Senior Systems Engineer

ATEC is seeking a Senior Systems Engineer to lead systems‑level design and development for surgical, navigation, and informatics platforms. The successful candidate will guide systems through their full life cycle, including user needs refinement, feasibility assessment, requirements development, technical integration, verification and validation, and design transfer.

This role partners closely with mechanical, electrical, software, clinical, and quality/regulatory teams to ensure robust, compliant system architectures and high‑performance product execution. The Senior Systems Engineer will also provide technical leadership across cross‑functional efforts and support the development of junior systems engineers.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Systems Engineering Leadership

• Lead the development, decomposition, and management of system and subsystem requirements, consistent with INCOSE‑aligned best practices.
• Define system architecture, interfaces, and integration strategies for multi‑disciplinary systems spanning software, hardware, and mechanical components.
• Perform trade studies, risk analyses, hazard assessments, and support design control activities for regulated medical devices.
• Serve as the technical lead for system behavior, usability considerations, and clinical workflow integration in spine surgery environments.
• Support compliance and product safety activities, including IEC 60601 evaluations and other applicable certification testing.

Cross‑Functional Collaboration        

• Partner with marketing, clinical, software, hardware, mechanical, test, and quality/regulatory teams to refine user needs and ensure seamless subsystem integration.
• Lead cross‑functional design reviews and provide analytical decision support through modeling, simulation, and systems‑level analysis.
• Collaborate with Quality and Regulatory to ensure requirements traceability, verification strategy alignment, and submission‑ready documentation (e.g., 510(k) inputs).
• Prepare clear and complete design documentation for verification and validation teams and engage early to identify test method needs.

Project & Technical Leadership

• Provide mentorship and technical guidance to junior engineers, reinforcing best‑in‑class Systems Engineering practices.
• Lead key engineering efforts as the primary systems owner, ensuring alignment with program timelines, risk posture, and business objectives.
• Maintain a strong presence in day‑to‑day project execution—driving structure, clarity, and alignment across cross‑functional engineering teams.
• Apply project management discipline to drive schedules, manage risks and issues, coordinate cross‑functional execution, and support program milestones.
• Maintain design control documentation including Design History Files and Change Orders.

Medical Device / Spine Domain

• Develop and manage system requirements for intraoperative imaging, surgical navigation, data analytics, and workflow optimization technologies.
• Support integration of informatics platforms with imaging systems, surgical instrumentation, and intraoperative sensors.
• Ensure system design incorporates key clinical and technical considerations including surgical ergonomics, accuracy, latency, safety, sterilization, cybersecurity, and overall reliability.

Requirements

The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• 8–15+ years of engineering experience, including significant hands‑on work in Systems Engineering, Systems Architecture, or multi‑disciplinary product development roles.
• Proven track record leading complex engineering projects from concept through verification/validation and release.
• Demonstrated ability to mentor junior staff and influence cross‑functional teams.
• Experience in requirements development, architecture definition, risk management, and verification/validation planning.
• Strong understanding of the Systems Engineering life cycle and software development life cycle (SDLC) for complex, software‑driven systems.
• Experience working within FDA 21 CFR 820 / ISO 13485 design control processes.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to lead technical discussions, author clear technical documentation, and present effectively to leadership.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering or related technical discipline (advanced degree preferred).
• Experience with surgical technologies, spine implants, navigation systems, robotics, or intraoperative imaging systems.
• Experience in regulated product development—medical device preferred (ISO 13485, ISO 14971, IEC 60601, design controls).
• Familiarity with MBSE, SysML, Cameo, or similar systems modeling tools.
• INCOSE ASEP/CSEP certification or equivalent.
• Experience supporting verification planning, requirements traceability, risk management files, and system‑level contributions to regulatory submissions (e.g., 510(k) documentation).

Other Education and/or Experience

• Undergraduate degree in an engineering discipline, graduate degree preferred.
• Minimum 8 years of engineering experience, including significant hands‑on work in Systems Engineering, Systems Architecture, or multi‑disciplinary product development roles.

For roles based in the United States that require access to hospital facilities, must be eligible for and maintain credentials at all required hospitals, including meeting any applicable physical requirements or vaccination requirements (including the COVID-19 vaccine, as applicable).

ATEC is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to its employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or any other protected status in accordance with all applicable federal, state or local laws. Further, ATEC will make reasonable accommodations that are necessary to comply with disability discrimination laws.

Salary Range

Alphatec Spine, Inc. complies with state and federal wage and hour laws and compensation depends upon candidate’s qualifications, education, skill set, years of experience, and internal equity. $125,000 to $140,000 Full-Time Annual Salary