Xact Medical Job Openings

November 14, 2017

BACKGROUND

Xact Medical is an institutional investor-backed medical device startup located in Springboro, Ohio. With technology exclusively licensed from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Ben Gurion University, Xact is developing a pioneering product in the soon-to-explode field of point of care robotics – the Fast Intelligent Needle Delivery System, or FIND.

FIND is a hand-held medical robot that integrates ultrasound imaging with autonomous needle advancement to turn every clinician into an expert at needle placement, which will improve patient outcomes and save hospitals time and money. The initial target market is vascular access, to be followed by regional anesthesiology and biopsy.

With extensive market research completed to confirm product-market fit and a proof of concept prototype completed, Xact is currently seeking to fill two exciting complementary opportunities for medical device development talent to continue to prototype and iterate FIND to a final product design (and then move on to the product portfolio that lies beyond the first device…). Interested parties should contact Andrew Cothrel, CEO, at [email protected] for more information.

DIRECTOR OF R&D

The first opportunity is for our Director of R&D. This new position will direct overall product development strategy and tactics, lead a development team, and take a hands-on role in designing, developing, and testing a cutting edge Class II medical device. One of two areas of specific technical depth is required: either a) an EE degree and at least 7 years of relevant industry experience with motion control, optical systems and image processing, and electrical systems (medical ultrasound imaging experience is a plus), or b) an ME degree and at least 7 years of relevant mechanical design experience (e.g. delivering manufacturable injection molded and CNC generated components with feature sizes in the 0.1-10mm range). This role will be complementary with the Sr. Development Engineer, in that whichever set of technical expertise (EE or ME) the Director of R&D possesses, the Sr. Development Engineer will possess the other technical (EE or ME) skill set.

For this role, we seek a leader with demonstrated ability to bring a highly technical electromechanical product to launch, preferably in the medical device sector. Specific experience with robotics or surgical tools development is a plus. Demonstrated experience in establishing highly functional relationships with 3rd party developers and supplier partners is an absolute requirement. The Xact development team will remain a relatively small core team (4-5 people) during our product development stage. Therefore, previous experience and insights regarding how device development priorities and strategies in a start-up differ from corporate device development processes and workflows is highly valued.

This is a unique opportunity to lead product development with a leading-edge company pioneering the field of point of care robotics, with the FIND system as our first product entry. There will be a lot of exciting engineering innovation involved (www.xactmedical.com) as we evolve our functional prototype into a final product. This person will quickly join our team full-time in Springboro, Ohio (between Cincinnati and Dayton).

Job Responsibilities

Define and direct all aspects of product development of a handheld robotic medical device with electronic, mechanical and software components
Determine, define and implement architecture and system level approach to device design
Organize and implement best practices in design and development with needs of schedule and quality taken into account.
Understand and refine user and internal requirements and maintain integrity of the traceability to the final design output
Understand and manage resource needs for personnel, materials and equipment to facilitate the R&D effort
Initiate, build and maintain relationships with prime suppliers.
Provide engineering expertise to Manufacturing, Quality and Purchasing efforts.

General Qualifications

4 or more years’ experience in a managerial role relative to electromechanical computing device development
7 or more years’ experience in a product development role (medical device preferred)
Working knowledge of Quality System Requirements and Design Controls
Knowledge of specific 3rrd party standards highly desirable (e.g. IEC-60601)

DEVELOPMENT ENGINEER

The second opportunity is for our Sr. Development Engineer. This position will play a critical role in how the design and development of the FIND system evolves into a final product, and will take a hands-on role in designing, developing, and testing this cutting edge Class II medical device. One of two areas of specific technical depth is required: either a) an EE degree and at least 5 years of relevant experience with motion control, optical systems and image processing, and electrical systems, with medical ultrasound imaging expertise a plus, or b) an ME degree and at least 5 years of relevant experience designing manufacturable electromechanical devices an components (e.g. with feature sizes in the 0.1-10mm range). This role will be complementary with the Director of R&D, in that whichever set of technical (EE or ME) expertise the Director of R&D possesses, the Sr. Development Engineer will possess the other technical (EE or ME) skill set.

For this role, we are seeking an engineer with demonstrated ability to deliver a highly technical electromechanical product to market, preferably in the medical device sector. Specific experience with robotics or surgical tools development products would be a plus. Experience in working with 3rd party developers and supplier partners would be beneficial. Xact is a startup, so a willingness to be hands on with all facets of the development process is essential.

Job Responsibilities

Design and detail all aspects of the handheld robotic device with the assistance of expertise of the Director for aspects in his discipline
Design and test innovations and unique aspects of the design prior to implementing into final design
Implement best practices in design and development and create and maintain documentation needed
Work with Director to ensure requirements are met and traceability is intact
Provide engineering expertise to Manufacturing, Quality and Purchasing efforts
Perform verification and validation on the design

General Qualifications

7 or more years’ experience in a product development role (medical device preferred)
Working knowledge of Quality System Requirements and Design Controls
Knowledge of specific 3rrd party standards highly desirable (e.g. IEC-60601)

TECHNICAL QUALIFICATIONS – applies to both the Director R&D and Sr. Development Engineer Roles

EE Skill Set:

BSEE with experience in power/motor control, motion control and embedded microcontrollers
- Knowledge of programming in C
- Benchtop debugging experience
- Power and power supply design
Analog circuit design
- Schematic capture
- PCB layout
- EMI/RFI and shielding
Power, communications, and signal processing
- Battery system design knowledge and experience
- RF performance and packaging experience (Bluetooth, WiFi etc.)
- Knowledge of DSP techniques
Ultrasound imaging experience a plus

ME Skill Set:

BSME with experience designing electromechanical devices (small handheld devices and/or robotic devices would be ideal)
- Power transmission design
- Injection molding, compression molding and vacuum forming design and processes
- Knowledge of machining, ultrasonic welding and other manufacturing processes.
- Packaging of electronics, basic EMI/RFI and shielding
- Design for robustness (drop testing, energy absorption/redirection, etc.)
- Maintenance of sterility/design of sterile barriers a plus
- Experience applying human factors & ergonomics a plus

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