Senior Embedded Software Engineer - Servo Software

At Intuitive, we are united behind our mission: we believe that minimally invasive care is life-enhancing care. Through ingenuity and intelligent technology, we expand the potential of physicians to heal without constraints.

As a pioneer and market leader in robotic-assisted surgery, we strive to foster an inclusive and diverse team, committed to making a difference. For more than 25 years, we have worked with hospitals and care teams around the world to help solve some of healthcare's hardest challenges and advance what is possible.

Intuitive has been built by the efforts of great people from diverse backgrounds. We believe great ideas can come from anywhere. We strive to foster an inclusive culture built around diversity of thought and mutual respect. We lead with inclusion and empower our team members to do their best work as their most authentic selves.

Passionate people who want to make a difference drive our culture. Our team members are grounded in integrity, have a strong capacity to learn, the energy to get things done, and bring diverse, real world experiences to help us think in new ways. We actively invest in our team members to support their long-term growth so they can continue to advance our mission and achieve their highest potential.

Join a team committed to taking big leaps forward for a global community of healthcare professionals and their patients. Together, let's advance the world of minimally invasive care.

Job Description

Our Multiport Servo Software team is responsible for the real-time software and supervisory state machines that support critical performance, safety and user-facing features of the da Vinci™ Surgical System, Intuitive’s flagship product.

Our real-time software includes infrastructure for motion control algorithms, audio intercom and system sounds, data streaming and logging, and platform support for our next-generation da Vinci™ Simulator product line. Our workstreams depend upon and enable the work of other teams so we occupy an exciting intersection of real-time architecture, feature development, and demonstration of product safety and reliability.

The successful candidate must excel in a high-energy, focused, small-team and cross-functional environment, be able to drive to solutions from rough requirements, and have a commitment to high product quality. They must demonstrate ownership of their areas of responsibility and of the overall product. A strong sense of shared responsibility and shared reward is required. A demonstrated experience and comfort working with modern C++ and State machines in an embedded environment is required.

Essential Job Duties

• Leverage control-systems software building blocks to provide servo functionality for multiple Intuitive Surgical robotic systems, maximizing flexibility and modularity while maintaining peak performance.
• Contribute to the design, extension, and testing of our supervisory state machine software that serve as the system’s top-level behavioral command control center.
• Develop and maintain real-time software and state machine software responsible for validating robotic instruments and transitioning between robotic surgical procedures.
• Design and develop product-focused, robust, efficient, and elegant C++ software in a heterogeneous, multi-processor SoC/FPGA/real-time-embedded environment.
• Analyze and quantify overall system performance and safety, including verification of adherence to specifications as well as identification of improvement opportunities, such as reduced latency and increased reliability/determinism. Extend existing tools and create new tools to support such analysis efforts.
• Interface and collaborate effectively and respectfully with other teams, including Platform Software, Electrical Engineering, System Analysis, System Test, User Interface Software Engineering, Manufacturing and Clinical Engineering.

Additional Responsibilities

• Develop a thorough system-level knowledge from a clinical user perspective.
• Participate in product risk analysis, defining requirements, implementing mitigations, and drafting and executing verification tests.
• Document software designs according to Intuitive's development guidelines.
• Engage in cross-functional resolution of critical problems.
• Identify and prove out new architectural enhancements to the software infrastructure and development processes that elevate the broader organization beyond your own team.

Required Education, Skills & Experience

• Bachelor's, Master's or PhD degree (Master's or PhD degree preferred), with minimum 5 years (or 3 years for PhD) of industry experience in developing embedded systems.
• Experience in developing real-time embedded software for one or more of the following areas (or similar): motion-control, robotics, system state machines.
• Experience in C++, familiarity with design patterns and object-oriented software architectures.
• Experience in software support for hardware development including diagnostic tests, utilities, and self-tests.

Preferred Skills & Experience

• Experience in top-level state machine development for complex products with human user interface provisions and critical safety considerations. Experience using tools like IBM Rational Rhapsody.
• Experience with scripting languages (e.g. Python) for diagnostic/test automation.
• Experience in developing applications for Embedded Linux and/or QNX is ideal
• Comfort with concepts of design input, design output, traceability, and risk analysis.
• Demonstrated experience and comfort with all phases of the product development lifecycle (design, implementation, debug, verification, validation, and transfer to manufacturing).
• Experience with designing safety critical software products in an FDA or other regulated industry or for mission critical applications.

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.

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.