Principal Clinical System Reliability Engineer

Principal Clinical System Reliability Engineer - Wilmslow 

Clinical Systems Development is a growing team being created to develop Waters Clinical and IVD Systems, Hardware and Software.

This is a great opportunity to get involved at the outset of a new organisation, with a mission to better meet the unique challenges of our Clinical customers and accelerate the growth of this segment of Waters business.  This role will support our developments by anhancing the robustness, reliability, and serviceability of Clinical LC-MS products to ensure that our products are safe, effective and exceed the expectations of our customers.

This position applies extensive technical expertise and advanced analytical methods to identify and mitigate system failure modes, drive continuous improvement in product design and manufacturing quality, and elevate customer satisfaction through proactive reliability initiatives. The role requires independent judgment, cross-functional collaboration, and the ability to influence both technical and business outcomes.

• Define, monitor, and continuously improve key reliability metrics (e.g., MTBF, Out-of-Box Failure Rate) to ensure product excellence.  Lead in-depth analysis of field reliability data to establish performance baselines, uncover systemic issues, and guide strategic improvements.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams (engineering, manufacturing, service, quality) to prioritize and implement high-impact reliability enhancements.  Drive design and process changes that significantly improve product robustness and reduce failure rates, leveraging advanced reliability engineering tools and methodologies.
• Champion initiatives to improve system serviceability and reduce unplanned maintenance through design innovation and process optimization.  Partner with service and support teams to streamline issue resolution, escalation processes, and customer feedback loops.  Analyze customer usage and maintenance data to identify training gaps and recommend enhancements to training materials and support documentation.
• Lead efforts to reduce product variability and improve quality through collaboration with design and manufacturing teams.  Conduct and support root cause investigations and corrective actions for complex reliability-related issues.
• Evaluate and enhance data collection systems to improve reliability monitoring and predictive maintenance capabilities.  Develop and maintain advanced dashboards and tools for visualizing and tracking reliability KPIs.
• Maintain the effectiveness of the Quality and Health, Safety and Environmental (HSE) system at the sites via adherence to applicable policies and procedures.  Complete Quality and Health, Safety and Environmental (HSE) System related actions in a timely manner according to procedures e.g. CAPA, NCR.  Adhere to Health, Safety and Environmental (HSE) policies and procedures

Education:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Systems Engineering, or a related technical field.  Advanced degree preferred.

Experience:

• Minimum of 8 years of experience in reliability engineering, systems engineering, or a related discipline, ideally within analytical instrumentation or complex electromechanical systems.
• Demonstrated expertise in LC-MS systems or similar laboratory instrumentation is highly desirable.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional initiatives and drive measurable improvements based on field data and root cause analysis.
• Familiarity with Clinical/IVD assay workflows and regulatory environments.

 Competencies:

• Expert-level knowledge of reliability engineering principles and tools (e.g., FMEA, Weibull analysis, fault tree analysis).
• Proficiency in advanced data analysis and visualization tools (e.g., Python, R, Power BI, Excel).
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to develop creative and unconventional solutions to complex technical challenges.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to influence stakeholders across technical and business domains.
• Experience in customer support, service operations, and technical training development.
• Ability to translate complex technical findings into actionable business strategies and recommendations.
• Demonstrated leadership in mentoring, project management, and cross-functional collaboration.

Travel:

• Periods of international travel may be required to customer sites.

In addition to salary, we work flexibly and provide 25 days holidays, excellent family friendly benefits such as attractive employer pension contribution, life assurance, income protection and private medical. With Waters, there are plenty of opportunities for you to grow, develop and contribute.

We're actively building diverse teams and welcome applications from everyone. But simply having a diverse workforce is not enough. We aim to build an inclusive environment, where everyone can contribute their best work and develop to their full potential. We celebrate our differences and recognise the importance of teams reflecting the communities they serve.

We can make reasonable adjustments to our interview process according to your needs.

Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) is a global leader in analytical instruments, separations technologies, and software, serving the life, materials, food, and environmental sciences for over 65 years. Our Company helps ensure the efficacy of medicines, the safety of food and the purity of water, and the quality and sustainability of products used every day. In over 100 countries, our 7,600+ passionate employees collaborate with customers in laboratories, manufacturing sites, and hospitals to accelerate the benefits of pioneering science. 

Diversity and inclusion are fundamental to our core values at Waters Corporation. It benefits our employees, our products, our customers and our community. Waters complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws. Qualified applicants are considered without regard to sex, race, color, ancestry, national origin, citizenship status, religion, age, marital status (including civil unions), military service, veteran status, pregnancy (including childbirth and related medical conditions), genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, legally recognized disability, domestic violence victim status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Waters is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. All hiring decisions are based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs at the time.