Chief Technology Officer — Implantable-Devices Division

The mandate

An implantable-devices division has grown through acquisition and line extension. Its portfolio contains clinically valued products, but design ownership and technical evidence are distributed across legacy teams. Similar features use different materials, drawings, test methods and software or manufacturing interfaces. Submission teams spend substantial time reconstructing why a change was made and whether verification covers the configuration now being placed on the market.

The backlog is therefore not only a regulatory-resourcing problem. Variant proliferation and weak platform boundaries continue to create new evidence demand while teams remediate old files. A proposal to declare one common platform would simplify governance on paper, but several products differ in patient interface, risk and manufacturing in ways that matter. The division needs technical leadership able to consolidate where evidence permits and preserve differences where safety and clinical use require them.

The Chief Technology Officer will own product and platform technology across design, systems engineering, verification, technical lifecycle and knowledge. Quality, regulatory and medical leaders retain independent authority. The CTO will make design lineage, requirements, architecture and change evidence coherent enough for submissions and future innovation, while preventing remediation from freezing every product decision.

Approximately 1,350 employees and material partners fall within the wider technical perimeter. This urgent replacement is based on site in Munich and reports to the Chief Executive or designated executive sponsor. The incoming CTO will work across acquired centres, manufacturing sites and regulator-facing teams and must prioritise technical truth over preservation of historical ownership.

Why this seat is open

The previous CTO is leaving after completing an agreed handover period. The board concluded that a decentralised franchise model no longer supports the evidence and platform needs of the combined portfolio. The replacement role carries broader authority over architecture, lifecycle and technical standards while leaving programme and site expertise intact.

What you will own

• Establish design and platform ownership across the implant portfolio, including requirements, architecture, materials, interfaces, verification, configuration and change history.
• Lead a technical perimeter of approximately 1,350 employees and partners across engineering, systems, verification, lifecycle and connected technical functions.
• Triage submission gaps by patient risk, market importance, evidence effort and future portfolio relevance and align technical resources to the approved sequence.
• Decide which components and methods can share platform evidence and where product-specific differences require separate requirements, tests and controls.
• Reconstruct technical lineage for priority acquired products, documenting rationale and resolving contradictions rather than merely indexing legacy files.
• Create change governance connecting design, supplier, manufacturing, software, clinical and regulatory consequences before implementation.
• Rationalise low-value variants and legacy technology with customer, inventory, service and regulatory transition plans.
• Build technical succession and communities of practice that reduce dependence on individuals who hold undocumented historical knowledge.

The first 12 months

• Days 1–90: Map portfolio architecture, evidence gaps and critical knowledge dependencies. Assign accountable technical owners, stop new variants outside approved governance and select priority submissions for focused reconstruction. Preserve records and expert access during leadership and possible product transitions.
• Months 4–9: Complete design-lineage and verification recovery for selected families, approve platform and product boundaries and remove duplicate or contradictory standards. Implement technical change review and make initial variant-retirement decisions. Build a capacity plan tied to submission and innovation priorities.
• Months 10–12: Demonstrate successful submission or readiness outcomes for priority products, shorter evidence retrieval and fewer late verification gaps. Publish the multi-year platform roadmap, complete successor coverage for critical technologies and show released engineering capacity from rationalised variants.

What the board will measure

• Priority technical files supported by coherent requirements, design rationale, verification, risk and configuration evidence.
• Submission backlog reduced according to approved patient, market and portfolio priorities rather than easiest-file throughput.
• Product variants and technical methods consolidated or retired with evidence and controlled customer transition.
• Design and supplier changes assessed before implementation for full product, manufacturing and regulatory consequence.
• Reduced dependence on undocumented expert knowledge and improved succession for critical technologies.
• Engineering investment balanced between remediation and approved future platforms without uncontrolled creation of new evidence debt.

The person

You are a CTO, EVP of R&D, global engineering leader or implant platform head with 22–28 years in implantable or high-risk medical devices. You have integrated acquired design systems, rebuilt technical files or led substantial portfolio remediation. You have controlled at least EUR 400 million in R&D and technical investment and led at least 900 employees and partners.

You understand design controls at architectural depth. You can distinguish a common component from a common claim, assess material and interface changes and determine whether verification can be leveraged responsibly. You have made product or variant retirement decisions and can show the engineering capacity and evidence burden released.

Relevant backgrounds include cardiovascular, orthopaedic, neuro, active implantable or other Class IIb/III products. A general medtech R&D leader must demonstrate implant-specific risk and lifecycle experience. A regulatory leader must show direct design and engineering accountability rather than file management alone.

The role is on site in Munich with travel to acquired development and manufacturing locations. Candidates outside Germany may qualify with relocation and current European device experience. The CTO must respect historical expertise without allowing legacy ownership to prevent an enterprise technical decision.

Compensation and terms

Base salary is expected to fall between EUR 285,000 and EUR 390,000, supplemented by annual incentive and long-term participation. Measures will cover submission evidence, platform clarity, variant reduction, technical change and leadership depth. This is a permanent urgent replacement. Relocation and verified forfeited awards may be considered.

Confidentiality

The company, implant families, technical files and regulator interactions are confidential. Identifying details will be released only after suitability and the required agreement are established. Candidates must not use patents, notified-body contacts or industry networks to infer the client.

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