Manager, R&D & Product Owner - Trauma Digital (m/f/d)

Work Flexibility: Onsite

Our Trauma Enabling Technologies team is seeking an experienced R&D Manager at Sr. Staff level to lead an established Trauma Digital team in Freiburg, Germany. From day one, the Manager will take over an existing team of Application and Algorithm Developers, with moderate growth expected over the coming years. The role combines two equally important responsibilities. Approximately half of the role is people leadership: fostering an engaged, motivated, and healthy team; providing coaching and career development; and ensuring that resource allocation and output expectations are clear, realistic, and well balanced. Subject-matter-specific software training and technical mentoring are provided by experienced local principal engineers, allowing the Manager to focus on leadership rather than hands-on software development. The other half of the role is serving as Product Owner for at least one upcoming Trauma Digital project, translating clinical and market needs into a clear product vision and a prioritized backlog for the development team. The ideal candidate does not need to have a software background, but brings a strong engineering foundation and substantial experience in the Orthopedic Trauma space. The Manager will work as a peer to the Trauma Digital Manager in Cork, Ireland, and in close partnership with the broader EnTech organization.

Key Responsibilities

People Leadership (approx. 50%)

• Lead and develop an established team of Application and Algorithm Developers in Freiburg, building trust quickly and ensuring a smooth leadership transition.
• Foster an inclusive, engaged, and high-performing team culture aligned with the broader EnTech organization and the Cork development site.
• Hold regular one-on-ones, set meaningful goals, provide continuous feedback, and own performance management and individual development plans.
• Ensure that team allocation across projects and output expectations are clear, realistic, and sustainable, and proactively address workload or capacity concerns.
• Partner with local principal engineers who lead subject-matter-specific software training, technical mentoring, and engineering standards.
• Act as hiring manager for selected additional positions as the team grows over the coming years, including recruitment and onboarding.

Product Ownership (approx. 50%)

• Serve as Product Owner for at least one upcoming Trauma Digital project, owning the product vision and representing the voice of the customer within the development team.
• Gather, define, and maintain user needs and product requirements, translating clinical workflows and surgeon feedback into clear, actionable user stories and acceptance criteria.
• Own and prioritize the product backlog, balancing clinical value, technical feasibility, risk, schedule, and resource constraints.
• Participate actively in agile ceremonies such as sprint planning, backlog refinement, and sprint reviews, and accept completed work against the defined criteria.
• Act as the primary interface between the development team and stakeholders, including Marketing, Clinical, Systems Engineering, Hardware, Quality, and Regulatory.
• Engage with surgeons and clinical experts, for example through lab sessions, formative evaluations, and feedback reviews, to validate
• Communicate product progress, priorities, and trade-offs transparently to project leadership and the broader EnTech organization.

Cross-Functional Collaboration and Compliance

• Collaborate closely with the peer Manager in Cork, Systems Engineers, Application and Algorithm Developers, Quality, Regulatory, and Hardware teams across sites.
• Ensure that product requirements, development activities, and records support design controls, risk management, usability engineering, and applicable procedures for regulated medical devices.
• Contribute to Trauma EnTech planning, including capacity planning, budget input, and alignment of team priorities with the product roadmap.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, or a related engineering field.
• At least 8 years of engineering experience in medical devices, including substantial hands-on experience in Orthopedic Trauma.
• Strong understanding of trauma procedures, implants, instruments, and clinical workflows, and the ability to engage credibly with surgeons and clinical experts.
• Experience in product development under design controls in a regulated medical-device environment.
• Demonstrated ability to define user needs and requirements and to translate clinical needs into product solutions.
• Sufficient understanding of software development to work effectively with developers on requirements, priorities, and technical trade-offs; a software background is not required.
• Proven leadership ability, formal or informal, with a genuine interest in coaching, engaging, and developing people.
• Experience collaborating across sites, functions, cultures, and time zones. · Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.

Preferred Qualifications

• Formal people-management experience, including performance management, goal setting, and team development.
• German language skills.
• Experience as a Product Owner or Product Manager in an agile development environment.
• Scrum Product Owner certification (e.g., CSPO or PSPO).
• Experience with software-driven or digital medical devices, such as computer-assisted surgery, imaging, navigation, or surgical guidance.
• Knowledge of ISO 13485, ISO 14971, IEC 62366, and IEC 62304.
• Experience with backlog and requirements-management tools (e.g., Azure DevOps, Jira, or comparable tools).

Germany Pay Ranges:

• Freiburg/Stetten 35Std: €6.042 - €9.979 EUR Monthly
• Freiburg/Stetten 39Std: €6.733 - €11.119 EUR Monthly

At Stryker, we believe transparency helps candidates make confident decisions about their next career step. Compensation is an important part of that process and we want to be clear about how pay is determined. The compensation information posted for this role may be presented as a salary range or a fixed amount depending on the role. In addition to base salary, this role may be eligible for incentive compensation (such as bonus and/or commissions where applicable), along with Stryker’s comprehensive benefits package.

If you’d like to learn more about the salary or the benefits associated with this role, your recruiter will be happy to walk you through the details as you progress through the hiring process.

Travel Percentage: 20%