Senior Software Engineer, Unity

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
We are seeking a Senior Unity Engineer, with an emphasis on the Unity physics system and advanced kinematic chains utilizing inverse and forward kinematics.
We are looking for an engineer who combines deep technical expertise with sound engineering judgment. Someone who understands how to balance realism, performance, maintainability, and delivery timelines to consistently ship high-quality software.

Responsibilities

• Evaluate the real-world robot code and apply it to optimize, improve, and expand the capabilities of our existing digital twin robot codebase
• Profile, diagnose, and optimize performance across CPU, GPU, and memory for acceptable XR performance
• Collaborate with engineers, designers, product owners, and subject matter experts to translate real-world robotic behavior into simulation
• Evaluate technical tradeoffs and make pragmatic implementation decisions that support product goals and delivery schedules
• Contribute to architectural decisions, coding standards, and long-term platform maintainability

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years of professional software engineering experience
• Bachelor’s degree in computer science or similar field
• Strong experience using C# and C/C++
• Deep expertise of 3D simulation of one or more physics phenomena
• Experience with multi-end-effector, constraint-based, or redundant kinematic systems
• Deep understanding of 3D math: vectors, matrices, quaternions, jacobians, etc.
• Understanding of fixed timestep simulation, interpolation, solver iterations, sub-stepping, and numerical stability, as well as multithreading, SIMD, and other optimization techniques
• Proven experience joining and contributing to a large, existing production codebase
• Strong understanding of software architecture, object-oriented design, and maintainable code practices
• Located within an hour of our Sunnyvale, CA or Peachtree, GA offices.

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.

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 base compensation ranges are listed.