About this Product Support Designer - Arbutus Medical role at BLANKSLATE Partners
Arbutus Medical is a rapidly growing medical device venture developing a portfolio of procedure kits to streamline surgery “outside the OR”, starting with orthopaedic trauma procedures in the ER.
We are a fast growing team seeking a Product Support Designer who will be the driving force behind the continuous improvement of our existing product portfolio. Sitting at the intersection of customers, Product Development, Marketing, and Operations, you will transform real-world feedback into meaningful product improvements that strengthen surgeon preference and maximize product-market fit.
What We Offer
- Competitive salary (budgeted base salary of $95K-110K)
- An exciting opportunity to get in at the ground floor of a growing venture
- Flexible working hours and hybrid work arrangements
- Extended health benefits
- Professional development funding
- A purpose-driven workplace with passionate teammates who want to help patients and make a positive difference in the world
Detailed Role Description
This is a highly collaborative, hands-on role for someone who enjoys solving problems, managing multiple product improvement initiatives, and building strong relationships with healthcare providers. You'll investigate product feedback, develop and evaluate prototypes, coordinate testing, and partner closely with our Product Development team to bring improvements through implementation and manufacturing.
Success in this role comes from being equally comfortable speaking with surgeons in a trauma centre, observing procedures, evaluating technical solutions, coordinating prototype development, and communicating progress across internal teams. You'll manage a portfolio of continuous improvement projects, ensuring customer feedback is translated into practical product enhancements that deliver real value. If you're naturally curious, thrive on momentum, and believe there is always a better solution, this role offers the opportunity to make an immediate impact on products that are used every day to improve patient care.
Key responsibilities:
Customer Engagement & Product Management
- Build trusted relationships with surgeons, residents, nurses, and healthcare providers to understand how our products are used in real clinical environments.
- Serve as the primary point of contact for customer product feedback, ensuring issues are acknowledged, investigated, and followed through to resolution.
- Visit hospitals, cadaver labs, conferences, and customer sites to observe procedures and identify opportunities to improve product performance and workflow.
- Maintain regular communication with customers on active product improvement initiatives, demonstrating progress and reinforcing our commitment to continuous improvement.
- Support resident training programs and educational labs, particularly during the annual summer resident turnover period.
- Partner with the commercial team during customer visits and regional meetings to gather insights, strengthen relationships, and support product adoption.
- Evaluate prototypes and product enhancements in the field, gathering structured customer feedback before broader implementation.
Continuous Product Improvement
- Own a portfolio of product improvement initiatives across our existing product line.
- Investigate customer feedback, complaints, and enhancement opportunities to identify practical product improvements.
- Translate customer needs into clear technical requirements and actionable development projects.
- Lead multiple product improvement projects simultaneously, balancing priorities while maintaining momentum.
- Identify opportunities to improve product usability, simplify workflows, increase product utilization, and reduce cost of goods (COGS).
- Drive continuous improvement initiatives from concept through implementation, collaborating with Product Development to bring validated solutions into production.
Prototyping, Testing & Technical Evaluation
- Develop prototypes using internal resources, 3D printing, machining partners, or other rapid prototyping methods.
- Design and execute product testing to evaluate new concepts and product improvements.
- Develop test protocols, fixtures, and evaluation methods to validate product performance.
- Analyze results, document findings, and present recommendations to internal stakeholders.
- Support investigation of product complaints by identifying root causes and recommending technical solutions.
- Collaborate with Product Development to transition validated concepts into manufacturable product changes.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Partner closely with Product Development, Marketing, Operations, Manufacturing, and Sales throughout the product improvement process.
- Support Key Opinion Leader (KOL) initiatives by providing technical expertise and coordinating product evaluations.
- Collaborate with Marketing to develop educational materials, product messaging, demonstrations, and technical content highlighting product improvements.
- Build and maintain anatomically realistic product demonstrations and tradeshow displays.
- Support technical initiatives such as product recycling programs, inspection processes, and other operational improvement projects.
- Maintain visibility into active projects through dashboards, reporting, and regular communication with internal stakeholders.
Requirements
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Biomedical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Design, Product Design, or a related technical discipline.
- 5–7 years of experience in product development, sustaining engineering, product support, R&D, medical devices, or a related technical product role.
- Demonstrated experience translating customer feedback into successful product improvements.
- Experience managing multiple technical projects simultaneously from concept through implementation.
