FPGA Engineering Intern

Location: Sunnyvale, CA, us

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 

In the Advanced Robotic Systems Development group, our team designs and develops the robotic platforms that will transform the surgical landscape, to make robotics the default option for surgery.

As a FPGA Intern reporting to the Software/FPGA Manager, you’ll work with the Advanced Development group to design, develop, test and document key features for a prototype surgical robotics platform. You’ll develop a system-level understanding of the platform and have an impact on the entire FPGA and SW to integrate develop applications geared towards Robotics and Motor Control Applications.

Essential Job Duties 

• Assist with implementing and debugging RTL in Verilog/SystemVerilog and/or VHDL.

• Create or extend simulation testbenches and help analyze waveform/debug results.

• Support FPGA builds, basic validation, and debug during lab bring-up.

• Write or modify small C/C++ utilities/drivers to exercise FPGA registers and interfaces.

• Help validate FPGA–processor communication (e.g., memory-mapped registers, interrupts, simple serial links).

• Debug, root cause, and fix critical bugs.

• Document and test your code, participate in code reviews.

Qualifications

Required Skills and Experience 

University Hiring Program Eligibility Requirements:

• University Enrollment: Must be currently enrolled in and returning to an accredited degree-seeking academic program after the internship.

• Internship Work Period: Must be available to work full-time (approximately 40 hours per week) during a 10-12 week period starting May or June. Specific start dates are shared during the recruiting process.

Required Education and Training 

• Current enrollment in a relevant engineering program such as Mechatronics, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or Computer Science at the Bachelor’s, Master’s or advanced degree-seeking program

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Experience with FPGA tools (e.g., Vivado/Quartus), simulation, and waveform debugging

• Basic understanding of fixed-point math / DSP concepts

• Familiarity with common interfaces (SPI/I2C/UART) or memory-mapped register design

• Exposure to embedded debugging tools (JTAG/SWD, gdb, logic analyzer/oscilloscope)

• Experience/familiarity with microcontrollers and common motor control peripherals.

• Ability to solve complex and ambiguous problems.

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.

We provide market-competitive compensation packages, inclusive of base pay (paid at an hourly rate), benefits, and a housing allowance. 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 relevant skills and experience for this internship, degree-seeking academic program (PhD, Master’s, Bachelor’s, etc), year in school, and location. The hourly rate is prorated against the intern program salaries listed and total program compensation will be based on internship duration.