Staff Embedded Software Engineer - Future Forward

Intuitive Surgical•Sunnyvale, CA

39d

About The Position

As a Staff Embedded Software Engineer in the Future Forward organization, you will work at the forefront of innovation, rapid prototyping, and new product development. You'll collaborate with talented cross-functional teams-including engineers, clinicians, and product managers-to advance Intuitive's robotic surgical platform, driving the entire product lifecycle from concept to launch. In this role, you will architect and develop embedded and platform software that connects and supports key system components-such as hardware, firmware, control algorithms, vision pipeline, user interfaces, and test infrastructure with fault injection mechanisms and diagnostic tools. Your work will be pivotal-not only to timely product delivery, but also ensuring safe and reliable operation for patients worldwide. Success in this role requires excelling in an agile, small-team environment-transforming initial concepts into robust prototypes, methodically iterating designs, and consistently maintaining exceptional product quality with a patient-first mindset.

Requirements

Minimum 12 years of related experience with a Bachelor's degree; or 8 years with a Master's degree; or 5 years with a PhD.
Highly proficient in developing C/C++ embedded and real-time software for multi-core, multi-processor systems, especially on embedded Linux and QNX.
Demonstrated experience with board bring-up, device driver development, and integration of new hardware components.
Skilled in version control systems and collaborative development environments, supporting efficient, iterative improvement.
Familiarity with a wide range of communication protocols-including TCP/IP, CAN, I2C, SPI-and serialization standards such as protobuf.
Strong problem-solving skills and debugging capabilities for complex embedded software and electromechanical systems.
In-depth understanding of failure mode and risk analysis, with a track record in safety-critical, product-focused designs.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills for effective interaction across all organizational levels.
Demonstrates passion for innovation, continuous learning, and developing solutions that make a meaningful difference in patients' lives.

Nice To Haves

Experience with robotics and embedded software for complex electro-mechanical systems.
Knowledgeable in Python or Matlab for automation, diagnostics, and testing.
Familiarity with FPGA development and interfaces.
Familiarity with CUDA programming and memory management concepts.
Cybersecurity concepts such as secure boot, authentication and encryption.
Hands-on engineering experience with proven ability to work effectively in a team environment.
Experience in all phases of the product development lifecycle including design, implementation, troubleshooting, verification, validation, and transfer to manufacturing
Experience designing software products in a regulated industry or for mission critical applications; comfort with concepts of design input, design output, traceability, risk analysis, and mitigations.

Responsibilities

Design and develop robust embedded software to enable system infrastructure, including OS drivers, hardware interfaces, real-time data pipelines, inter-processor communication, error handling, and user/test applications.
Collaborate cross-functionally throughout the product lifecycle with key stakeholders to address clinical needs and safety requirements.
Translate early requirements into prototype implementations to evaluate, iterate, and advance novel robotic systems.
Lead unit testing and code integration efforts to ensure exceptional system reliability and robustness.
Act as a software subject matter expert, conducting hazard and failure mode analysis, identifying risks, and defining effective mitigation strategies.
Refine and iterate designs, balancing technical requirements, feasibility, schedules, and resource constraints.
Produce clear and compliant supporting documentation in alignment with Intuitive's development and quality guidelines.
Ensure all designs meet rigorous quality and safety standards per the Intuitive Quality Management System.

Stand Out From the Crowd

Upload your resume and get instant feedback on how well it matches this job.

Upload and Match Resume