Sr. Mechanical Design Engineer - MFG Equipment

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

Design and construct manufacturing equipment used to produce minimally invasive medical devices. This equipment will range in complexity from custom manual fixtures to semi-automated electro-mechanical systems, integrating work-holding, sensing, motion and vision control. This position will play a critical role in developing cutting edge manufacturing capabilities to enable the future of minimally invasive surgery.

The ideal candidate should have a solid understanding of the technical aspects of mechanical engineering and design. He/she will work closely with manufacturing and product design engineers to develop and sustain custom equipment for production use.

Roles & Responsibilities:

Primary Roles & Responsibilities:

• Design and build in-house manufacturing equipment from concept to implementation.
• Create effective design solutions of mechanical assemblies from simple fixturing to more complex assembly and fixtures for automation equipment.
• Iterate rapidly by prototyping, testing, and examining product designs using engineering methods and techniques, including computer simulation and physical models
• Create and manage project plans including schedules, budgets, and stakeholder updates.
• Develop documentation for equipment including specifications, assembly instructions, maintenance, and calibration procedures.
• Conduct effective design reviews of new equipment at all stages of development.
• Provide equipment-related technical support for on-going production operation and expansion.
• Establish and manage external resources (contractors, system integrators, vendors) in the planning and execution of equipment projects including duplication activities.

Additional Roles & Responsibilities:

• Ensure manufacturing equipment designs meet functional, safety, ergonomic, and documentation requirements, to facilitate efficient production operations.
• Create and execute protocol documentation for equipment DQ, IQ, OQ, PQ validations.
• Provide controls-related root-cause analysis and technical support to on-going production operations.
• Support other equipment-related operations and duties as required

Skill/Job Requirements:

• B.S. in Mechanical Engineering or similar; advanced degree preferred.
• Minimum 8 years’ experience designing and developing Automated manufacturing equipment.
• Proficiency with CAD (SolidWorks highly preferred): designing parts with complex geometry, creating assemblies and creating detailed manufacturing drawings
• Comfortable operating machine shop, measurement, and test equipment
• Mechanical design and exploration skills, including statics, dynamics, and strength of materials, including stress analysis, fatigue, and thermal analysis.
• Experience in integration of mechatronics components such as sensors, motors, pneumatics, and motion and vision control components.
• Experience in working with precision parts, locating features, machine tolerances
• Familiarity with pneumatic controls, sensors, vision systems, servos and other actuators.
• Excellent understanding of tolerance analysis and statistical methods. Fluency in ASME Y14.5 GD&T and tolerance stack analysis
• Prior Experience developing equipment qualification, calibration and PM procedures and practices.
• Prior Experience with enterprise software (e.g. Agile document control, Confluence, Polarion, Windchill, etc)
• Prior experience working with PLM systems (Agile preferred), SAP applications, including ECO creation, origination of equipment specification, test protocols, BOM, and work instructions.
• Great attitude, eager, willing/able to take initiative, works well with others in team environment.
• Ability to travel nationally and internationally. Travel requirements will be approximately 5%.

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.