Principal Quality Engineer (Wayne, NJ)

With a passion for life Join our diverse teams of passionate people and a career that allows you to develop both personally and professionally. At Getinge we exist to make life-saving technology accessible for more people. To make a true difference for our customers - and to save more lives, we need team players, forward thinkers, and game changers. Are you looking for an inspiring career? You just found it. Job Overview
The Principal Quality Engineer provides technical leadership across quality engineering, manufacturing support, and design activities, with accountability for ensuring the effectiveness of Nonconformance (NC) and CAPA processes across the organization. This role leads complex investigations, drives systemic problem solving, and strengthens overall quality performance.
The position is part of the Acute Care Therapies, Cardiac Surgery Business Area. This is a hybrid role with 4 days a week onsite in Wayne, NJ. Job Responsibilities and Essential Duties
CAPA and Nonconformance Leadership Lead or oversee complex, high-risk, or recurring CAPA investigations
Ensure root cause and corrective actions are technically sound and appropriately scoped
Review and challenge CAPA and NC records to drive consistency and quality of execution
Ensure alignment between NC trends, complaints, audit findings, and CAPA activity System Performance and Metrics Analyze CAPA and NC performance metrics (aging, recurrence, effectiveness)
Identify patterns and drive actions to address systemic issues
Support management review with data-driven insights and recommended actions
Drive identification and elimination of recurring or systemic quality issues across products and processes Technical Quality Engineering Support Provide support for: Design verification and validation
Process validation and qualification
Test method validation and equipment qualification Lead resolution of complex product and process quality issues
Drive recovery of high-risk or overdue issues Process and System Improvement Identify gaps in CAPA and NC execution and drive improvements
Ensure outputs of investigations translate into: Process improvements
Design changes
Risk management updates Lead cross-functional problem-solving initiatives Quality Systems and Compliance Support internal and external audits
Ensure CAPA and NC processes are consistently executed
Contribute to inspection readiness and response activities Leadership and Influence Mentor engineers on investigation and problem-solving approaches
Provide technical guidance across functions
Act as a key resource for difficult quality issues Health Hazard Evaluation (HHE) Lead or provide technical input to Health Hazard Evaluations for significant product or field issues
Assess risk using available data and engineering judgment
Ensure HHE conclusions drive CAPA scope, urgency, and actions Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities A Bachelor's Degree in Engineering, Science, or other related field or equivalent combination of education and related work experience is required. A Master's of Science (or related field) or MBA is a plus. ASQ, CQE, greenbelt or other applicable certifications are a plus.
A minimum of 7 years of experience in quality assurance, quality compliance, or related functions in an FDA regulated industry or ISO certified organization is required.
Strong experience with CAPA, nonconformance systems, and complex investigations
Strong knowledge of CAPA and nonconformance systems, including investigations, root cause analysis, and corrective actions Ability to assess investigation quality, ensuring conclusions are data-driven and aligned to the problem
Experience leading cross-functional investigations or problem-solving for complex or recurring quality issues
Demonstrated ability to identify systemic issues from recurring data and drive sustainable solutions
Strong technical judgement and critical thinking, especially for risk and issue scope
Effective communication skills, including the ability to challenge and influence across functions
Working knowledge of FDA and ISO quality systems (e.g., 21CFR820/QMSR, ISO 13485) The base salary for the position is a minimum of $144,000 and a maximum of $155,000 plus an annual bonus of 15% #LI-LG1 About us With a firm belief that every person and community should have access to the best possible care, Getinge provides hospitals and life science institutions with products and solutions aiming to improve clinical results and optimize workflows. The offering includes products and solutions for intensive care, cardiovascular procedures, operating rooms, sterile reprocessing and life science. Getinge employs over 12,000 people worldwide and the products are sold in more than 135 countries. Reasonable accommodations are available upon request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.