Senior Clinical Development Engineer, Digital

Intuitive•Sunnyvale, CA

3d•Onsite

About The Position

The Digital Senior Clinical Development Engineer translates surgeon needs and clinical workflow insights into requirements, risk assessments, validation strategies, and product recommendations for Intuitive’s digital, automated, and software-enabled robotic surgery products. This role requires an in-depth knowledge of the operating room environment and the da Vinci Surgical Systems to become an expert in the clinical application of Intuitive’s products. The engineer will serve as the clinical voice for digital, automated, and robotic surgery products, representing surgeon needs, workflow fit, usability, clinical performance, and patient impact. The position involves identifying unmet clinical needs through surgeon engagement, OR observation, workflow analysis, competitive assessment, and cross-functional collaboration. The role requires partnering with engineering, software, systems, data science, human factors, product, regulatory, and quality teams to define requirements, risks, mitigations, and validation strategies. Planning, executing, and documenting prototype, simulated-use, preclinical, workflow-based, and clinical performance evaluations are key responsibilities. Analyzing qualitative and quantitative data to develop clinical rationale and recommendations that guide product decisions and milestone readiness is also essential. The role supports design-control, risk management, regulatory, labeling, training, and customer-facing documentation. Maintaining expertise in robotic surgery, digital surgery, automated surgical tasks, AI/ML-enabled technology, clinical applications, and emerging standards is crucial. The position also involves leading complex clinical development workstreams, mentoring others, and influencing cross-functional product direction, while keeping Intuitive’s vision and values at the forefront of decision making.

Requirements

Minimum of 8 years of experience in medical device industry with a Bachelor’s degree, 6 years experience with a Master’s degree, or 3 years with a PhD degree
Proven experience in supporting a medical product from design to launch
Experience in regulated medical device product discovery and/or new product development.
Experience working with surgeons or clinical experts in OR, simulation, lab, or clinical evaluation settings.
Strong knowledge of surgical terminology, anatomy, technique, and minimally invasive or robotic surgical workflows.
Ability to translate clinical needs into user needs, use cases, requirements, clinical performance criteria, and validation plans.
Ability to work in operating room, simulation, lab, and preclinical environments as required.
Strong systems thinking, analytical skills, data interpretation, test method development, and evidence-based decision-making.
Excellent communication, collaboration, prioritization, escalation, and cross-functional leadership skills in ambiguous technical and clinical environments.
Proven success recognizing critical issues and driving them to closure by taking coordinated action
Self-starter needing minimal supervision
Self-confident and able to react quickly under pressure

Nice To Haves

Experience with digital surgery, robotic automation, AI/ML-enabled tools, computer vision, navigation, image guidance, or software as a medical device.
Familiarity with design controls, ISO 14971, usability engineering, human factors, clinical validation, and evidence strategies.
Experience with digital interfaces, workflow-integrated software, data-driven product development, annotation workflows, model evaluation, or clinical data review.

Responsibilities

Apply in-depth knowledge of the operating room environment and of the da Vinci Surgical Systems to become an expert within the company on the clinical application of Intuitive’s products
Serve as the clinical voice for digital, automated, and robotic surgery products, representing surgeon needs, workflow fit, usability, clinical performance, and patient impact.
Identify unmet clinical needs through surgeon engagement, OR observation, workflow analysis, competitive assessment, and cross-functional collaboration.
Partner with engineering, software, systems, data science, human factors, product, regulatory, and quality teams to define requirements, risks, mitigations, and validation strategies.
Plan, execute, and document prototype, simulated-use, preclinical, workflow-based, and clinical performance evaluations.
Analyze qualitative and quantitative data to develop clinical rationale and recommendations that guide product decisions and milestone readiness.
Support design-control, risk management, regulatory, labeling, training, and customer-facing documentation as needed.
Maintain expertise in robotic surgery, digital surgery, automated surgical tasks, AI/ML-enabled technology, clinical applications, and emerging standards.
Lead complex clinical development workstreams, mentor others, and influence cross-functional product direction.
Keep Intuitive’s vision and values at the forefront of decision making
Perform other duties as required to support the company’s overall strategy and goals