Senior Electrical Engineer

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

As a Senior Electrical Engineer, you will design and develop innovative surgical energy equipment and accessories for Intuitive’s da Vinci Surgical System. You’ll thrive in a dynamic, high-energy environment, making sound decisions with incomplete information—typical of cutting-edge product development. The ideal candidate has strong technical depth, a record of successful medical product development, and a collaborative, knowledge-sharing approach.

Essential Job Duties

• Technical Partnership:
  Collaborate with Marketing, Software, and Clinical Engineering to define and refine product requirements.
• System Integration:
  Identify and implement methods to satisfy product specs, ensuring seamless integration into effective system designs.
• Development & Testing:
  Develop, validate, and document hardware solutions that meet clinical and environmental requirements.
• Problem Solving:
  Provide technical expertise to resolve complex design, manufacturing, or field challenges.
• Prototyping:
  Create prototypes to evaluate and refine future product concepts.
• Stakeholder Support:
  Offer expert guidance on energy-based surgical products to internal company stakeholders.
• Quality & Regulatory:
  Support compliance with quality standards and regulatory processes.

Qualifications

Required Education, Skills & Experience

• Minimum of 8 years of experience and a Bachelor's degree; or 6 years of experience and a Master's degree; or a PhD with 3 years of experience; or equivalent experience
• Proficient in mixed signal design, embedded system design, and patient-isolated PCBA design.
• Skilled in component selection, lifecycle management, and design for reliability/manufacturability.
• Experience with switched-mode power supplies and transformer/magnetic component design.
• Experienced in PCB fabrication, assembly, and testing.
• Hardware development in fast-paced, high-impact environments.
• Knowledgeable in all product development phases: design, implementation, debugging, verification, validation, and manufacturing transfer.
• Team player with hands-on engineering experience.
• Familiar with standards and regulations for medical electronic equipment (e.g., IEC 60601).
• Strong communicator, able to influence and collaborate across teams and levels.

Preferred Skills & Experience

• Medical device product development experience.
• Familiarity with electrical safety, EMI/EMC testing and mitigation.
• Project leadership or mentoring experience.
• Familiarity with design control requirements for medical devices, such as risk/failure analysis, creation of product requirements, design verification and validation, and providing technical support for regulatory submissions.

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.