At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead the development of innovative clinical software solutions for healthcare and diagnostics.
- Company: Join Waters, a global leader in analytical science and healthcare innovation.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, inclusive culture, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Other info: Collaborative environment with diverse teams and exciting career advancement opportunities.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on healthcare by shaping the future of clinical software.
- Qualifications: Experience in regulated software development and strong technical leadership skills.
The predicted salary is between 63000 - 77000 £ per year.
Waters is seeking a Principal IVD Software Engineer to help shape the future of our LCMS Clinical and Diagnostic software portfolio. This is a highly influential individual contributor role suited to an experienced software engineer with deep expertise in regulated product development. You'll provide technical leadership across our LCMS Clinical Systems Development organisation, influencing architecture, engineering practices, technology strategy, and secure software development while helping to deliver innovative solutions that support clinical and diagnostic laboratories worldwide.
We are particularly interested in individuals who have contributed to the development of commercial IVD, healthcare, medical device, or other regulated software products and are passionate about applying those experiences to complex technical and organisational challenges.
Clinical Systems Development is responsible for creating Waters' LCMS Clinical and In Vitro Diagnostic (IVD) systems, spanning both software and hardware. Our mission is to deliver meaningful customer benefits by evaluating, developing, and deploying innovative clinical technologies that improve laboratory workflows and support better healthcare outcomes.
As a Principal Engineer, you'll contribute not only to technical solutions but also to the continued evolution of our engineering culture, capabilities, and ways of working.
What You'll Do
- Shape the technical direction of Waters' LCMS clinical and diagnostic software platforms.
- Bring insight and best practices from regulated product development to help strengthen engineering excellence.
- Influence architecture, technology strategy, engineering standards, and secure software development practices.
- Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to solve complex technical and business challenges.
- Support the growth of engineers through mentoring, coaching, and technical leadership.
- Help advance software capabilities that enable innovative diagnostic and analytical solutions for laboratories worldwide.
Responsibilities
In this role, you will:
- Act as a senior technical authority for complex clinical and diagnostic software systems.
- Lead the evaluation and design of software architectures that balance performance, maintainability, scalability, security, and regulatory compliance.
- Guide engineering teams in adopting robust development practices, including software design, verification, validation, traceability, cybersecurity, and risk management.
- Partner with Software, Systems, Quality, Regulatory, Scientific, and Product Management teams throughout the product lifecycle.
- Contribute technical expertise to product planning, technology roadmaps, and architectural governance activities.
- Champion secure-by-design principles and help ensure cybersecurity considerations are incorporated throughout the software lifecycle.
- Evaluate emerging technologies, development approaches, industry trends, and evolving regulatory expectations to support future innovation.
- Influence technical decision-making across teams through collaboration, facilitation, and knowledge sharing.
- Support products from concept through release, sustainment, and post-market activities within regulated environments.
Qualifications
We are looking for engineers who enjoy solving complex problems, learning continuously, and creating technology that delivers meaningful value for customers and patients. We value diverse experiences and perspectives. If your background doesn't align perfectly with every requirement but you believe you can succeed in the role, we encourage you to apply.
Essential
- Significant experience developing commercial software products in a Principal Engineer, Staff Engineer, Software Architect, Technical Lead, or comparable senior technical role.
- Demonstrated experience developing software products within regulated environments, ideally within IVD, healthcare, medical devices, diagnostics, life sciences, or related domains.
- Strong knowledge of software architecture, software design principles, and modern engineering practices.
- Experience working within regulated software development environments, including quality, safety, and cybersecurity considerations.
- Experience contributing to software verification, validation, requirements management, traceability, risk management, and software lifecycle activities.
- Ability to influence technical direction across multidisciplinary organisations through expertise, collaboration, and leadership.
- Strong communication skills with the ability to engage effectively with technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Desirable
- Experience supporting software products through regulatory submissions, inspections, audits, or product approvals.
- Familiarity with standards and regulations such as IEC 62304, ISO 13485, FDA software guidance, EU IVDR, IEC 81001-5-1, or comparable industry frameworks.
- Familiarity with secure software development practices, vulnerability management, Software Bills of Materials (SBOMs), threat modelling, or secure-by-design principles.
- Experience with analytical instrumentation, laboratory informatics, clinical workflows, or LC/MS technologies.
- Experience introducing or scaling engineering best practices across teams or organisations.
Why Join Waters?
This role offers a unique opportunity to influence the future of clinical software within a global organisation at the intersection of healthcare, diagnostics, and analytical science. You'll work alongside experts from multiple disciplines, contribute to products that support laboratories around the world, and help shape the technologies, architectures, engineering practices, and cybersecurity foundations that will underpin the next generation of clinical and diagnostic solutions.
For the right individual, this role provides the opportunity to have a lasting impact on products, people, and engineering culture while remaining hands-on with complex technical challenges.
Our Commitment to Inclusion
We're committed to building diverse teams and creating an environment where everyone feels respected, supported, and able to do their best work. We believe innovation thrives when people bring different experiences, perspectives, and ways of thinking together. We welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds and encourage those who may not meet every listed requirement to apply.
