Senior Mechanical Design Engineer

It started with a simple idea: what if surgery could be less invasive and recovery less painful? Nearly 30 years later, that question still fuels everything we do at Intuitive. As a global leader in robotic-assisted surgery and minimally invasive care, our technologies—like the da Vinci surgical system and Ion—have transformed how care is delivered for millions of patients worldwide.

We’re a team of engineers, clinicians, and innovators united by one purpose: to make surgery smarter, safer, and more human. Every day, our work helps care teams perform with greater precision and patients recover faster, improving outcomes around the world.

The problems we solve demand creativity, rigor, and collaboration. The work is challenging, but deeply meaningful—because every improvement we make has the potential to change a life.

If you’re ready to contribute to something bigger than yourself and help transform the future of healthcare, you’ll find your purpose here.

Job Description

The Future Forward group within Intuitive Surgical is searching for a hands-on Senior Mechanical Engineer to own subsystem development for a new application of surgical robotics. This role is an exciting opportunity to join a small and innovative team in the early phases of product development.

Joining Intuitive Surgical means joining a team dedicated to using technology to benefit patients by improving surgical efficacy and decreasing surgical invasiveness, with patient outcomes as our highest priority. The successful candidate will have both the technical depth to resolve complex mechanical, materials, and manufacturing design issues, and the ability to work in an interdisciplinary team to troubleshoot to root cause higher level system issues. They must excel in a high-energy, focused, small-team environment, and have a commitment to high quality prototypes and concepts and a demonstrated record of developing creative and innovative engineering solutions. A strong sense of shared responsibility and shared reward is required as well as a commitment to high product quality.

Roles and Responsibilities:

• Own end-to-end development of components and subsystems within a novel robotic platform.
• Work in small cross-functional project teams to discover, define, and develop requirements.
• Contribute to system and build planning, owning your milestones and pulling with the team to accomplish meaningful goals as  team.
• Use first principles to design and document components and assemblies. Own building, testing, and understanding your designs.
• Design, develop and troubleshoot testing fixtures and test methods
• Analyze and test product prototype designs, critically analyze results, and make design changes or recommendations to the design team
• Provide written protocols, reports, and presentations related to design activities on an ongoing basis
• Collaborate with other engineering disciplines (software, electrical, clinical, and manufacturing) on the design of robotic surgical instruments and related systems
• Create and maintain SolidWorks CAD databases, including assemblies, components, and detailed drawings
• Observe clinical cases and interface with clinical experts to inform designs and identify user needs
• Document, prepare, and review patent submissions
• Provide support for pre-clinical and clinical labs

Required skills, experience and education:

• BS or MS in Mechanical Engineering or related engineering or scientific discipline, or equivalent work experience
• Typical minimum 8 years of relevant experience (Medical device and/or robotics experience preferred)
• Demonstrated ability to work in cross-functional research and development teams
• Proficiency using CAD (SolidWorks preferred)
• Demonstrated ability to design for manufacturing and assembly (DFx)
• Able to independently assess complex problems and situations to move projects forward
• Able to coordinate activities within organizations to drive deliverables
• Excellent documentation and communication skills
• Experience with design standards (ex. FDA QSR 21 CFR Part 820, ISO 13485, IEC 60601)
• Experience with GD&T and other related ASME/ISO drafting standards
• Familiar with all phases of the product development lifecycle including design verification, design validation, and design transfer
• Familiar with Product Lifecycle Management documentation control systems

Due to the nature of our business and the role, please note that Intuitive and/or your customer(s) may require that you show current proof of vaccination against certain diseases including COVID-19.  Details can vary by role.

Intuitive is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants and employees, and prohibit discrimination and harassment of any type, without regard to race, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, color, age, religion, protected veteran or disability status, genetic information or any other status protected under federal, state, or local applicable laws.

Mandatory Notices

U.S. Export Controls Disclaimer:  In accordance with the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (15 CFR §743.13(b)), some roles at Intuitive Surgical may be subject to U.S. export controls for prospective employees
who are nationals from countries currently on embargo or sanctions status.

Certain information you provide as part of the application will be used for purposes of determining whether Intuitive Surgical will need to (i) obtain an export license from the U.S. Government on your behalf (note: the government’s licensing process can take 3 to 6+ months) or (ii) implement a Technology Control Plan (“TCP”) (note: typically adds 2 weeks to the hiring process).  

For any Intuitive role subject to export controls, final offers are contingent upon obtaining an approved export license and/or an executed TCP prior to the prospective employee’s
start date, which may or may not be flexible, and within a timeframe that does not unreasonably impede the hiring need. If applicable, candidates will be notified and instructed on any requirements for these purposes. 

We will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records in accordance with fair chance laws.

Preference will be given to qualified candidates who do not reside, or plan to reside, in Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, or Tennessee.

This position may be filled at a different job level than listed here depending on
business need and/or on the selected candidate’s experience, knowledge and skills.
Compensation will be based primarily on the job level at which the role is filled and the
candidate’s qualifications, consistent with applicable law.

We provide market-competitive compensation packages, inclusive of base pay, incentives, benefits, and equity. It would not be typical for someone to be hired at the top end of range for the role, as actual pay will be determined based on several factors, including experience, skills, and qualifications. The target compensation ranges are listed.