Senior Embedded Software Engineer

Intuitive • Sunnyvale, CA

2d • $160,300 - $271,400 • Onsite

About The Position

The team designs and builds embedded platform software infrastructure supporting critical performance, safety, and user-facing features of Intuitive’s da Vinci Surgical System. This experienced engineer will take technical ownership across the embedded platform software stack, lead board bring-up initiatives, and drive architectural decisions for next-generation platforms. The role serves as a technical anchor, mentoring engineers and collaborating with hardware, system software, and FPGA teams. It owns subsystems supporting video networking, UI display, and machine learning capabilities of da Vinci 5, while improving robustness, reliability, manufacturability, and serviceability.

The position includes end-to-end responsibility for board bring-up, from initial power-on through production readiness, as well as technical direction for embedded software on Linux-based systems. It involves defining test strategies and automated validation frameworks, resolving complex hardware-software integration issues, and maintaining technical documentation within FDA-regulated development processes. The role is scheduled as a day shift and is onsite weekly, with the percentage defined by the leader.

Requirements

• At least 8 years of related experience and a bachelor's degree; or 6 years of experience and a master's degree; or a PhD with 3 years of experience; or equivalent experience.
• Expert-level proficiency in C and C++ for embedded systems, including memory management, real-time constraints, and performance-critical code.
• Deep expertise in embedded Linux, including kernel internals, custom device-driver development, BSP bring-up, and user-space application development.
• Proficiency with embedded development and debugging tools, including GDB, JTAG, logic analyzers, oscilloscopes, and cross-compilation toolchains, and ability to root-cause complex hardware-software interactions.
• Hands-on experience with hardware interfaces and protocols including I2C, SPI, UART, USB, Ethernet, and CAN, including bring-up debugging and driver development.
• Exceptional debugging and root-cause analysis skills, including a track record of resolving complex, multi-layer hardware-FPGA-software integration failures in time-critical environments.
• Ability to mentor and technically develop junior and mid-level engineers.
• Experience in an FDA-regulated or other safety-critical development environment, including familiarity with design controls, traceability, and risk management processes.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills for technical documentation and cross-functional collaboration.

Nice To Haves

• Hands-on experience with NVIDIA Jetson platforms (TX2, Xavier, Orin, or similar) or comparable ARM-based SoCs in a production embedded environment.
• Hands-on experience with GPU acceleration (CUDA) and hardware-accelerated inference frameworks (TensorRT) in production embedded systems.
• Experience with QNX RTOS or other real-time operating systems in safety-critical applications.
• Proficiency in Python and bash scripting for test automation, bootup design, and build-system integration.
• Experience and comfort with all phases of product development, including design, implementation, debugging, verification, validation, and transfer to manufacturing.
• Experience designing software products in an FDA-regulated or other regulated industry, or for mission-critical applications; familiarity with design inputs and outputs, traceability, risk analysis, and mitigations.

Responsibilities

• Lead board bring-up for next-generation platforms, including bootloader configuration, BSP customization, peripheral driver integration, and system validation, from initial power-on through production readiness.
• Own development and technical direction of embedded software for video networking, UI display, and machine learning applications on Linux-based systems, including architectural decisions, code review, and performance optimization.
• Design and own test strategies to validate board functionality, peripheral interfaces, and system performance; define acceptance criteria and drive resolution of complex hardware-software integration issues.
• Partner with and technically guide hardware engineers to identify, root-cause, and resolve board-level issues during early development, serving as the primary software interface for cross-functional hardware bring-up.
• Architect and lead automated test frameworks for board validation and regression testing, establishing scalable infrastructure for multiple platform variants.
• Mentor junior and mid-level engineers through code reviews, technical guidance, and hands-on debugging support.
• Author and maintain design specifications, bring-up procedures, and failure analysis reports in compliance with FDA-regulated development processes.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior