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

As a Senior Embedded Research Software Engineer in the Future Forward organization, you will be at the forefront of innovation, rapid prototyping, and new product development. You will collaborate with talented cross-functional teams—including engineers, clinicians, and product managers—to advance Intuitive’s robotic surgical platform, driving the product lifecycle from concept to launch.

In this role, you will design, develop, and integrate embedded and platform software across a complex robotic system. This includes interfacing with hardware, firmware, control algorithms, vision pipelines, user interfaces, and test infrastructure such as fault-injection and diagnostic frameworks. You will contribute to the architecture, implementation, and system-level integration of advanced functionalities into complete surgical robotic platforms, supporting early-stage product exploration and development.

Success in this role requires excelling in an agile, small-team environment—transforming initial concepts into robust prototypes, iterating methodically, and consistently maintaining exceptional product quality with a patient-first mindset.

Roles and Responsibilities

• Collaborate cross-functionally during early-stage product exploration, prototyping, and development to address clinical, functional, performance, and safety requirements with key stakeholders.
• Translate early requirements into prototype implementations to evaluate, iterate, and advance novel robotic systems.
• Design and develop robust embedded software to enable system infrastructure, including OS drivers, hardware interfaces, real-time data pipelines, inter-processor communication, error handling, and user/test applications.
• Act as a subject matter expert in embedded software development by developing prototypes from early requirements, rapidly iterating, and creating a functional product for research studies, employing systems thinking to integrate technology, users, and workflows.
• Refine and iterate designs, balancing technical requirements, feasibility, schedules, and resource constraints.
• Apply strong software engineering practices, including writing maintainable code, modular architecture, testing, and documentation.
• Adapt to project needs by initially exploring a broad range of software technology stacks and delving deeper into specific areas as the project evolves.
• Identify, document, and communicate intellectual property generated during development.

Skill/Job Requirements

Minimum Qualifications:

• Master’s degree or higher in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a similar technical field. Advanced degrees are preferred.
• Minimum of 8 years (or 6 years with a Master’s degree, or 3 years with a Ph.D.) of experience developing embedded systems software, including at least 2 years in an R&D, innovation, or exploratory environment.
• Proficiency in multiple programming languages (e.g., C, C++, Python, Matlab).
• Experience with multi-threaded and multi-processor/multi-core systems.
• Proven track record in building real-time applications and/or embedded software.
• Demonstrated experience with industrial embedded operating systems (e.g., QNX, Yocto), hardware interfaces, FPGA, CUDA programming, and the latest technology stacks for embedded software development.
• Proficiency in profiling and debugging system software to optimize performance.
• Strong problem-solving skills, with the ability to structure and iterate on solutions in ambiguous contexts.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Expertise in building AI/ML-based embedded solutions using the latest tech stack, frameworks, and tools to achieve the desired performance through hardware acceleration and other techniques.
• Hands-on experience integrating the latest AI/ML models to develop embodied AI applications.
• Proven experience applying software innovation within healthcare, robotics, or other complex technology sectors.
• Track record of contributions to research publications, patents, or open-source projects.
• Demonstrated ability to swiftly adapt to new technologies and domains, using curiosity and creativity to solve problems.
• Proven capability to apply systems thinking in the design and evaluation of complex solutions.

Additional Information

• Location: Sunnyvale, CA (onsite).
• Travel: Up to 10%, including lab and preclinical environments.
• Compensation: Competitive salary, equity, annual bonus, and comprehensive benefits.
• Intuitive is an equal opportunity employer and considers qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records in accordance with fair-chance laws.

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.

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.