Senior Mechanical Engineer - Manufacturing Equipment

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.

Primary Function of Position

Design and construct manufacturing equipment to support production of Intuitive’s Endoluminal robotic systems, instruments and accessories. This position will play a critical role in developing robust manufacturing capabilities to enable the future of minimally invasive surgery.

This candidate will thrive either working independently or with senior level equipment staff, manufacturing and software engineering, and other departments to develop and sustain custom equipment for production use. Typical projects will range in complexity from custom manual fixtures to semi-automated electro-mechanical systems, integrating workholding, sensing, motion and vision control. The ideal candidate is an individual with high energy, ownership, integrity, and accountability who will drive all aspects of an equipment project including scheduling, documenting specifications, prototyping, coordinating builds and validating finished hardware.

Provide engineering support to the larger task of duplicating equipment for production ramp across multiple product lines.  Manage equipment procurement, build, and qualification activities to schedules driven by business needs.  Provide work direction and technical guidance to a team of engineers and technicians to accomplish line duplication and support tasks.  Provide equipment engineering support to on-going production operations to maximize equipment availability and minimize equipment downtime.  Continuous improvement of equipment for increased reliability, performance, yield, output, or other metrics as determined by business needs.  The equipment supported ranges in complexity from custom manual fixtures to semi-automated equipment.   This position will play a critical role in meeting commercial demand for our Ion business unit.

Essential Job Duties

• Design and build in-house proprietary manufacturing and test equipment from concept to full implementation.

• Create effective design solutions of mechanical assemblies from simple fixturing to complex assembly for automation equipment.

• Establish specifications, assembly instructions, troubleshooting guides, and maintenance and calibration procedures.

• Ensure equipment designs meet functional, safety, ergonomic, documentation, and validation requirements.

• Create and manage project plans including schedules, budgets, and stakeholder updates.

• Conduct effective design reviews at all stages of equipment development.

• Create and execute protocol documentation for equipment IQOQPQ and DQ validations.

• Interface with a multitude of technical and counterpart teams in the creation and sustaining of manufacturing equipment for on-going production operation and expansion.

• Establish and manage external resources (contractors, system integrators, vendors) in the planning and execution of equipment projects.

• Oversee the installation, modification, upgrade and maintenance of manufacturing equipment.

• Support quality and internal/external audits as required.

• Support other equipment-related operations and duties as required.

Required Skills and Experience

• Minimum 6 years of manufacturing equipment design experience.

• Self-motivated, works well with others in a team environment.

• 3D CAD proficiency, SolidWorks preferred.

• Hands-on experience in developing mechanical and mechatronics hardware involving motion, pneumatics, vision, sensors, PLCs, electronics and controls

• Experience in troubleshooting and repair of manufacturing equipment.

• Strong understanding of tolerance analysis and statistical methods.

• Strong verbal and written communication skills, excellent interpersonal skills

Required Education and Training

Minimum BS in Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering or related fields

Working Conditions

None

Preferred Skills and Experience (As applicable - Specific skills, knowledge, and experience that are not required to perform the job, but are desirable to have)

• MSME (or equivalent) with minimum 6 years of prior experience.

• Experience developing and supporting manufacturing equipment with robotic or catheter emphasis.

• Experience in a medical device or similarly regulated environment

• Knowledge in equipment control systems, PLC (Beckhoff preferred).

• Hands-on experience in establishing equipment specification, validation protocols and reports, BOMs and work instructions.

• Experience with change control (ECOs) and enterprise software (e.g. Agile document control, Confluence, Jira, Polarion, Windchill, etc…)

• Structured Problem Solving. Rational thinking and root cause analysis capability.

• Experience studying equipment performance and reliability and establishing programs and solutions for increasing equipment uptime and addressing equipment problems that affect manufacturing.

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.