Design Engineering Technology Jobs in California

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

The Future Forward group within Intuitive Surgical is searching for a Manager, Endoscope Design Engineering, to lead the team developing endoscope hardware for a novel robotic surgical platform.  As an early member of the team, this role is an exciting opportunity to help define the eventual product from early prototypes through clinical trials and into product launch.

Essential Job Duties

As part of the Endoscope New Product Development team, the manager will:

• Lead the Endoscope Design Engineering team of mechanical and biomedical engineers to execute design work from early stage prototypes through product launch by:

• Setting appropriate goals and milestones
• Providing technical guidance to engineers
• Driving schedule and budget planning and execution

• Divide work among team members based on individual skills and capacity
• Grow the team by identifying gaps and filling roles with top talent
• Coach, develop, and mentor team members to support their growth within the organization
• Work with peer managers and cross-functional organizations to develop plans and organizational solutions
• Support documentation of risks, requirements, specifications, and test results within Intuitive Quality system

Required Skills and Experience

• 8 years experience as individual contributor in design engineering role
• 3 years experience managing engineers
• Participation in full design cycle from concept through launch
• Solid mechanical engineering fundamentals, technical proficiency in mechanism design and complex assemblies
• Translation of product requirements into engineering specifications and verifying design performance to requirements
• Failure mode analyses, designing mitigations to failure modes, and verifying performance of mitigations
• Strong communication skills and ability to create effective presentations
• Department planning, scheduling, and budgeting, as well as tracking and managing performance to plan

Required Education and Training

• BS in Mechanical Engineering or closely related field

Working Conditions

• None

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Managing Staff-level mechanical engineers
• Endoscope or catheter design experience

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.

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 compensation ranges are listed.

Base Salary Range Region 1:$176,300 - $253,700
Base Salary Range Region 2: $149,900 - $215,600
Shift: Day
Workplace Type: Onsite - This job is fully onsite.