Senior Software Engineer - job 1 of 3

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.

Primary Function of Position

The successful candidate will design, implement, debug and verify embedded and PC software for new robotic surgical platforms.  The engineer must excel in a high-energy, focused, small-team environment, be able to drive to solutions from rough requirements, and have a commitment to high product quality.

Essential Job Duties 

• Develop embedded software primarily in C/C++
• Contribute to the development of software risks, hazards, mitigations, requirements, specifications, designs, reliability, modularity, extensibility, and verification & validation
• Support field service and manufacturing organizations
• Develop supporting PC applications for an embedded system
• Contribute to multiple areas of software development, including but not limited to the following:
  • Sensor and/or control signal processing
  • Inter-processor communication subsystem development
  • Embedded Linux setup and configuration
  • Support root cause analysis and issue resolution for released products and products in production
  • System diagnostic and service application development on Windows PCs
  • Development of research prototypes used to evaluate new product concepts
  • Perform formal risk analysis and develop and verify software mitigations
  • Document according to Intuitive’s development guidelines
  • Be a resource for all other software engineers on the team; teach and guide engineers through their work

Required Skills and Experience

• Hands-on engineering experience with proven ability to work well in a team environment
• Strong ability to isolate and debug hardware and software problems
• Experience in low level driver development in embedded platforms
• Experience with bare metal, real-time operating systems, and multithreaded programming
• A passion for creating robust and reliable products
• Excellent written and oral communications skills
• Experience in C/C++ programming
• Experience with Matlab, Python, or other scripting languages
• Experience developing on the Linux operating system
• Experience with revision control systems such as SVN and Git

Required Education and Training

• Minimum BS degree in Electrical, Mechanical, Computer Science, Mechatronics, or Computer Engineering, or similar field relating to robotics or electro-mechanical systems
• Minimum 8 years of development experience in software engineering, test engineering, diagnostics software, or embedded software development

Preferred Skills and Experience 

• Experience with NI LabView
• Experience with Yocto or other custom Linux kernel build systems
• Experience with Bazel / nix build infrastructure
• Experience with CUDA GPU programming

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.