- Hands-on experience with prototyping methods such as 3D printing, machining, CAD (SolidWorks strongly preferred), or other rapid development tools.
- Experience creating detailed how-to guides and illustrations (Adobe Illustrator experience is an asset)
- Experience designing, executing, and documenting product testing and validation activities.
- Strong technical problem-solving skills with the ability to balance customer needs, technical feasibility, and business priorities.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with confidence engaging both technical and non-technical audiences.
- Strong organizational skills with exceptional attention to detail and follow-through.
- Willingness to travel throughout North America approximately one trip per month, with increased travel during the summer resident training season.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience within the medical device, surgical, orthopaedic, or healthcare industry.
- Experience working in regulated environments (e.g. ISO 13485, FDA, Health Canada).
- Experience observing clinical procedures or working directly with healthcare professionals.
- Familiarity with design controls, risk management, and product change processes.
- Experience supporting product launches, sustaining engineering, or continuous improvement initiatives.
- Knowledge of manufacturing processes such as injection molding, machining, or medical device assembly.
- Experience developing technical training materials, product demonstrations, or customer education content.
Desired Capabilities and Traits
- You are relentlessly curious and genuinely enjoy understanding how customers use products in the real world.
- You thrive on solving practical problems and turning ideas into tangible improvements.
- You naturally build credibility and trust with customers and colleagues alike.
- You enjoy balancing technical work with relationship building.
- You are highly organized and comfortable managing multiple projects at different stages simultaneously.
- You bring energy, urgency, and follow-through to every initiative, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks.
- You believe that even great products can always be made better.
Benefits
What We Offer
- Competitive salary (budgeted base salary of $95K-110K)
- An exciting opportunity to get in at the ground floor of a growing venture
- Flexible working hours and hybrid work arrangements
- Extended health benefits
- Professional development funding
- A purpose-driven workplace with passionate teammates who want to help patients and make a positive difference in the world
Why this role, and why now?
Arbutus Medical is reinventing how surgery is done Outside the OR™, starting within the ER, where surgeons struggle with 1M+ bedside procedures a year due to outdated workflows. We’re building the market’s first portfolio of procedure kit “grab bags” to streamline these procedures, and have launched two FDA-cleared products to date, TrakPak® (to streamline bedside skeletal traction) and SwiftKit™ (to streamline treatment of fingertip trauma). These are two truly differentiated products that solve practical workflow problems, saving up to 45 min/patient, helping hospitals win back resources and keep staff happy, while improving quality of patient care. We are already in 75+ U.S. hospitals (including more than 20% of all Level 1 Trauma Centers), have a high double-digit growth rate, and are backed by a deep roster of Canadian healthtech investors. Entering 2026, we are ready to accelerate product development and scale up US sales and medical education to set a new standard of care in our target procedures.
Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Arbutus Medical is committed to making diversity, equity, and inclusion part of everything we do, from how we build our products to how we build our workforce. If this resonates with you, please apply – even if you don’t feel like you “check all the boxes.” Also, let us know if we can provide any specific accessibility considerations throughout the interview and candidate screening process.
Competitive Salary
Our salary budgets are designed using comprehensive market data and to reflect the range of skills and experience we need for the position and allow room for growth. For experienced individuals we typical hire at the mid-point of the band. The top portion is reserved for employees who demonstrate sustained high performance and impact at Arbutus. Those who are new to the role may join below the mid-point and develop their skills overtime. The final offer amount for this role will depend on applicable skill set of the candidate.
About Arbutus Medical Inc.
Arbutus Medical Inc. is a privately held ISO13485 medical device company headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. Arbutus Medical is a medical device innovation engine that streamlines surgical inefficiencies for the good of patient care. The company is currently focused on improving the standard of care for simple orthopaedic trauma procedures commonly performed in hospital Emergency Rooms (ERs). Its two leading products are TrakPak®, a procedure kit that streamlines bedside skeletal traction, and Digit Revision SwiftKit™, a procedure kit that streamlines revision amputations of fingers and toes. In addition, the company has made one of its patented platforms, (DrillCover Technology™, which adapts DEWALT® drills for surgery) available at accessible price points around the globe. The company’s products have regulatory clearances from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and Health Canada, and have been used by customers in 40 countries, enabling an estimated 130,000 surgeries to date. For more information about Arbutus Medical, visit arbutusmedical.com and follow the company on LinkedIn.