By: Claire Wilson. Last Updated: November 2024

Boston Scientific in Cork, Galway and Tipperary in Ireland

In this article you’ll find…

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Overview of Boston Scientific Worldwide

  • Reported Net Sales 2023: $14.2 billion
  • Estimated R&D Spend 2023: $1.32 billion
  • Global Number of Employees 2023: 48,000

Boston Scientific is one of the biggest MedTech companies in the world – employing over 48,000 people around the world and selling products in 115 countries.

The company was founded in 1979 with the aim of creating less invasive medical devices and procedures, and they continue to innovate across expanding areas of medicine. Today, their medical devices are used to diagnose and treat patients with issues in the areas of cardiology, urology, endoscopy and many more.

With headquarters in Marlborough, Massachusetts, Boston Scientific has 12 manufacturing sites and 10 R&D centres around the world. They have set a goal to achieve carbon neutrality in all of their manufacturing and key distribution sites by 2030.

Boston Scientific in Ireland

Boston Scientific established a presence in Ireland in 1994 and is now the largest life science employer in the country.

They currently employ approximately 6,500 people in manufacturing sites in Cork, Galway and Tipperary. These sites produce devices including stents, catheters and pacemakers.

Within these 3 sites combined, Boston Scientific manufactures approximately 12 million medical devices every year.

Overall rating by their employees 2023 (source):

image of 3 and a half gold stars

Boston Scientific in Cork

  • Employees in Cork: 1200
  • Activities: Medical device manufacturing

The Boston Scientific manufacturing site in Cork has been operational since 1998 and today, it manufactures a range of medical devices including catheters, occlusion coils and inflation devices.

In 2016, the facility was awarded the prestigious Shingo Prize – an annual award given to recognise excellence in manufacturing.

The Cork Chamber Awards named Boston Scientific “Cork Company of the Year” in 2018 and at the time of that award, the company estimated that “seven patients a minute are treated with products shipped by Boston Scientific Cork”.

In 2021, the company announced a €30m investment in the site. The research, development, and innovation (RD&I) investment is expected to add 70 new jobs to the site and diversify the range of devices developed and manufactured there.

Click here to see our full county guide for Cork.

Boston Scientific in Galway

  • Employees in Galway: 3,800
  • Activities: Medical device manufacturing, R&D and regulatory affairs

Boston Scientific has had its manufacturing site in Galway since 1994. More than just being the company’s largest site in Ireland, it’s actually their largest manufacturing site in the world.

Over 4 million devices are manufactured here every year with product lines including structural heart valves, self expanding stents and drug-eluting stents.

The Galway site is also the company’s European Innovation Centre and in 2017, a €17m investment was announced to launch a new “RoadRunner” endoscopy design facility.

In this video, “Smart Futures” talk to two biomedical engineers at Boston Scientific’s Galway plant…

In 2019, the company unveiled a new development and customer support building after a €60m investment.

In April 2022, the company announced an investment of €100m to add additional manufacturing capacity within the Galway site. The 40,000 sq ft of new manufacturing space will be carbon-neutral, powered by renewable energy. It’s estimated that this will eventually lead to another 300+ jobs, bringing the total workforce in Galway to over 4000.

Click here for our full county guide for Galway

Boston Scientific in Tipperary

  • Employees in Tipperary: 1000
  • Activities: Medical device manufacturing, R&D

Boston Scientific opened their Tipperary site in 1999. They describe the site as …

“at the forefront of some of the industry’s most complex medical devices.”

Staff there develop and manufacture defibrillators, pacemakers, spinal cord stimulators and deep-brain stimulators. In 2023, the company estimated that the treatment of more than 400,000 patients every year is supported using devices manufactured in the Clonmel site.

The R&D team based there also create “high-end electronic devices and software solutions for multiple divisions across the Boston Scientific network”.

In May 2023, the company announced an €80 million investment to extend manufacturing, R&D, and progress towards sustainability goals. The expansion is expected to create 400 new jobs at the site over the next 3-years.

The Future of Boston Scientific in Ireland

Boston Scientific have recently announced significant ongoing investment in their Irish operations.

In Cork, a €30m research, development, and innovation (RD&I) investment is expected to create 70 new jobs.

In Galway, a €100m investment is expected to create over 300 new jobs by 2024, bringing the company’s workforce in the county to over 4,000.

In Tipperary, an €80 expansion is expected to create 400 new jobs by 2026.

Connect with Boston Scientific

How to Get a Job With Boston Scientific in Ireland

First of all, check out the following video. This is Aine Laffin, Manufacturing Engineering Manager at Boston Scientific, talking at a recruitment event in 2021. In this section of her presentation she discusses the types of candidates Boston Scientific look for as well as giving excellent interview advice.

If you already have experience in the pharma or medical device manufacturing industries, you can head straight over to our dedicated pharma jobs board and see the current Boston Scientific vacancies in Ireland.

If you have some science, quality or engineering qualifications/work experience, check out our specialist conversion courses that bridge the gap between your current knowledge and the technical information required to work in this highly regulated industry:

For all other backgrounds (including sales, retail, hospitality, etc), check out our Conversion Course into Pharmaceutical Manufacturing. This course helps you take the transferable skills acquired in any other industry and combines them with essential technical knowledge and job hunting skills, to make you an ideal candidate for entry level pharma manufacturing jobs. (Note: NO science or engineering knowledge or experience is needed!)

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About the Author

Image with Claire Wilison from GetReskilled Team

Claire Wilson

Content Marketing and Career Coaching

Claire runs GetReskilled’s Advanced Career Coaching Programme – our specially devised job hunting course that helps our trainees take that final step into employment by leading them through the job hunting process. She is extremely enthusiastic about helping people reach their final goal of employment in their new career path.

Claire has a BSc (Hons) in Medical Biology from Edinburgh University and spent 7 years working in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries.