Senior Embedded Linux Software Engineer — OS & Device Platform

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 Senior Embedded Linux / Yocto Software Engineer will join the platform team for a robotic-assisted bronchoscopy navigation and biopsy planning software product, reporting to the software development manager. This role owns the Linux operating system and platform-layer software for the procedure planning laptop, a medical image-processing system running a custom Yocto-based Linux distribution.

This role owns embedded Linux OS development, Yocto/OpenEmbedded layer and recipe maintenance, secure boot, field software update mechanisms, hardware bring-up for new commercial laptop platforms, and platform-level debugging. The engineer will work closely with application software, security, field service, systems engineering, and hardware teams to maintain and evolve a reliable, secure, and serviceable medical device platform.

Essential Job Duties

• Own and maintain a custom Yocto/OpenEmbedded-based Linux distribution for a medical device platform, including layer authoring, BitBake recipes, image configuration, SDK/toolchain support, and OS version upgrades.
• Bring up and qualify new commercial laptop hardware platforms, including Linux driver configuration, BIOS/firmware settings, secure boot enrollment, storage/display/peripheral validation, and platform compatibility testing.
• Maintain and harden the secure boot chain across multiple hardware platforms, including UEFI Secure Boot, GRUB2, TPM 2.0, bootloader signing, key management, and BIOS interactions.
• Sustain and enhance field software update and service upgrade workflows, including package validation, update orchestration support, partition management, rollback mechanisms, BIOS firmware upgrade flows, and error recovery.
• Debug and resolve platform-level issues such as boot failures, unexpected reboots, TPM lockouts, login screen freezes, USB/HID issues, storage issues, display/GPU issues, and software update failures.
• Implement and maintain platform-layer services, utilities, scripts, and APIs used by application teams, field service, manufacturing, and system diagnostics.
• Perform OS-level security hardening and vulnerability remediation, including CVE fixes, user/account hardening, permissions, kernel/module configuration, endpoint security integration, and required documentation.
• Produce and maintain engineering design documents, software change analysis artifacts, test evidence, and technical documentation in accordance with medical device quality procedures.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with application software, security, field service, systems engineering, hardware, manufacturing, and quality teams.

Required Education, Skills & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree with 6+ years of industry experience, or Master’s degree with 4+ years of industry experience, in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.
• 4+ years of embedded Linux software engineering, with direct OS-layer development experience.
• Candidates MUST have hands-on experience building, customizing, debugging, and maintaining Linux-based product platforms.
• Deep expertise in Yocto Project / OpenEmbedded: layer authoring (meta-*), Bitbake recipes, image manifests, and SDK toolchain configuration.
• Proficiency in Bash shell scripting and at least one system-level language (C or C++ preferred) for platform daemons, service utilities, and installer scripts.
• Experience designing and implementing field software update mechanisms: package validation, partition management, rollback, and error recovery.
• Practical knowledge of Linux system security hardening: file permissions, user/group privilege controls, credential management, kernel module configuration, and security scanning tools.
• Experience managing hardware lifecycle transitions, including end-of-life risk mitigation, replacement platform qualification, and software compatibility maintenance across hardware generations.
• Hardware bring-up experience on x86 laptop or embedded platforms: driver configuration, peripheral debugging (USB, HID/trackpad, display adapters, storage).
• Familiarity with D-Bus IPC, systemd service management, and Linux log infrastructure
• Proficiency with Git, Jira, Bitbucket/GitHub, and Jenkins (or equivalent CI/CD toolchain).

Preferred Skills & Experience

• Preferred Skills and Experience

• Deep experience with UEFI Secure Boot, GRUB2 signing, TPM 2.0, PCR policy binding, BIOS firmware interaction, or secure key-management workflows.
• Experience with OTA, field update, or service update frameworks for Linux-based medical, industrial, robotics, automotive, aerospace, or regulated devices.
• Experience with commercial laptop BIOS tools, firmware upgrade automation, hardware lifecycle management, or replacement-platform qualification.
• Experience integrating NVIDIA drivers, CUDA components, GPU/display stacks, or accelerated compute packages into Yocto-based Linux systems.
• Experience with Qt5/Qt-based Linux GUI application environments.
• Experience with D-Bus IPC, systemd service design, platform daemons, diagnostics utilities, or hardware abstraction services.
• Knowledge of Linux disk and partition management, including boot partitions, recovery partitions, encryption, and block-device troubleshooting.
• Familiarity with Linux networking configuration, wireless networking, firewall management, and endpoint security agents.
• Background in regulated product development, medical device software lifecycle, IEC 62304, FDA software guidance, or equivalent safety/quality processes.

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.