R&D Manager, Engineering

Introduction

Werfen is a growing, family-owned, innovative company founded in 1966 in Barcelona, Spain. We are a worldwide leader in specialized diagnostics in the areas of Hemostasis, Acute Care Diagnostics, Transfusion, Autoimmunity, and Transplant. Through our Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) business line, we research, develop, and manufacture customized assays and biomaterials. We operate directly in 30 countries, and in more than 100 territories through distributors. Our Headquarters and Technology Centers are located in the US and Europe, and our workforce is more than 7,000 strong.

Our success comes from a specific focus in these rapidly evolving diagnostic areas, our commitment to customers, and our dedication to innovation and quality. We’re passionate about providing healthcare professionals the most valuable and complete solutions to improve hospital efficiency and enhance patient care.

Overview

Position Summary

Functional management of the Detection Systems and Algorithms (DSA) team within the Hardware Engineering (HWE) department at Werfen, serving the Hemostasis and Acute Care Diagnostics business units.   The position is responsible for the development and support of detection modules and subsystems across their entire lifecycle (i.e. cradle to grave), including the development of machine-vision and detection algorithms, as required.   The position involves management and professional development of a staff of highly technical professionals.  Management responsibilities include planning of resource and staff allocation, prioritization of projects, maintenance of key performance indicators and performance dashboards, and development of the team.  Additional requirements include the ability to drive business results and capability to act as an ambassador of the Werfen culture and values. Ideal candidate shall exhibit strong communication and networking acumen.  Position will interface and align work activities with cross functional stakeholders not limited to: Project Management, Software, Analytical, Quality, Service and Marketing. 

The annual base salary range for this role is currently $175,000 to $210,000. This is a bonus-eligible position. Individual employee compensation will ultimately depend on factors including education, relevant experience, skillset, knowledge, and particular business needs.

This role is eligible for medical, dental, and vision insurance, 401k plan retirement benefits with an employer match, as well as paid vacation and sick leave.

Responsibilities

Key Accountabilities

Essential Functions:

• Acts as Functional Manager of the Detection Systems and Algorithms (DSA) team.
• Oversees development and maintenance of staff's skills, competencies, and capabilities particularly in the areas of optical engineering, digital signal processing, machine-vision, and algorithm development.
• Develops and promotes best practices in Function’s area(s) of domain-expertise.
• Plans and supports professional development of direct reports. Monitors and determines staff training needs.
• Monitors performance of direct reports and works closely with HWE leadership to develop a succession and talent management pipeline that aligns with the department’s human and intellectual-capital strategy.
• Attracts, retains, and manages Function’s bench, promoting balance between technical breadth and depth (e.g. balancing Function’s generalist and specialist ratios) while promoting a culture of engineering-excellence.
• Suggests, implements, and maintains Function's objectives and initiatives, meeting regularly with team and direct reports.
• Develops and manages Function's budget(s), as necessary.
• Monitors and ensures that adequate personnel, equipment, and material resources are available to meet project milestones across multiple programs.
• Independently plans and suggests future needs for programs, aligning innovation initiatives with the appropriate cross-functional stakeholders and cross-department leadership.
• Reviews Function's schedule(s) for assigned projects. Tracks metrics to monitor burn-down rates and quality, ensuring robust and reliable solutions are delivered on-schedule. Provides contingency plans for identified conflicts. Incorporates lessons learned from past projects and works with Quality to update policies and procedures as required.
• Partners with Project Management to ensure that the Function's activities and deliverables are aligned with program plans.
• Ensures delivery of all new product development and on-market support needs as required, acting in both a functional management and individual technical contributor role, as required (i.e. acts as a player-coach).
• Assigns, directs, and evaluates technical work. Provides technical guidance to direct reports. Responsible for the quality of deliverables from within the Function.
• Acts a subject matter expert in the Function’s domain of expertise and acts as a single-point of contact for cross technology center support (i.e. SME in area(s) of optical engineering, machine vision, digital signal processing, and algorithm development)
• Understands relevant industry trends and best practices. Adopts and institutes new processes or technologies. Maintains membership in relevant standards committees as required.
• Champions, promotes, and practices robust design practices.
• Effectively communicates technical information to multidisciplinary teams in the form of documentation, presentations and technical summaries.
• Identifies product defects and recognizes outliers in results Able to explain and document product defects and their impact.

Secondary Functions:

• May act as technical adviser or lead the resolution of complex technical issues pertaining to optical, detection, machine vision, and/or sensor based modules and sub-systems.
• May be assigned CAPA ownership.
• May participate with top management in long-range company planning concerning new or project areas of technical research or advancements.
• May define and communicate engineering strategy & roadmap for the Function.

Internal Networking/Key Relationships

To be determined based on department needs, to include interactions such as:

• Project management
• Service
• Marketing

Skills & Capabilities

The ideal candidates for this position will exhibit the following skills and capabilities:

• Proven technical leadership experience, including people management, team development, coaching, organizational influence, and change leadership.
• Strong program and cross-functional leadership skills, including resource planning, prioritization, stakeholder alignment, communication, negotiation, and issue resolution.
• Expertise in electro-optical detection systems, including sensor fusion, detector integration, system verification, reliability engineering, root-cause analysis, and DFX methodologies.
• Deep knowledge of optical systems and photonics, including imaging systems, illumination design, optical architecture, sensor characterization, lasers, lenses, filters, detectors, and optical path design.
• Experience with optical alignment, calibration, tolerance analysis, signal-to-noise optimization, image quality assessment, and related characterization techniques.
• Strong background in machine vision, computer vision, and imaging algorithms, including image processing, segmentation, classification, pattern recognition, camera calibration, and AI/ML-based vision applications.
• Proficiency in Python, MATLAB, and/or C/C++, with experience in data analysis, statistical modeling, automated test systems, version control, and DevOps/ML-Ops environments.

Travel Requirements 

Up to 10% of time

Qualifications

Minimum Knowledge & Experience Required

• Education: Bachelors Degree in Engineering, Science, or related Field.
• Experience
  • Eight to ten years of product development experience, depending on degree
  • Six years of experience in Functional Management
  • For internal candidate promotion: Demonstrated proficiency in meeting all competencies of current level and acceptable performance history may be used in lieu of experience
  • in vitro medical experience highly desirable
• Additional skills/ Knowledge
  • Language" Proficiency in English language required

Closing

If you are interested in constantly learning and being challenged on a daily basis we encourage you to submit your resume or CV.

Werfen is an Equal Opportunity employer and is committed to a diverse workplace. Werfen strictly prohibits unlawful discrimination, harassment or retaliation based upon an individual’s race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin/ancestry, age, mental/physical disability, medical condition, marital status, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic as defined by applicable state or federal law. If you have a disability and need an accommodation in relation to the online application process, please contact NAtalentacquisition@werfen.com for assistance.

We operate directly in over 30 countries, and in more than 100 territories through distributors. Annual revenue is approximately $2 billion and more than 7,000 employees around the world comprise our Werfen team.

www.werfen.com