difference between Clinical Development Engineer vs Clinical Research Associate?

AspectClinical Development EngineerClinical Research Associate
Required credentialsBachelor's in engineering, life sciences, or related field; sometimes certifications in clinical engineeringBachelor's in life sciences, health sciences, or related; often clinical research certifications
Work environmentDesign, develop, and test medical devices; collaborate with engineering teamsMonitor clinical trials; ensure compliance with protocols and regulations
Employer & industry usageMedical device companies, biotech firms, hospitalsPharmaceutical companies, contract research organizations, hospitals

While both roles support healthcare innovation, Clinical Development Engineers focus on designing and testing medical devices, whereas Clinical Research Associates oversee clinical trials to ensure regulatory compliance. Both require knowledge of medical regulations but serve different stages of product development and clinical testing.

What are popular job titles related to Clinical Development Engineer jobs?

For Clinical Development Engineer jobs, the most frequently searched job titles are:

Infographic showing various Clinical Development Engineer job openings in the United States as of September 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% Internship, 1% As Needed, 81% Full Time, 15% Part Time, and 2% Contract. Highlights an 85% Physical, 3% Hybrid, and 12% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $93,700 per year, or $45 per hour.

Sr. Clinical Development Engineer

Sunnyvale, CA • On-site

Socket.dev
Network Security • 1 - 10 employees

Other

Posted 9 days ago


Job description

Primary Function of Position:

This Sr. Clinical Development Engineer (CDE) position reports to the Clinical Development Engineering Manager on the Ion Endoluminal platform. In this position, Sr. CDE utilizes their in-depth clinical, technical and design control knowledge to collaborate with physicians and design engineering to discover, define, develop, and validate new product solutions for flexible robotic catheter platforms. Their primary focus is to understand user needs, establish clinical and engineering requirements, consider clinical risks and identify solutions to guide product development. This position will also allow exploration of future robotic clinical applications and solutions.

Roles and Responsibilities:

The responsibilities for this position include:

  • Clinical and Technical knowledge
    • Apply in-depth clinical knowledge and technical system understanding in defining and developing products based on clinical needs
    • Collaborate with physicians and key clinical users on clinical procedure development and understanding product feedback
    • Clearly define clinical need and requirements for product
    • Develop test models and test methods for clinically relevant product evaluations.
    • Assess potential clinical risks and propose mitigations as an input to product design
    • Observe cases and communicate assessment of robotic value and/or opportunities
    • Contribute expertise into clinical protocol design and strategy
  • Product Leadership
    • Participate in early design investigation teams that are lean and efficient with a focus on product enhancements & new product ideas.
    • Drive frequent stakeholder alignment and solicit appropriate user feedback
    • Drive decision making and expedite key issues quickly
    • Keep the organization’s vision and values at the forefront of decision making and action
    • Educate cross functional team on clinical workflow
    • Support product launches and/or clinical trials and collect early field feedback
  • Design Control
    • Conduct clinical risk analysis for new products or updates
    • Lead testing and clinical evaluations of new product features
    • Collaborate with cross functional team members including regulatory, human factors, training, engineering and product management to determine design and development key inputs
    • Drive design validation testing strategy for new products and get alignment on the strategy with key regulatory and engineering stakeholders
Skill/Job Requirements:
  • Masters or PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Controls Engineering, Biomedical Engineering or similar
  • Minimum of 4years of clinical development and design control experience including the MS
  • Experienced in driving medical device products and features from concept to market
  • Experience collaborating with physicians and collecting feedback on clinical use of the products
  • Experience understanding clinical harms and performing clinical risk analysis
  • Fluent in medical terminology and sound knowledge of anatomy
Nice to haves:
  • Experience working in cross-functional teams and proven ability to cultivate collaboration across multiple disciplines (marketing, regulatory, quality, product design, engineering, human factors) to ensure project success.
  • Experience developing design validation strategy, protocol creation and testing
  • Experience leading hands‑on product evaluation testing in a pre‑clinical lab setting
  • Self‑starter needing minimal supervision
  • Self‑confident and able to react quickly under pressure
  • Ability to adapt priorities in a fast paced, dynamic, product development team
  • Excellent verbal and written communications skills including presentation of technical content
Travel:
  • Ability to travel up to 25% of the time, internationally and domestic

Due to the nature of our business and the role, please note that Intuitive and/or your customer(s) may require that you show current proof of vaccination against certain diseases including COVID-19. Details can vary by role.

Intuitive is an Equal Opportunity Employer.We provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants and employees, and prohibit discrimination and harassment of any type, without regard to race, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, color, age, religion, protected veteran or disability status, genetic information or any other status protected under federal, state, or local applicable laws.

Mandatory Notices

U.S. Export Controls Disclaimer:In accordance with the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (15 CFR §743.13(b)), some roles at Intuitive Surgical may be subject to U.S. export controls for prospective employeeswho are nationals from countries currently on embargo or sanctions status.

Certain information you provide as part of the application will be used for purposes of determining whether Intuitive Surgical will need to (i) obtain an export license from the U.S. Government on your behalf (note: the government’s licensing process can take 3 to 6+ months) or (i) implement a Technology Control Plan (“TCP”) (note: typically adds 2 weeks to the hiring process).

For any Intuitive role subject to export controls, final offers are contingent upon obtaining an approved export license and/or an executed TCP prior to the prospective employee’sstart date, which may or may not be flexible, and within a timeframe that does not unreasonably impede the hiring need. If applicable, candidates will be notified and instructed on any requirements for these purposes.

We will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records in accordance with fair chance laws.

Preference will be given to qualified candidates who do not reside, or plan to reside, in Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, or Tennessee.

This position may be filled at a different job level than listed here depending business need and/or on the selected candidate’s experience, knowledge and skills. Compensation will be based primarily on the job level at which the role is filled and the candidate’s qualifications, consistent with applicable law.

We provide market-competitive compensation packages, inclusive of base pay, incentives, benefits, and equity. It would not be typical for someone to be hired at the top end of range for the role, as actual pay will be determined based on several factors, including experience, skills, and qualifications. The target compensation ranges are listed.

It started with a simple idea: what if surgery could be less invasive and recovery less painful? Nearly 30 years later, that question still fuels everything we do at Intuitive. As a global leader in robotic-assisted surgery and minimally invasive care, our technologies—like the da Vinci surgical system and Ion—have transformed how care is delivered for millions of patients worldwide.

We’re a team of engineers, clinicians, and innovators united by one purpose: to make surgery smarter, safer, and more human. Every day, our work helps care teams perform with greater precision and patients recover faster, improving outcomes around the world.

The problems we solve demand creativity, rigor, and collaboration. The work is challenging, but deeply meaningful—because every improvement we make has the potential to change a life.

If you’re ready to contribute to something bigger than yourself and help transform the future of healthcare, you’ll find your purpose here.

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