Manager Supplier Engineering

Intuitive•Sunnyvale, CA

About The Position

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 mission of Supplier Engineering is to ensure painless supply continuity at lowest landed cost by building a world-class supplier network that can ensure continuity of supply, growth to support our demand, achieve yearly cost reductions, and mitigate supply chain risks. This role will lead a team of Supplier Engineers in support of new product introduction related activities of Intuitive’s da Vinci Multiport robotic systems applying their hands-on experience in manufacturing/design of mechanical components and people leadership to solve complex issues with supplier manufacturing processes, supplier business relationships, supplier selection, development, and quality.

Requirements

BS degree in Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, Robotics, or equivalent, advanced degree preferred
10+ years related experience in Design Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Process Engineering, or Supplier Process Engineering for plastic components, CNC machining, sheet metal, and/or mechanical assemblies
Strong technical expertise in manufacturing of plastic injection molded components, CNC machining of precision steel or aluminum components, sheet metal, and/or mechanical assemblies
Strong knowledge of GD&T required, certifications in Machining or Plastic Injection Molding preferred
Strong verbal and written communication skills, excellent interpersonal skills
Experience leading teams to solve difficult technical and process problems
Proven ability to hire highly capable staff, grow and mentor talent
Excellent project management, complex problem solving, and written/verbal communication skills
Ability to travel to suppliers (domestic and international) as needed: 25%

Nice To Haves

Medical Device, Aerospace or Automotive experience is a plus

Responsibilities

Manage and grow a high performing team of Supplier Engineers.
Maintain a culture of achieving challenging goals.
Coach and empower your team to continually improve.
Manage supplier relationships to partner with Intuitive, enabling your team to develop suppliers to excel in joint effort of launching new products.
Work closely with design, manufacturing, and project teams to launch new products; systematically identify and remove risks to program success by leveraging your team, stakeholders, and suppliers.
Seek out new suppliers in support of product needs.
Assess suppliers for capability to fit Intuitive’s quality and business requirements.
Influence critical stakeholders to utilize and maximize the use of the Production supply base.
Support your team and suppliers in completing the Production Part Qualification deliverables, to name a few: pFMEA, Special Process Validations, FAI, and Process Capability Analysis.
Support transfer of parts and suppliers throughout the product development life cycle.
Lead teams to solve complex problems using structured problem-solving techniques.
Drive improvements for supplier process issues by using true root cause analysis and corresponding corrective and preventive actions.
Review, analyze, and close non-conformances, and first article inspections by judging risk analyses and justifications, determining corrective and preventive actions at suppliers (SCAR), and looking for opportunities with suppliers to eliminate recurrence.
Facilitate, influence, and work cross-functionally to improve Supplier Engineering processes.
Keep the organization’s vision and values at the forefront of decision-making and action.
Efficiently plan, manage, and execute projects that enable Intuitive to satisfy rapidly growing demand for Multiport Systems.
Establish milestones and success criteria for your team and projects.
Drive decisions and escalate key issues quickly maintaining stakeholder alignment.
Effectively communicate above goals, projects status, milestones, risks, and successes up and down the organization.
Own new products through successful and sustained project launch. This includes driving new product introduction schedules, resolving manufacturability issues, and driving improvements.
Provide technical support for failure analysis of discrepant production components, assemblies, and field returns.
Lead investigations where appropriate.
Mentor and set project tasks for Supplier Engineers on their specific project team and on other teams as needed to further company expertise & effectiveness.
Empower your team to make decisions and celebrate their successes.
Carefully identify resource gaps and opportunities.