
At Skaaltec, our mission is to drive good health universally. We are dedicated to providing advanced neuroscience-inspired solutions, with a focus on brain health, mobility and neurotechnology. Our flagship project is the SmartVNS - an intelligent Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) system. Our vision for SmartVNS is to transform daily life into effective therapy. SmartVNS is a pioneer medical device that not only helps patients recover faster, but also crucially follow patients from the bedside to home and is ideally suited for remote therapy.

At Skaaltec, our mission is to drive good health universally. We are dedicated to providing advanced neuroscience-inspired solutions, with a focus on brain health, mobility and neurotechnology. Our flagship project is the SmartVNS - an intelligent Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) system. Our vision for SmartVNS is to transform daily life into effective therapy. SmartVNS is a pioneer medical device that not only helps patients recover faster, but also crucially follow patients from the bedside to home and is ideally suited for remote therapy.
Product: SmartVNS — a non‑invasive, wearable vagus nerve stimulation system integrating sensing, motion analysis, algorithms/AI, and stimulation control for post‑stroke arm recovery.
Stage: Early-stage, grant-funded (reported Feb 2024 grant CHF 10.0k).
Founders / Leadership: Co‑founders Paulius Viskaitis (CEO) and Dane Donegan (CSO), both listed as neuroscientists (Dr.).
Origin: ETH Zürich spin‑off (reported 2023).
Headquarters: Zurich, Switzerland (Balgrist Campus).
Team size: Approximately 8 employees (reported).
Neurorehabilitation for post‑stroke motor (arm) recovery.
2023
Medtech; Neurorehabilitation
CHF 10.0k
Reported as a grant round in third‑party company databases.
“Grant‑stage support from EPFL Innovation Park and the Future of Health Grant; profile listings also reference participation with other foundations (e.g., Gebert Rüf Foundation).”
| Company |
|---|
Skaaltec is developing SmartVNS, a non-invasive, rehab-optimised transcutaneous auricular VNS (taVNS) system combining wearable stimulation, motion sensing with embedded algorithms, and connected software to support therapy in clinic and at home.
Your mission
Own the engineering and quality execution end-to-end to take SmartVNS from integrated prototypes to a manufacturable, verified, and regulator-ready medical device system. This is not a “keep things running” role. You will build the internal engine including people, process, test infrastructure, and quality gates that allows us to ship safely and credibly.
What you’ll own
End-to-end technical leadership across embedded electronics (EE), firmware, embedded algorithms, and the essentials of IoT and deployed systems such as provisioning, updates, and telemetry or logging.
Build internal verification and validation (V&V) capability including fixtures, protocols, traceability, and release gates.
Own practical QMS execution internally including design controls, ISO 14971 risk management, and supplier and change control, supported by external partners as needed.
Govern design transfer so manufacturing does not outpace evidence.
Expected timeline
First 30 days: engineering and quality risk and gap map across engineering, V&V, QMS, and suppliers; establish a testing plan to support RCT readiness; work with external partners on QMS development.
By 60 days: V&V engine running with key benches, fixtures, and protocols; requirements-to-test traceability backbone in place.
By 90 days: pilot build plan defined including manufacturing test and calibration approach; RCT baseline strategy defined with hardware, firmware, and software configuration control.
By 6 months: technically RCT-ready with a stable baseline, controlled builds, V&V evidence for trial-critical functions, and trial support and logging in place.
What we’re looking for
Strong embedded electronics or electrical engineering background (>5 years).
Hands-on experience with embedded firmware, timing-critical control, and embedded algorithms such as IMU or motion sensing (>2 years) .
Software and IoT background to manage clinic and home-deployed systems including updates, logging, and access control fundamentals (>2 years) .
Experience taking regulated medical devices to market.
Compensation
Salary plus meaningful ownership, with equity participation expected.