Staff Product Manager, Endoscopes

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

As a Staff Product Manager on the da Vinci® Multiport Vision team, you will be a key

development and design-stage stakeholder across the robotic endoscope portfolio, with

responsibility spanning new product development (NPD) and sustaining initiatives. You will own

and shape the long-term strategy for Multiport endoscope products and partner with cross-

functional teams to deliver compelling visualization solutions for minimally invasive surgery.

You will work with cross-functional partners to identify unmet user needs; define and guide

products through the design and development process; shape and guide the roadmap; and

partner with downstream teams for commercialization, evidence, and messaging. Your scope

spans the full robotic endoscope lifecycle — from early concept and feasibility through launch,

lifecycle management, and post-market sustaining engineering. Your efforts will not be limited to

a single product but include broader ownership across the endoscope portfolio and adjacent

visualization initiatives.

This is an individual contributor role and will be part of the Multiport Product Management team,

reporting to the Group Product Manager of Multiport Vision.

Essential Job Duties

 Develop deep expertise in robotic endoscope workflows and surgical visualization, including

how surgeons rely on endoscope optical performance, illumination, and image quality during

minimally invasive procedures across general surgery, urology, gynecology, thoracic, and

other specialties. Monitor clinical literature, attend medical society meetings, engage with

physician key opinion leaders (KOLs), and observe live robotic cases — domestically and

internationally.

 Capture, refine, and validate user needs related to endoscopic imaging performance —

resolution, sensitivity, contrast, depth of field, color accuracy, illumination uniformity,

ergonomics, sterility/reprocessing, and reliability — and translate these into clear design

requirements for engineering.

 Partner closely with engineering teams across endoscopic optics, illumination (LEDs/lasers,

light path design), image sensors and imaging pipelines, system-level image quality, and

mechanical/optical reliability. Provide guidance that balances user needs, clinical value,

technical feasibility, and system constraints.

 Own and manage the Multiport robotic endoscope roadmap across new product

development (NPD) and sustaining, balancing platform needs, advanced imaging

opportunities, reliability and quality improvements, cost reduction, and lifecycle

management. Develop business cases that synthesize clinical value, technical feasibility,

and competitive landscape.

 Lead sustaining product strategy for the in-market endoscope portfolio, including failure-

mode analysis, field-action prioritization, design improvements, supplier transitions, and

obsolescence management. Partner with quality, reliability, manufacturing, and service

teams to drive measurable improvements in field performance, customer satisfaction, and

cost of poor quality.

 Drive new product development for next-generation Multiport endoscopes from early

concept through launch — leading user research, requirements definition, design reviews,

design verification and validation planning, and phase-gate progression in a regulated

medical device environment.

 Conduct qualitative and quantitative research (VOC/VOE, segmentation, conjoint,

ethnography) to inform endoscope strategy. Use structured insights to drive decisions on

new imaging capabilities, performance thresholds, and portfolio architecture.

 Establish design requirements, prioritize design efforts, navigate tradeoffs, and document

and communicate design decisions. Be a credible technical partner who works deeply with

optical, mechanical, electrical, and systems engineering.

 Develop downstream claims and clinical evidence strategies to substantiate that upstream

needs are being met and to support competitive differentiation of the Multiport endoscope

portfolio.

 Collaboratively develop global commercialization plans and messaging with global portfolio

marketing, regional marketing, training, and commercial teams. Ensure regional nuances

and global market needs are integrated into product architecture and launch planning.

 Partner with Engineering, Market Insights, and Business Development teams to evaluate

emerging optical, photonics, sensing, and image-processing technologies; recommend

which should move into feasibility, development, or partnership exploration

Required Skills and Experience

 Humble, mindful of other people’s input, and able to communicate in a clear, concise, and

professional manner.

 Self-directed with awareness to proactively seek advice and develop professional skills.

 Excellent teamwork skills with proven ability to collaborate across multiple disciplines and

influence cross-functional teams without formal authority. Able to bridge communication

across business units and between engineering, design, marketing, sales, and customers.

 Presentation skills to internal and external audiences, including leaders at the executive

level.

 Quantitative mindset; proven ability to investigate open-ended problems, break them into

first-principles analyses, and work cross-functionally to implement initiatives.

 Demonstrated ability to work creatively amidst competing priorities and smoothly manage

multiple competing deadlines and tasks.

 Experience operating within FDA or similarly regulated environments, with a solid grasp of

design controls, usability engineering, and risk management.

Required Education and Training

 Minimum Bachelor’s degree

 Minimum 8 years in a medical device role and 12 years cumulative professional experience

in product management, marketing, engineering, business development, or equivalent role

Working Conditions

none

Preferred Skills and Experience

 MBA or equivalent experience in role

 6 years upstream Product Management or equivalent experience in medical devices

 Experience leading both new product development AND sustaining/lifecycle product

management for hardware-intensive medical devices

 Experience working with imaging modalities used in minimally invasive or robotic-assisted

surgery, such as: high-definition / 4K endoscopic visualization; 3D stereoscopic

visualization; fluorescence imaging / NIR / ICG; multispectral or hyperspectral imaging; real-

time video processing or image fusion; endoscope or optical system development

(illumination, filters, optics, sensors)

 Familiarity with optoelectronics, biomedical optics, photonics, image processing, or sensor

technologies relevant to surgical visualization

 Bachelor’s or advanced degree in Optical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Biomedical

Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical field

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.

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 base compensation ranges are listed.