Senior Embedded Software Engineer - Platform & OS Upgrades

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.

The Senior Embedded Software Engineer - Platform & OS Upgrades role will work with a group of talented and dedicated people to improve and extend Intuitive’s surgical robotic product lines. The successful candidate will contribute to the Product Engineering team, with a focused contribution on embedded software for the ION robotic bronchoscopy platform.

As a member of the team, you will be involved in supporting and maintaining the existing platform. The successful candidate must excel in a high-energy small, focused team environment, be able to drive to solutions from rough requirements, and have a commitment to high product quality. Quick learning and a desire to understand requirements and create solutions are essential to become a valuable integrator and system developer. Supporting you will be a development and management team that knows and cares about what you are doing and wants you to succeed.

Roles and Responsibilities

Hardware Support & Bring-up:

• Develop, maintain, and upgrade embedded Linux and QNX distributions
• Integrate secure processes to enhance system security
• Evaluate and test new hardware for compatibility, performance, reliability, and stability with various operating systems and drivers
• Support OTA upgrade mechanisms for Linux and QNX platforms, including secure rollback and monitoring capabilities
• Configure and validate board support packages, kernel drivers, and peripheral devices

Troubleshooting & Documentation:

• Collaborate with manufacturing and field engineers to investigate, debug, and isolate system software issues
• Conduct root cause analysis and implement solutions for issues in released and production products
• Create, document, implement, and unit test software designs in advanced robotic systems
• Document work in accordance with Intuitive’s development guidelines
• Partner with cross-functional teams to design, develop, and validate embedded software

Required Education, Skills & Experience

• Minimum of 8 years of experience and a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering or related field; or 6 years of experience and a Master's degree; or a PhD with 3 years of experience; or equivalent experience
• Hands-on embedded software development experience focused on Linux platforms
• Proficiency in Embedded Yocto Linux development
• Experience with real-time operating system (RTOS) development, including expertise with QNX Software Development Platform (SDP)
• Experience with UEFI/BIOS, bootloaders (GRUB, U-Boot), secure image signing
• Experience with Python and developing cross-platform code in C/C++
• Excellent debugging skills and strong ability to root cause and isolate system issues to component level (Mechanical, hardware, and software)
• Ability to build and maintain relationships across supported organizations

Preferred Skills & Experience

• Secure Boot, TPM, cryptographic workflows
• Working knowledge of revision control systems such as Git
• Working knowledge of build systems such as CMake and EMake
• Demonstrated experience in and comfort with all phases of the product development lifecycle including design, implementation, debug, verification, validation, and transfer to manufacturing
• Experience designing software products in an FDA or other regulated industry or for mission critical applications; comfortable with concepts of design input, design output, traceability, risk analysis, and mitigations

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.