Mechanical Engineering Manager Spine Robotics

At Johnson & Johnson, we believe health is everything. Our strength in healthcare innovation empowers us to build a world where complex diseases are prevented, treated, and cured, where treatments are smarter and less invasive, and solutions are personal. Through our expertise in Innovative Medicine and MedTech, we are uniquely positioned to innovate across the full spectrum of healthcare solutions today to deliver the breakthroughs of tomorrow, and profoundly impact health for humanity. Learn more at jnj.com.

As guided by Our Credo, Johnson & Johnson is responsible to our employees who work with us throughout the world. We provide an inclusive work environment where each person is considered as an individual. At Johnson & Johnson, we respect the diversity and dignity of our employees and recognize their merit.

Job Function:
R&D Product Development

Job Sub Function:
R&D Mechanical Engineering

Job Category:
People Leader

All Job Posting Locations:
Leeds, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom

Job Description:

About Orthopaedics

Fueled by innovation at the intersection of biology and technology, we're developing the next generation of smarter, less invasive, more personalized treatments.

Are you passionate about improving and expanding the possibilities of Orthopaedics? Ready to join a team that's reimagining how we heal? Our Orthopaedics teams help keep more than 6 million people moving each year while delivering clinical and economic value to surgeons and healthcare systems. Our teams build solutions for joint reconstruction; trauma and craniomaxillofacial; sports, extremities, and elective foot and ankle; spine; and robotics and digital surgery.

Your unique talents will help patients on their journey to wellness. Learn more at

We are searching for the best talent to join our DePuy Synthes Orthopaedics team as a Mechanical Engineering Manager , based in U.S. (Boston, MA; Raynham, MA; Warsaw, IN; Palm Beach Gardens, FL) and EMEA (Gières, France; Oberdorf, Switzerland; Leeds-Beeston,England and Zuchwil, Switzerland).

Purpose:

The Robotics Mechanical Engineering Manager leads the mechanical engineering function responsible for the design, development, and delivery of high-performance robotic systems. This role oversees a team of mechanical engineers and works cross-functionally with systems, software, electrical, controls, manufacturing, clinical, quality, and regulatory teams to ensure robust, reliable, and manufacturable robotic solutions.

The Robotics Mechanical Engineering Manager is accountable for driving mechanical architecture, detailed design, and integration from early concept through commercialization, ensuring designs meet performance, safety, reliability, cost, and regulatory requirements. This role combines technical leadership, people management, and cross-functional collaboration, enabling the successful execution of complex programs in a regulated environment.

Key Responsibilities:

• Own and drive mechanical subsystem requirements, ensuring alignment with system-level requirements, user needs, performance targets, and regulatory constraints.
• Lead the mechanical architecture and detailed design of robotic mechanisms, including articulated linkages, precision motion assemblies, gear-based transmission systems, actuators, and structural components.
• Define and review mechanical design concepts, trade studies, and architecture decisions to balance performance, reliability, manufacturability, cost, and serviceability.
• Ensure mechanical designs support controls performance, including stiffness, backlash, friction, inertia, and dynamic response requirements.
• Design for Reliability (DfR) practices, including durability analysis, fatigue assessment, wear modeling, and lifetime testing strategies.
• Design for Manufacturability and Assembly (DfM/DfA) efforts to ensure scalable, repeatable, and cost-effective production.
• Partner with manufacturing engineering to optimize component sourcing, assembly processes, tolerances, and inspection methods.
• Ensure robust design margin and implementation of lessons learned from field data, validation testing, and post-market feedback.
• Oversee and guide tolerance stack-up analysis, ensuring precision requirements are met for kinematic accuracy, alignment, and functional performance.
• Lead and review thermal analysis, including heat generation, dissipation, thermal deformation, and impact on mechanical performance and reliability.
• Ensure appropriate use of analytical and simulation tools (FEA, thermal, kinematic modeling) to support design decisions and risk mitigation.
• Maintain mechanical design documentation, calculations, and analysis outputs suitable for design reviews, audits, and regulatory submissions.
• Collaborate closely with controls, electrical, and software teams to ensure seamless mechanical-electrical-software integration.
• Ensure mechanical subsystems support control algorithms through predictable dynamics, minimized backlash, controlled compliance, and stable thermal behavior.
• Lead integration activities, supporting system bring-up, troubleshooting, and performance tuning.
• Support verification and validation (V&V) activities by ensuring mechanical requirements are testable, traceable, and validated through appropriate methods.
• Participate in and contribute to risk management activities, including DFMEA and system-level hazard analysis.
• Ensure mechanical risk controls are correctly implemented, verified, and validated.
• Review test results, investigate failures, and drive corrective actions for mechanical issues identified during development, validation, or field use.
• Ensure mechanical designs comply with applicable regulatory and quality standards (e.g., FDA, ISO 13485, IEC 60601 standards, material compliance).
• Partner with quality and regulatory teams to support design controls, audits, and regulatory submissions.
• Ensure documentation, design outputs, and change management comply with quality system requirements.
• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of mechanical engineers, fostering technical excellence, accountability, and collaboration.
• Assign work, set technical direction, conduct design reviews, and provide coaching to support professional growth.
• Plan and execute mechanical engineering deliverables in alignment with program schedules and business objectives.
• Drive continuous improvement of mechanical engineering processes, tools, and best practices.
• Stay current with advancements in robotic mechanisms, precision gearing, actuation technologies, materials, and manufacturing methods.
• Encourage innovation while maintaining disciplined engineering rigor, reliability, and compliance.
• For those who supervise or manage a staff, responsible for ensuring that subordinates follow all Company guidelines related to Health, Safety and Environmental practices and that all resources needed to do so are available and in good condition, if applicable
• Responsible for ensuring personal and Company compliance with all Federal, State, local and Company regulations, policies, and procedures
• Identify critical paths during product development, address bottlenecks and risks and facilitate problem solving across R&D teams.
• Support project resource and schedule planning.

Qualifications/Requirements:

• Bachelor's or master's degree in mechatronics or mechanical engineering
• 7+ years of experience in robotics systems design
• Experience with Class II or Class III medical devices is preferred.
• Knowledge of embedded systems, firmware/software testing, or electromechanical systems
• Strong understanding of systems engineering principles and product development lifecycle (e.g., V-model, waterfall, Agile).
• Experience with requirements management tools (e.g., DOORS, Jama, Polarion).
• Familiarity with test automation tools and scripting languages (e.g., Python, LabVIEW, MATLAB).
• Excellent technical writing and communication skills.
• Certification in CQE, CQA, or Six Sigma is a plus.
• Proficient in sample size calculation and statistical methods for analyzing data.

Johnson & Johnson announced plans to separate our Orthopaedics business to establish a standalone Orthopaedics company, operating as DePuy Synthes. The process of the planned separation is anticipated to be completed within 18 to 24 months, subject to legal requirements, including consultation with works councils and other employee representative bodies, as may be required, regulatory approvals and other customary conditions and approvals.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

Johnson & Johnson is an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against based on disability.

For more information on how we support the whole health of our employees throughout their wellness, career, and life journey, please visit

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Required Skills:

Preferred Skills:
Continuous Improvement, Contract Management, Design Thinking, Developing Others, Equipment Maintenance, Fact-Based Decision Making, Feasibility Studies, Inclusive Leadership, Leadership, Mechanical Engineering, Product Development, Project Management Methodology (PMM), Prototyping, Research and Development, Resource Allocation, SAP Product Lifecycle Management, Team Management, Technical Credibility, Vendor Management