Sr. Director Industrial Engineering, OPEX and Strategy

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:

Reporting to the SVP of Manufacturing Operations, this position is responsible for developing and implementing continuous improvement and lean manufacturing strategies within the North America Hub, with the objective of improving Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) related to safety, quality, production capacity, productivity, and service. The role also establishes and manages the operational excellence education and certification process for the North America site.

As part of Industrial Engineering functions, and in collaboration with site leadership, this position manages plant layouts and determines optimal production flows, sets and maintains production standards, monitors productivity and capacity, and promotes ergonomic practices.

This role tracks and documents all improvement initiatives and leads or participates in special projects and CAPAs as required by the organization.

It develops and oversees the goal deployment process, creating strategies and tools to support this activity, and assists the leadership team in establishing and managing departmental performance goals and objectives.

The position supports site operations leaders in meeting LRM5 targets, short-term plans, and unplanned improvement needs that contribute to customer support.

When necessary, the role provides project management for high-level strategic projects within the operation at the North America Hub.

Roles and Responsibilities:

• Oversees the goal deployment process by recording commitments, reporting progress, and organizing team sessions.
• Establishes production standards by product and process, and monitors productivity improvements.
• Enhances manufacturing processes through line balancing and waste reduction.
• Measures and reports productivity to site leadership to initiate improvement projects.
• Administers facility layouts and changes in collaboration with engineering and facilities teams.
• Manages the operational excellence program (LSS) across all areas by providing training and facilitating improvement teams.
• Validates team improvements and reports associated benefits to the company.
• Develops recognition programs for teams and projects.
• Encourages continuous improvement behaviour throughout all areas.
• Manages LSS tools training within all departments.
• Implements the space planning process in accordance with LRM and provides guidance to meet future space requirements.
• Regularly reviews processes to identify more efficient methods of operation.
• Provides mentoring to department leaders on improving productivity and outcomes.
• Reports on financial impacts of productivity trends and assists in prioritising improvement initiatives.
• Supports culture and mission alignment within the team and across the operations organization.

Skills, Experience, Education, & Training:

• Professional qualifications required include a BS in Industrial Engineering, BS in Engineering Sciences, BS in Business Administration, or equivalent; an MBA is preferred.
• Black belt certification or equivalent is required.
• Experience managing at the Director and Senior Manager level is necessary.
• Strong public speaking and communication skills are needed.
• Ability to communicate effectively with executive management and boards of directors in multicultural, multinational environments and to mobilize cross-functional teams is expected.
• Program management experience, including leadership of large-scale projects, is required.
• Demonstrated ability to build teams and delegate tasks, responsibilities, and authority is important.
• A minimum of ten years’ experience in high-tech manufacturing with increasing responsibility is required.
• Negotiation experience is necessary.
• A willingness to travel is expected.
• Bilingual proficiency in Spanish and English is preferred.
• Experience in managing medical device manufacturing operations for a multimillion-dollar company is required.

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.