Change people’s lives and love what you do! Cochlear develops world-leading medical devices that help people hear. As a top 100 medical device company and market-leader in implantable hearing devices, more people choose a Cochlear-branded cochlear implant system than any other. Our employees tell us that the number one reason they enjoy working for Cochlear is the opportunity to make a difference to people’s lives.
The Opportunity
Based in Kuala Lumpur, the Manager, Verification & Validation– Smart Implant Systems is a key leadership role within Cochlear’s implant product vertical. You will lead engineers and team leaders responsible for hardware, product and system verification, ensuring V&V activities are efficient, effective, compliant, and aligned to global release priorities.
This role works in close partnership with local and global stakeholders across Verification & Validation, Systems Engineering, Quality, Project Management and R&D.
In addition, you will own V&V laboratory operations in Kuala Lumpur, ensuring environments are safe, compliant, audit-ready and fit for purpose to support high-quality verification outcomes for hearing implant systems, products and hardware.
Key Responsibilities:
People Leadership & Capability Building
- Lead, mentor and manage Verification & Validation engineers within the implant product vertical.
- Build a high-performing, inclusive and feedback-rich team culture using Cochlear people practices.
- Coach team members through clear technical and leadership development pathways.
- Advocate for team needs, ensuring access to the tools, facilities and support required for success.
- Drive recruitment, onboarding and succession planning to build sustainable capability.
- Manage team engagement, communication and conflict effectively.
Verification & Validation Delivery Leadership
- Lead and govern V&V delivery to enable safe, compliant and high-quality releases within quality management system.
- Set expectations for verification quality, coverage, traceability and evidence completeness.
- Provide escalation leadership for complex verification challenges, ensuring timely resolution.
- Ensure consistent application of platform and variant verification strategies, balancing reuse, efficiency and coverage.
Verification & Validation Laboratory Ownership
- Own and govern V&V laboratory operations in Kuala Lumpur, ensuring compliance with quality, safety and regulatory requirements.
- Maintain calibration accountability and oversee equipment lifecycle management.
- Hold budget accountability for laboratory assets and equipment investments.
- Enforce compliant lab practices including access control and audit readiness.
- Escalate and resolve lab-related risks or constraints impacting verification delivery.
Global Stakeholder Partnership & Alignment
- Build strong partnerships with local and global stakeholders across V&V, Systems Engineering, Quality, Project Management and R&D.
- Act as the primary interface for V&V in KL within the smart implant systems department.
- Provide transparent communication on delivery status, risks, capacity and dependencies.
- Align local deliverables, mechanisms of operation, and long-term vision and strategies for teams in KL with global V&V strategies, processes and standards while contributing local insights.
- Represent KL in global planning, prioritisation and continuous improvement forums.
About You.
As we grow our operations, we are looking for people who share our passion delivering safe, effective, and high-quality hearing solutions. To add value to Cochlear in this role, you'll be able to demonstrate the following skills and experience:
- Degree in Hardware (Electrical or Electronics preferred) Engineering, with software exposure.
- Experience in systems, product, electrical, electronics, mechanical design, development or testing within R&D environments.
- Proven people leadership experience, including leading senior engineers or team leaders.
- Strong understanding of verification and validation principles, methods and tools.
- Experience operating in regulated, quality-driven environments.
- Experience operating in cross functional, matrixed and global environments.
- Clear and effective written and verbal communication skills.
What Would Make You Stand Out
- Experience working in implantable medical devices or other highly regulated industries, combined with exposure to laboratory governance and calibration management.
- Demonstrated experience with successfully developing and shaping a high-performing technical team under uncertainty, change and challenge.
- Role model and cultural champion in line with Cochlear’s mission and HEAR behaviours.
Why this role is for you?
This role offers the opportunity to influence patient safety and product quality at the deepest level. You’ll lead teams responsible for verifying implantable technologies, work across global R&D networks, and contribute directly to Cochlear’s mission by ensuring safe, reliable hearing solutions reach recipients worldwide.
How we recognise your contribution
We want Cochlear to be a place where our people enjoy coming to work. Through our internal programs and employee benefits we aim to create an environment where our people will feel valued and supported. Whether your focus is on continuous learning, professional development or simply finding an environment which enables you to thrive whilst balancing family or personal life commitments, then we have several programs in place to support you.
Cochlear Malaysia provides shared services to support Cochlear’s global operations. The growing team of professionals in Malaysia provides critical support in areas such as IT infrastructure and applications, development and testing, business intelligence development and support, procurement, customer service, service and repairs and returned device analysis engineering.
If you feel that you have the skills and experience to be successful in this role and take on new challenges to build your career with Cochlear, please start your application by clicking the apply button below.
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