Sr Embedded Software 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.

The Embedded Platform Software team designs and builds the foundational software infrastructure for next-generation surgical robotic systems. We are looking for a high-energy, talented Senior Software Engineer to join the Embedded Networking Software team, within the Multiport Platform Software group.

We are a small group that works in a focused, high-energy environment working on New Product Development. We believe in applying first principles thinking, data driven decision making, continuous learning, and systematic planning to deliver results and achieve our goals.

• Are you passionate about technology?
• Do you want to have a direct impact on helping people live better lives?
• Are you interested in the medical applications of robotics?
• Do you like to build complex distributed systems?
• Does working in a multidisciplinary, systems-oriented design team sound exciting?

Your Role

You will be joining the team responsible for developing our flagship product, dV5. The team's focus is to enhance and extend the dV5 embedded network, across all 7 Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) layers, and apply the resulting deep understanding to new surgical robotic systems. You will have the opportunity and responsibility to drive end-to-end feature development, from concept to cross functional requirements gathering, to implementation, test, and verification.

Your Responsibilities

In your first year in this role, you will:

• Design, develop, and deliver features across the embedded network stack, including:

• Reliability enhancements across the network stack, such as redundancy and fault tolerance mechanisms
• Performance enhancements to meet growing data transfer needs, including low latency switching, traffic shaping, and queue management
• A distributed publish/subscribe messaging framework built on DDS-style middleware
• Layer 5 Session APIs to facilitate seamless disconnect and reconnect of services and network nodes

• Develop and optimize Layer 2 and Layer 3 software, including network configuration, low level Ethernet MAC and PHY drivers
• Build and tune deterministic, real-time communication paths for safety critical data, applying queueing theory and a working understanding of PCIe features and limitations
• Lead board bring-up activities and interface with hardware teams to validate and integrate new networking product designs, including signal integrity and system level validation
• Debug complex hardware-software networking issues using JTAG, GDB, and protocol analyzers; triage race conditions and timing violations
• Partner with Field Service Engineering and the Platform team to triage, root cause, and resolve field reported networking issues, and feed learnings back into product design
• Interface with a variety of cross functional teams such as Application Development, Algorithms, FPGA, Electrical, Clinical, Interaction Design, and Manufacturing to negotiate requirements, build solutions and iterate.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree with 6+ years of industry experience, or Master’s degree with 4+ years of industry experience, in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.
• A natural communicator with high attention to detail, strong critical thinking, and clarity of thought
• Strong OSI networking stack knowledge across all 7 layers, including deep understanding of TCP/IP stack internals and Ethernet switching fabric design
• Strong programming skills in C/C++ for embedded systems development
• Deep experience developing high-speed networking software across switching, robotics, automotive, or aerospace domains, including low-level driver development for Ethernet MAC/PHY and specialized SoC subsystems such as packet filtering and address lookup engines.
• Experience with Linux and embedded RTOS environments, with a strong understanding of memory management, concurrency, and interrupt handling
• Demonstrated experience leveraging new tools and technology, such as AI coding assistants, to maximize productivity and streamline workflows

Preferred Experience

• Strong hardware-software fluency including reading schematics, datasheets, and reasoning across system abstractions
• Experience configuring and managing L2 switching (VLANs, QoS, segmentation) over SPI or in-band protocols
• Hands-on experience with TSN protocols, AVB, and high-availability redundancy on real hardware
• Experience implementing IEEE 802.1 TSN/AVB (802.1AS, Qbv, Qav, Qci) on embedded systems and integrating automotive/industrial Ethernet switch ICs with vendor APIs/SDKs
• Experience with Automotive Ethernet (100/1000BASE-T1, BASE-T1S) and in-vehicle gateway or domain controller architectures
• Experience with RTOS (FreeRTOS, ThreadX, Zephyr, QNX, VxWorks), Linux drivers, and embedded networking stacks
• Exposure to functional safety standards such as IEC 62304, ISO 13485, ISO 14971, IEC 60601, DO-178, ISO 26262 or IEC 61508
• Familiarity with embedded network security such as secure boot, MACsec, IPsec, key management

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.