Senior Software Engineer

Intuitive•Sunnyvale, CA

11d•$160,300 - $271,400•Onsite

About The Position

Intuitive's Intraoperative Intelligence team is focused on Clinical Decision Intelligence: helping surgeons make better decisions in the operating room by giving them information they don't currently have access to. We do that through a combination of imaging, machine learning, and augmented reality, extracting meaning from the surgical scene and presenting it in ways that are actually useful in the moment. You'll be taking novel clinical ideas from rough concept to production software on the da Vinci platform, working alongside a small, tight-knit group of engineers and researchers across computer vision, machine learning, graphics, and imaging software — collaborating to define what a feature actually needs to be, then driving it from early prototype to fully integrated, production-ready software. At Intuitive, "Patients First" is more than a motto. In this team, that translates directly into how we build software. Strong engineering is a given, but the real measure of success is whether what we put in front of a surgeon makes a difference when it matters most. We build for outcomes, not for the sake of building.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree or higher in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical field. Equivalent practical experience will be considered.
Strong proficiency in C++ in a production software environment
Solid understanding of computer graphics fundamentals, including rendering pipelines, shaders, and scene management
Practical experience with graphics APIs such as OpenGL, Vulkan, or Metal
Experience integrating software into larger systems with well-defined interfaces and constraints

Nice To Haves

Prior work in surgical robotics or medical imaging, and a genuine interest in healthcare and the role technology can play in improving patient outcomes
An entrepreneurial mindset: comfortable with ambiguity, energized by early-stage problems, and able to move from concept to working prototype without a lot of hand-holding
Demonstrated use of AI-powered tools (such as generative design, LLM-assisted coding, or AI-driven UI prototyping platforms) to accelerate the ideation-to-prototype pipeline — knowing not just how to use these tools, but when and why they add value
Background in Human-Computer Interaction Engineering, with a solid understanding of how people engage with software in high-stakes environments
Experience building high quality user interface using Qt/QML framework
Experience with Unity, including building and shipping real-time 3D applications
Experience with Nvidia CUDA programming
Experience with computer vision or machine learning, particularly in applied or real-time contexts

Responsibilities

Design, build, and maintain software for real-time surgical visualization and augmented reality applications running on the da Vinci surgical system
Collaborate closely with designers, clinical engineers, human factors specialists and software teams to translate complex clinical needs into reliable, performant software
Build and iterate on prototypes quickly, then carry the best ideas through to production
Define high-level requirements and architect clean software interfaces for a distributed robotic system
Participate in failure mode analysis, to identify and implement robust hazard mitigation strategies
Work within a regulated development environment, supporting verification, validation, and documentation requirements as needed
Familiarity with software development methodologies and tooling, including version control, code review, and testing practices
Hands-on experience working in a Linux development environment