Senior NPI Engineer

As a Senior NPI Engineer at Smith+Nephew, your key responsibilities include providing technical guidance to project teams, ensuring that all new products are designed for manufacturability. You'll act as a subject matter expert in the design transfer process within the Wound franchise while ensuring compliance and adding value. Additionally, you'll strive to meet market needs, quality expectations, and cost-effectiveness in the production of our innovative medical devices.

To qualify for the Senior NPI Engineer position at Smith+Nephew, candidates should possess an engineering background, ideally with a B.ENG degree or an equivalent level of experience. A solid understanding of the manufacturing process and prior experience in an engineering-related role is essential. Familiarity with New Product Introduction (NPI) and supplier relationship management is advantageous, but not a strict requirement.

The Senior NPI Engineer plays a critical role in product development at Smith+Nephew by ensuring innovative designs are effectively translated into viable manufacturing processes. You'll collaborate across teams, providing your expertise to align design concepts with operational strategies, which is essential for delivering high-quality medical devices that meet customer needs.

Smith+Nephew offers robust professional growth opportunities for Senior NPI Engineers, including hands-on training, mentorship, and customized team development programs. Additionally, the company's commitment to employee wellbeing and a supportive work environment allows you to thrive and advance in your career while making a difference in the medical technology field.

Work-life balance is a priority at Smith+Nephew. As a Senior NPI Engineer, you can expect a flexible working model, generous vacation time, and paid volunteering hours, allowing you to recharge and engage with your community. This flexibility ensures that you're supported both personally and professionally while contributing to meaningful projects.

In answering this question, you should highlight your relevant experience in NPI processes, including specific examples of projects where you've contributed to design transfer and manufacturing efficiency. Discuss your role in coordinating between design and production, and emphasize your ability to improve time-to-market and product quality.

Discuss a specific engineering challenge you encountered and detail how you approached resolving it. Focus on your analytical skills, creative problem-solving, and teamwork, highlighting your initiative to collaborate with team members to craft effective solutions that led to successful project outcomes.

To effectively answer this, describe your approach to compliance, focusing on the importance of adhering to regulatory standards and quality assurance protocols. Share your experiences with documentation practices, quality checks, and collaboration with cross-functional teams to ensure that both design and manufacturing meet industry requirements.

Discussing your project management techniques is an opportunity to showcase your organizational skills. Emphasize your experience with project timelines, task prioritization, and utilization of project management tools. You might also want to touch on communication strategies for keeping stakeholders informed and aligned.

In your response, highlight the value of collaboration in engineering, possibly outlining a specific project where teamwork was key to success. Discuss your role in fostering communication among various teams, addressing conflicts constructively, and leveraging team strengths to achieve collective goals.

This is a great chance to discuss traits such as strong technical expertise, creativity, and communication skills. You might also emphasize the importance of adaptability, leadership, and a continuous improvement mindset, showcasing how these traits contribute to successful outcomes in engineering projects.

To address this question, indicate your commitment to professional development, including attending conferences, participating in workshops, and reading industry publications. Share specific examples of how gaining new knowledge has positively impacted your work and contributed to project successes.

Prepare to discuss a scenario where you identified inefficiencies in a process and the steps you took to implement improvements. Focus on the problem, your analysis, the solution you proposed, and the measurable outcomes that followed, demonstrating your impact on the project or team.

When responding, outline your experience managing supplier relationships, discussing how clear communication, setting expectations, and addressing issues proactively play a role in successful partnerships. Provide examples of how you've collaborated with suppliers to drive improvements in product quality or delivery.

Articulate your enthusiasm for the mission and culture of Smith+Nephew, expressing how the company's values align with your own. Mention your excitement about contributing to innovative medical technologies and your desire to be part of a community that prioritizes inclusivity and wellbeing.