Verification & Validation Lead

Machnet Medical Robotics (MMR), founded in 2020, is on a mission to revolutionise medical robotics. Our guiding principle is simple: innovation must improve patient outcomes, support clinicians without disrupting workflows, and empower healthcare staff rather than adding burden. MMR is a well-funded company with long-term investors and a strong financial foundation. Our talented hardware and software team has successfully developed a fully functional prototype of our medical robotic platform, which has already undergone successful animal trials. With the prototype validated, we are now entering the next phase: maturing the architecture for production and scaling, ensuring safety, reliability, manufacturability, and regulatory readiness as we prepare to bring our technology to hospitals worldwide.

About the Role

We are looking for a Verification & Validation (V&V) Lead to build and lead the V&V function for MMR’s medical robotic platform as we transition from prototype to regulated product. This role is central to ensuring we build the right product and prove it through disciplined planning, robust execution, and strong traceability from requirements to evidence.

You will define the verification strategy, develop the test architecture and infrastructure, and lead cross‑functional verification execution across hardware, software, controls, and integrated system performance. Crucially, you will put together a V&V team, setting standards, processes, and culture so verification becomes a scalable capability as the company grows.

Working closely with Systems Engineering, Quality, and engineering teams, you will ensure our verification evidence is rigorous, risk‑informed, and audit‑ready as we progress toward formal regulatory milestones and clinical deployment.

Key Responsibilities

• Own and drive the end‑to‑end V&V strategy for MMR’s robotic platform, from prototype maturity through product release.
• Build and lead the V&V team, including hiring, mentoring, and setting team execution standards.
• Create and maintain the Verification Master Plan (VMP), aligning verification activities with development phases, risk, and regulatory expectations.
• Establish the V&V operating model including processes, documentation standards, review gates, and reporting cadence.
• Translate system and subsystem requirements into verification plans, protocols, and acceptance criteria with clear traceability.
• Build and govern requirements‑to‑test traceability from user needs to requirements to verification evidence, ensuring completeness and audit readiness.
• Lead integrated system verification across electrical, mechanical, software, controls, sensing, and clinical workflow behaviours.
• Partner with Systems Engineering to ensure requirements are unambiguous, testable, and designed for efficient verification.
• Define and implement verification infrastructure including test rigs, data logging, automation, and HIL or simulation where useful.
• Own verification reporting and evidence generation, ensuring results are clear, defensible, and regulator‑ready.
• Support failure investigation and test‑related root cause analysis, ensuring issues are tracked, resolved, and re‑verified.
• Coordinate external test houses where needed such as safety, EMC, environmental, and reliability testing, including readiness, execution, and review of findings.
• Contribute to risk management activities (ISO 14971), ensuring risk controls are verified with objective evidence.
• Build a verification culture that is practical, disciplined, and collaborative, supporting speed without compromising quality.

Who We Are Looking For

• Degree in Engineering (Systems, Electrical, Mechanical, Robotics, Biomedical, Software) or a related field.
• 8+ years of experience in verification, validation, systems test, or product verification on complex electromechanical products (medical devices strongly preferred).
• Demonstrated experience building verification strategies and leading end‑to‑end execution across multidisciplinary systems.
• Proven ability to build and lead teams, including hiring, mentoring, and setting standards for execution quality.
• Strong experience with V&V documentation including verification plans, protocols, reports, and traceability matrices.
• Strong engineering judgement and practical mindset, able to design efficient tests that generate meaningful evidence.
• Comfortable driving alignment across hardware and software teams, and holding the line on verification clarity and evidence quality.
• Excellent communication skills, able to translate between engineering realities, regulatory expectations, and business priorities.

Experiences We Value

• Familiarity with ISO 14971 risk management and verifying risk controls through objective evidence.
• Experience working in regulated development environments (CE, UKCA, FDA).
• Knowledge of medical device standards and their implications for verification (IEC 60601, IEC 62304, IEC 62366).
• Experience with test automation and tooling for repeatable verification (CI pipelines, Python‑based test rigs, test data pipelines).
• Experience in robotics system verification including actuation, sensors, control loops, safety behaviours, and fault handling.
• Comfort operating in a fast‑paced startup environment where priorities evolve and ownership is broad.
• Experience coordinating external compliance and certification testing activities and managing test‑house relationships.

Why Join Us?

At MMR, you’ll work at the intersection of robotics, AI, and healthcare. You’ll lead the creation of a verification function that directly enables a medical robotic platform to move from prototype into hospitals safely and confidently. You’ll be part of a collaborative, impact‑driven team where your work directly influences product safety, reliability, and clinical adoption.

We believe technology must serve people responsibly. At MMR, we value human‑centred innovation, moral integrity, and long‑term responsibility, both in how we design our products and how we treat our employees.

What We Offer

• Join an international and interdisciplinary team based in the Netherlands (Zwolle) and Central London.
• Contribute to a rapidly growing medical device startup with ambitious global impact goals.
• A central London office with a hands‑on engineering culture and access to prototyping.
• Continuous learning and professional development through training, workshops, and conferences.
• An inclusive and diverse workplace that values every team member.
• A competitive salary package aligned with senior‑level responsibility.