We're happy to discuss reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process and will do our best to support individual needs. Please feel free to ask about hybrid working and flexibility during the recruitment process.
Company Description
Waters Corporation (NYSE: WAT), the world's leading specialty measurement company, has pioneered chromatography, mass spectrometry and thermal analysis innovations serving the life, materials, and food sciences for more than 60 years. With more than 7,000 employees worldwide, Waters operates directly in 35 countries, including 15 manufacturing facilities, with products available in more than 100 countries. Our team focuses on creating business advantages for laboratory-dependent organizations to enable significant advancement in healthcare delivery, environmental management, food safety, and water quality.
Working at Waters enables our employees to unlock the potential of their careers. Our global team is driven by purpose. We strive to be better, learn and improve every day in everything we do. We’re the problem solvers and innovators that aren’t afraid to take risks to transform the world of human health and well-being. We’re all in it together delivering benefit as one to provide the insights needed today in order to solve the challenges of tomorrow.
Diversity and inclusion are fundamental to our core values at Waters Corporation. It is our responsibility to actively implement programs and practices to drive inclusive behavior and increase diversity across the organization. We are united by diversity and thrive on it for the benefit of our employees, our products, our customers and our community. Waters is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender identity or protected Veteran status.
Principal IVD Engineer, Clinical Software in Wilmslow employer: Waters
Waters Corporation is an exceptional employer, offering a dynamic work environment for Field Service Engineers located near Cardiff and the M4 Corridor. With a strong emphasis on employee growth, competitive benefits including a company car, private healthcare, and generous leave policies, Waters fosters a culture of innovation and collaboration, ensuring that every team member can thrive while making a meaningful impact in the scientific community.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Principal IVD Engineer, Clinical Software in Wilmslow
✨Join Local Tech Meetups
Get out there and mingle with fellow developers by joining local tech meetups. It’s a fantastic way to meet people who might be working at Waters or know someone who does. Plus, you can pick up some trendy tech skills and trends while you're at it!
✨Contribute to Open Source Projects
Show off your coding chops by jumping into open-source projects. Not only does this give you practical experience, but it also gets you noticed in the dev community. You'll create a killer portfolio that speaks volumes about your skills to Waters.
✨Tap into Online Developer Communities
Don’t underestimate the power of online developer communities like GitHub, Stack Overflow, and even Reddit. Participate in discussions, share your projects, and build your visibility. We can often find opportunities through these channels that can lead to a full-time gig at companies like Waters.
✨Explore Job Boards Specifically for Tech Roles
Keep your eyes peeled on job boards that focus on tech roles. Sites like TechCareers or Stack Overflow Jobs can often have listings for companies like Waters that might not show up on broader job sites. Make it a habit to check these regularly, and don’t hesitate to apply directly through our website!
We think you need these skills to ace Principal IVD Engineer, Clinical Software in Wilmslow
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show off your coding skills:When applying for a software engineering role, it's super important to showcase your coding skills. Make sure your CV includes your tech stack, any relevant programming languages you’re comfortable with, and examples of projects you've worked on. If you have a GitHub profile, link it up! We love to see code in action.
Tailor your portfolio:For a full-time role, we’d expect to see some solid examples of your work in your portfolio. Make sure to include at least two or three projects that highlight your problem-solving skills and your ability to work with different technologies. Focus on the projects that are most relevant to the position at Waters.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at Waters and how your skills align with the role. Show us your passion for software development. We dig enthusiastic candidates who understand the value of collaboration and continuous learning!
Be clear and concise:When it comes to writing your CV and cover letter, clarity is key. Avoid jargon that could confuse us and stick to simple, direct language. Highlight your achievements with quantifiable results where possible, and keep everything easy to read. A well-organised application goes a long way!
How to prepare for a job interview at Waters
✨Brush Up on Your Coding Skills
For a full-time software engineering role, it's crucial that we stay sharp with our coding abilities. Expect technical questions that might involve solving problems on the spot or discussing algorithms. Practise on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to get comfortable with the types of questions that often come up.
✨Know Your Tools and Frameworks
Make sure we’re well-acquainted with the tools and technologies listed in the job description. Familiarise ourselves with any specific frameworks or programming languages mentioned. If Waters uses React or Node.js, for instance, be ready to discuss how we’ve used them in previous projects or coursework.
✨Showcase Your Projects
Bring along a portfolio that highlights our best work. This could be code samples, GitHub repositories, or any side projects we’ve built. Make sure we can talk through our thought process for each project, especially the challenges we faced and how we solved them—this shows our problem-solving skills in action.
✨Prepare for Behavioural Questions
While technical skills are key, full-time positions also require cultural fit. Be ready to discuss our previous experiences and how we handle teamwork, conflict, and deadlines. Brush up on the STAR method—Situation, Task, Action, Result—to clearly articulate our past experiences when discussing how we've contributed to a team.
