This reflects what we see from the recruiter’s side of the table, which is a useful vantage point when you are planning your own next move. The capabilities device companies most want are shifting, as software becomes central to products, evidence expectations rise, reimbursement pressure intensifies, and supply chains stay under scrutiny. The professionals who invest now in software fluency, evidence literacy, and market access understanding will be materially more valuable than peers who deepen only their existing specialism.
Key Takeaways
- Software, data, and cybersecurity fluency is increasingly expected.
- Evidence literacy matters across functions, not just clinical roles.
- Reimbursement and market access understanding is a growing differentiator.
- Supply chain resilience thinking has become a durable requirement.
- Cross-functional breadth increasingly separates candidates.
Software and Data Fluency
Devices increasingly incorporate software, connectivity, and data, and in many segments the software is where differentiation and risk both concentrate. This has consequences well beyond engineering: quality professionals need to understand software validation and cybersecurity expectations, regulatory professionals need to understand how software is treated, and commercial leaders need to understand what connected products enable. Building genuine fluency here, rather than treating it as the software team’s domain, is probably the single highest-return investment available to most device professionals right now.
Evidence Literacy Across Functions
Expectations around clinical and real-world evidence continue to rise, driven by both regulators and payors, and this pushes evidence literacy beyond the clinical function. A commercial leader who understands what a study can and cannot support, a finance leader who understands what evidence generation costs and when, an operations leader who understands post-market data obligations, all operate more effectively than colleagues who treat evidence as someone else’s concern. Developing the ability to read a study critically and understand what claims it supports is achievable for most professionals and increasingly differentiating.
Reimbursement and Market Access
Clearance or approval is not commercial success, and coverage decisions increasingly determine whether a device reaches patients at scale. Understanding how coverage decisions are made, what evidence payors weigh, how health economic arguments are constructed, and how institutional purchasing works has moved from a specialist concern to a broadly valuable capability. Professionals across commercial, clinical, regulatory, and finance functions who can engage substantively with market access questions are noticeably more valuable than those who cannot, and the gap is widening.
Cross-Functional Breadth
Underlying these specific capabilities is a broader shift: device companies increasingly value people who can operate across functional boundaries, because the decisions that matter, pathway choices, evidence investments, manufacturing changes, launch strategies, all require integrating regulatory, clinical, quality, operational, and commercial considerations. Deep specialists remain necessary, but the professionals who advance into leadership are increasingly those who have built genuine understanding beyond their own function. Seeking cross-functional exposure deliberately is a career investment with compounding returns.
What This Looks Like in Practice
A device professional building for the next few years develops genuine software, data, and cybersecurity fluency regardless of function, learns to read clinical evidence critically and understand what claims it supports, builds substantive understanding of reimbursement and market access, and seeks cross-functional exposure deliberately rather than deepening a single specialism.
The Mistake Candidates Keep Making
The most common mistake is responding to a changing industry by going deeper into an existing specialism, on the assumption that greater depth is always the safer investment. Depth remains valuable, but the capabilities device companies increasingly need are integrative, and professionals who cannot engage with software, evidence, or reimbursement questions outside their function find their range of viable roles narrowing rather than expanding.
Where to Invest Your Development Effort
| Capability | Why It Is Rising in Value |
|---|---|
| Software, data, cybersecurity | Devices increasingly software-driven |
| Evidence literacy | Regulator and payor expectations rising |
| Reimbursement and market access | Coverage decides commercial success |
| Supply chain resilience thinking | Durable expectation post-disruption |
| Cross-functional breadth | Key decisions require integration |
The Bottom Line
The capabilities device companies value most are shifting toward software and data fluency, evidence literacy, reimbursement understanding, and cross-functional breadth, so invest in integrative capability outside your own function rather than assuming deeper specialisation is always the safer career investment. The candidates who move well are rarely the ones who started looking last month; they are the ones who prepared before they needed to.
Related Reading
For more, see Talent Trends Shaping Medical Device Leadership in 2026, Career Paths from Engineer to Medical Device Executive, How to Position Yourself for a VP-Level MedTech Promotion.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: Which skill is rising fastest in value?
- A: Software, data, and cybersecurity fluency, since devices increasingly incorporate software where both differentiation and risk concentrate, with consequences across quality, regulatory, and commercial functions.
- Q: Why does evidence literacy matter outside clinical roles?
- A: Because rising regulator and payor evidence expectations affect commercial claims, financial planning, and post-market obligations, so professionals who can read studies critically operate more effectively.
- Q: Is reimbursement knowledge only for market access specialists?
- A: No; coverage decisions increasingly determine commercial success, so substantive market access understanding is broadly valuable across commercial, clinical, regulatory, and finance roles.
- Q: Should I specialise further or broaden?
- A: Both matter, but the capabilities device companies increasingly need are integrative, so cross-functional breadth is generally the higher-return investment for career progression.
- Q: How do I build these capabilities?
- A: Through deliberate exposure, volunteering for cross-functional programs, spending time with market access and clinical colleagues, and learning software and evidence fundamentals seriously.
![](https://www.jrgpartners.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/tanya-gallardo.jpeg")
Tanya Gallardo
Managing Director, Executive Search & AI Talent Strategy
Tanya Gallardo is the Managing Director of Executive Search & AI Talent Strategy at JRG Partners, leading C-suite and Board engagements across key growth sectors including Technology, Financial Services, and Manufacturing.
With over 18 years of experience specializing in disruptive technology leadership, Tanya is recognized as a leading authority on talent architecture for future-focused executive roles, such as the Chief AI Officer (CAIO) and Chief Digital Officer (CDO). Her expertise lies in accurately assessing the cultural fit and technical depth required to ensure a high return on investment (ROI) for critical leadership appointments.
Prior to her role at JRG Partners, Tanya held senior roles directing global talent acquisition strategies at a major publicly-traded technology firm, advising on organizational design and succession planning for emerging executive functions. She is a recognized speaker and contributor to industry events, sharing data-driven insights on executive compensation, leadership development, and the measurable business impact of C-suite talent.
