Senior Mechanical Engineer

Company Description

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

Primary Function of Position

The Senior Mechanical Design Engineer will develop robotic instruments for minimally invasive applications using both data-based and hands-on approaches. The 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 and root cause higher level system issues. They must excel in a high-energy, focused, and small-team environment. The candidate will help identify and evaluate new technologies in light of customer and company needs, help establish design requirements to meet customer needs, work with suppliers and consultants to realize viable technical solutions, and refine designs for transfer to the New Product Introduction organization for commercialization.

The successful candidate will have a commitment to high quality prototypes and concepts, and a demonstrated record of developing, creating, and debugging innovative engineering solutions. An exceptional sense of shared responsibility and shared reward is required.

Essential Job Duties

• Work in a small, cross-functional project team to design and develop robotic surgical instruments.
• Observe clinical cases and participate in interviews with clinical experts to inform designs.
• Document, prepare, and review patent submissions.
• Create and maintain SolidWorks CAD databases, including assemblies, components, and detailed drawings.
• Hands-on design, assembly, and testing of instruments to support proof of concept, design development, pre-clinical, and V&V activities. Support defining and developing technical specifications and requirements for robotic instruments.
• Support the documentation of design and manufacturing processes, including: working with suppliers to create components, inspection procedures, assembly instructions, manufacturing processes, test methods, purchase specifications, bills of materials, component / assembly drawings per the company’s operating procedures.
• Provide support for pre-clinical and clinical labs.
• Generate and execute test methods to characterize designs and to establish root cause of design challenges, manufacturing variation, or material defects. Critically examine test results and make design changes or recommendations to the team.
• Provide written protocols, reports, presentations, and perform technical design reviews to solicit feedback on design activities.
• Provide mechanical engineering support for resolution of field and manufacturing issues.
• Establish individual goals consistent with overall project goals.

Qualifications

Required Skills and Experience

• A passion for solving tough technical problems – solid mechanical intuition and persistence to identify the root cause of a problem, solving problems using first principles.
• Ability to learn rapidly and quickly prototype creative and practical solutions from rough requirements.
• Solid aptitude for experimental design, testing, and data analysis; experience with design of experiments (DoEs) and statistical analysis.
• Ability to think at a systems level, interface between multiple design groups, and negotiate conflicting requirements.
• Highly proficient using CAD to design and document complex mechanisms and systems; SolidWorks preferred.
• Familiar with all phases of product development lifecycle including design, implementation, debug, verification/validation, qualification, and design transfer.
• Understanding of material and component selection criteria as well as design for reliability and manufacturability best practices.
• Experience with a variety of fabrication methods for metals and plastics, working with suppliers and their processes; including multi-axis machining, MIM, plastic injection molding, overmolding, stamping, extrusions, 3D printing, and laser cutting.
• Experience with medical devices including FDA QSR 21 CFR Part 820, ISO 13485, IEC 60601, and other related external standards.
• Excellent documentation and communication skills.
• Comfortable operating machine shop equipment

Required Education and Training

• Minimum BS or MS in Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, Biomedical Engineering or related engineering or scientific discipline
• Minimum 6 years designing mechanical engineering products or relevant experience

Working Conditions

• None

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Experience using SolidWorks, Matlab, and Finite Element Analysis (such as Ansys/ Pro Mechanica)
• Experience with electromechanical design, including cable driven systems and small mechanisms, is preferred.
• Experience and skills in design of high volume (e.g. injection molded, MIM) components, and design for manufacturability strongly preferred
• Medical device design experience
• Experience developing manufacturing processes and assembly instructions

Additional Information

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.

Base Compensation Range Region 1: $162 800 USD - $234 200 USD
Base Compensation Range Region 2: $138 400 USD - $199 100 USD
Shift: Day
Workplace Type: Set Schedule - This job will be onsite weekly, the percentage of onsite work will be defined by the leader.