Automation Line Designer Jobs (NOW HIRING)

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:
Stranded and braided wire cables are a key technology in surgical robotics.  This position will bring strong experience in the stranding and braiding of fine wire cables to improve our manufacturing processes and cable designs. 

Contribute your technical manufacturing, design, and project management skills to a dynamic and growing development team creating high volume automated assembly lines for precision instruments and accessories. This position will focus on developing equipment and processes used for the manufacture of high performance tungsten wire cables. Individuals in this role will create line specifications, interface with machine integrators and cross functional partners through product scoping, machine design, build and commissioning. Individuals in this role will provide daily support, onsite and remote, to the manufacturing team during and after commissioning.

Roles & Responsibilities:

• Drive process development of stranded wire cables. 

• Lead project management of engineering projects. 

• Lead the sourcing and evaluation of new pieces of equipment and equipment suppliers. 

• Lead the creation of automation line specifications

• Evaluate current and future Robotic Surgery Accessories and Instruments to determine feasibility and value of automated assembly

• Be point of contact for machine integrator in development, evaluation, and shipment of production equipment

• Support line commissioning and validation

• Support the development and execution of IQ/OQ/PQ and PPQ protocols for high volume automation assembly lines.

• Identify and implement continuous improvement projects to improve first pass yield, cycle time reduction, product reliability and cost reduction.

• Provide design engineers with Design for Automation and Design for Reliability input to ensure consistency/commonality among hardware and standard part selections across product/sub-assembly lines.

• Create and maintain controlled documents including:  BOMs, workflow processes, manufacturing plan and detailed work instructions.

• Analyze manufacturing lines from a risk perspective (PFMEA) to incorporate and validate critical tests used in manufacturing.

Skills, Experience, Education, & Training:

• BSME or equivalent required, MSME preferred (similar engineering and technical fields will be considered.)

• 7+ years’ mechanical or manufacturing engineering experience required. 

• Wire and/or Cable product experience highly preferred.

• Strong preference for experience with fine gauge stainless steel and tungsten wire. 

• Small team leadership experience preferred.

• Experience with automated line controls (PLC, I/O Components, etc) required

• Experience in 8D problem solving techniques related to high volume automation is a plus

• Experience with Robotics programming a plus

• Medical device manufacturing experience a plus

• New product introduction/development experience desirable

• Great attitude, eager, willing/able to take initiative, and ability to excel in a team environment

• Able to make continuous, incremental improvements to existing designs

• Experienced in ISO9001/13485, or medical device manufacturing environment

• CAD experience preferred (SolidWorks)

• Dimensional control experience including tolerance stack analysis and GD&T methods

• Able to travel periodically (10-30%) to Mexico facility, suppliers, and occasional weekend shift support

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.

Base Salary Range Region 1:$156,400 - $225,000
Base Salary Range Region 2: $132,900 - $191,300
Shift: Day
Workplace Type: Onsite - This job is fully onsite.