Program Officer, Medical Devices (12-month LTE)

The Foundation

We are the largest nonprofit fighting poverty, disease, and inequity around the world. Founded on a simple premise: people everywhere, regardless of identity or circumstances, should have the chance to live healthy, productive lives. We believe our employees should reflect the rich diversity of the global populations we aim to serve. We provide an exceptional benefits package to employees and their families which include comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with no premiums, generous paid time off, paid family leave, foundation-paid retirement contribution, regional holidays, and opportunities to engage in several employee communities. As a workplace, we’re committed to creating an environment for you to thrive both personally and professionally.

The Team

The India Country Office (ICO) is central to the foundation’s commitment to advancing equitable health outcomes and strengthening India’s health innovation ecosystem. The Digital, Health Innovations, and Artificial Intelligence (DHAI) Cluster is a core enabler of the ICO’s key goals across our portfolio. The cluster advances R&D and innovation across foundational research; medical devices, vaccines, and drugs, as well as data-science methods (modeling, AI-enabled tools). We approach this by accelerating R&D and the deployment of affordable, high-quality, accessible devices, working with the Government of India - at central and state level, academia, industry, and global networks.

Your Role

As a Program Officer, Medical Devices you will play a crucial role in shaping and managing a portfolio of critical investments focused on advancing sensor-based, AI-enabled medical device technologies that support improved maternal, neonatal, and women’s health, including devices for respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) management, intrapartum monitoring, antenatal care innovations, as well as neonatal care device packages and algorithmic risk-stratification tools with the potential to improve public health outcomes in high-burden populations. You will collaborate with internal and external partners to drive innovative solutions ensuring medical devices are designed, validated and deployed effectively in public health programs.

You will bring expertise in medical device development, including clinical use case prioritization and validation, product specifications, sensor, AI vision and algorithm development, regulatory pathways, and market access strategies, and work closely with product development partners, global health organizations, and policymakers to ensure successful implementation of devices for maternal, neonatal, and respiratory health.

This is a 12-month limited term employment (LTE), based at the foundation’s ICO in New Delhi, reporting to the Deputy Director, Drugs, Diagnostics & Devices. Relocation will not be provided.

What You’ll Do

This is a highly collaborative role and will involve working with multiple Program Strategy Teams (PSTs) in Seattle and teams across the ICO, for new product development and scaling. In this role you will:

• Design, structure, and manage grants and contracts for AI-enabled medical device innovation for maternal, neonatal, and women health conditions aligned with India and PST goals.
• Identify and select partner institutions and shape scope and strategy for selected grants and contracts to meet selected strategic goals.
• Apply milestone-based technical performance metrics and drive go/no-go decision-making.
• Provide technical and strategic support to grantees and contractors, ensuring alignment with foundation priorities.
• Review interim and final reports; write final evaluation and synthesize and document lessons learned across related grants and contracts.
• Collaborate closely with foundation teams in Seattle and ICO on the medical devices for maternal, neonatal, and respiratory health.
• Analyze opportunities based on medical device advances in maternal, neonatal, and respiratory health needs to find opportunities.
• Establish and maintain relationships with key institutions to build ownership and collaboration to help with adoption and scaling of new/innovative products and technologies.

Your Experience

• Bachelor’s in engineering, science or medicine or related fields is required. Master’s or PhD is preferred.
• Minimum of five years’ experience with preference in medical device development including AI-enabled technologies, exposure in regulatory affairs, in India and/or low and middle-income countries (LMICs) contexts.
• Deep understanding of medical device lifecycle - from concept through verification/validation, regulatory approval, and commercialization.
• Familiarity with India’s medical devices policy ecosystem and experience working with relevant agencies (e.g. ANRF, Biodesign programs).
• Portfolio and project management skills; ability to structure, oversee and review large-scale grants and contracts advancing medical device technologies.
• Excellent analytical thinking and communications skills, including the ability to synthesize evidence into actionable insights, prepare high-quality briefings and analyses for leadership, and public speaking.
• Passion for health equity, innovation, and systems change.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a highly matrixed and diverse work environment, with strong collaboration, consultative and negotiation skills.
• Results-driven and self-motivated with ability to inspire the pursuit of excellence.

Other Attributes

• Comfortable in a wide range of cultural, geographic and operational situations, demonstrating culturally sensitive behavior with a diverse range of people and a deep commitment to development issues and high standards of personal integrity.
• Willingness to travel up to 30% of the time.
  

*Must be able to legally work in the country where this position is located without visa sponsorship.

Application deadline: 19 November 2026

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Hiring Requirements

As part of our standard hiring process for new employees, employment will be contingent upon successful completion of a background check.

Candidate Accommodations

We’re committed to providing an inclusive and accessible hiring experience for all candidates. If you have a disability or medical condition and need an accommodation at any stage of the application or interview process—such as an ASL interpreter, alternative interview format, or physical accessibility support—we’re happy to help. Please contact HR@gatesfoundation.org with the position number and a brief description of your accommodation needs. Requests will be handled confidentially.

Inclusion Statement

We are dedicated to the belief that all lives have equal value. We strive for a global and cultural workplace that supports ever greater diversity, equity, and inclusion — of voices, ideas, and approaches — and we support this diversity through all our employment practices.

All applicants and employees who are drawn to serve our mission will enjoy equality of opportunity and fair treatment without regard to race, color, age, religion, pregnancy, sex, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, and prior protected activity.