For Arne Metzner (manager, Manufacturing) and Alexander Horch (supervisor, Multiport), even the tiniest details matter—so tiny, they can’t be seen with the naked eye! Arne, Alex, and their team are responsible for assembling the lenses and camera modules in Intuitive’s robotic surgical systems. Below, Arne and Alex share how our mission motivated them to join Intuitive. They also share how they’ve worked with engineers to innovate and build new processes, and what’s most exciting about this moment for Intuitive—including helping to train the next generation of employees for our newest location in Bulgaria.
What brought you to Intuitive, and to your current roles?
Arne: I started my career in Germany’s apprenticeship program for mechatronics, which is a combination of mechanical and electrical engineering. I worked for multiple companies building everything from circuit boards to airport baggage sorters to cleaning room filters, and also spent some time as a leader in the apprenticeship program.
So by the time I learned about Intuitive in 2016, I had a mix of technical and leadership experience, and I’d really enjoyed helping people grow. I also liked that our products help people and give them a chance to live a healthy life. I joined as a manager, and I currently lead a team of 43 people who work in the Particulate Control Room, or what we call the “cleaning room,” here in Biebertal, assembling lenses and camera modules for the da Vinci system.
Alex: I’m a precision optician by training—like Arne, I started out as an auszubildender, or apprentice. I’ve worked in this building since 2008, though at that time it was Pridat Mikrooptik and then Schölly Fiberoptic; we joined Intuitive in 2019. Helping people is a big part of why I joined, too. I remember interviewing with a senior director who talked about what endoscopes can do for patients and thinking, “Yes, I want to work here.”
Back then we made only lenses at this location, but eventually we started building entire camera modules. I had a chance to help design that process, and after that I was asked if I wanted to become a supervisor.

Tell us more about switching to full camera module assembly. How does your team collaborate with Engineering to launch a new process?
Alex: Working on that first module was very special—I remember just plugging in the cables and seeing the picture was amazing! Now that’s part of a normal day, but when we’d never done it before, it felt like we were on an adventure. The engineers built out instructions for assembly and helped us set up all the devices we needed, but we did collaborate to improve the processes from there. I remember at first, we were supposed to add a glue point on the back of the module, but we couldn’t see that spot well enough under our microscopes. So we worked with the engineers to redesign it and add the glue in front.
The engineers also incorporated our feedback into the next generation of the module, which helped make it stronger and easier to build. And we still innovate together today. They’re very good to work with.
Arne: Partnering with engineering is also part of how we’ve increased our production capacity over the last few years. And we always try to share stories about those collaborations with new employees, to encourage them to speak up, too, when they have ideas. If you need a new machine or want to try to integrate a new technique, it really is possible to bring that dream to life here. Intuitive has proven that it’s willing and able to invest in innovation.
How do new team members learn to build such complex machines?
Alex: We actually start even before you’re hired—the most difficult part of this work is that we’re doing it under the microscope, so we make sure every candidate has a chance to try it out. You’re working with very small parts, handling them with tweezers, and there’s very little room for error. We want to see how people handle that part of the job, and we also want them to experience it firsthand and decide whether it’s for them.
Cleaning the lenses is particularly important. Every particle on the surface, top or bottom, has to be removed; otherwise, it will be visible later when doctors are using the camera.
Arne: And then once a new team member joins, we have special deputized trainers who work side-by-side with them and help them onboard. They learn to clean the lenses, and they learn to assess any imperfections, like tiny scratches or chips, to determine whether they’re in or out of tolerance. With experience, it gets much easier to make those decisions—usually within three or four months, someone is ready to build components on their own.

What are your priorities as managers?
Arne: A priority for me is making sure everyone feels like part of a team—different people with different jobs, but all coming together under one vision. That’s especially important because you can’t enter the cleaning room without special clothing—we wear smocks, gloves, and hair coverings—so we’re often communicating with the rest of the team through the glass, using hand signals.
One of the ways we work to reduce isolation is cross-training. We have a special task force that can help with specific steps in both production and assembly. If someone is out sick or we’re shorthanded on one side or the other, a member of that task force can switch in.
Alex: We also emphasize team-building within the cleaning room. We’ve been able to attract great people—but when you’re spending so much of your day looking through a microscope, it can be hard to get to know one another. So we make sure to meet as a team twice per week, and we hold team events outside of work, along with the other departments—like bowling or going out to eat.
What’s most exciting about being part of Intuitive in this moment?
Arne: We’re about to add a new instrument to the devices we build, which is exciting—it’s a special attachment for the new da Vinci 5 that’s even smaller than what we have currently, which will be a challenge and of course a great thing for patients. We’re also getting ready to host new hires from Bulgaria, who will be coming here to train.
And in the next couple of years, we’re going to shift from focusing on assembly to doing more prototyping, as the team here in Biebertal grows. That will be a big opportunity for our team members to innovate and find even better ways to do what we do.
Alex: Our growth will also give individual team members more chances to grow their careers. That’s not required at all—we need a mix of individual contributors and leaders—but if you do have an interest in becoming a manager or supervisor, there are definitely opportunities to do that. I’m a good example; I didn’t have a special education or background in this work, and I started out only knowing how to build lenses. But I worked hard, and our leaders recognized that. If you do your best, anything is possible.
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Do you want to build a rewarding and exciting career manufacturing the tools surgeons use to change people’s lives? We’re hiring in Bulgaria now. Check out open roles.