Physician - Corporate Strategy

Intuitive; Sunnyvale (CA); On-site; USD 230,000 - 360,000; Full time

Job summary

Intuitive Surgical in Sunnyvale, CA seeks a Physician, Corporate Strategy to translate clinical insight into growth opportunities within the Future Forward incubator. The role blends medicine with strategy, evaluating unmet needs, and framing technology concepts from hypothesis to early de-risking.

Ideal candidates hold MD/DO, with experience in clinical practice or deep venture, startup, or product strategy, and demonstrate cross‑functional collaboration with engineering, regulatory, and

Qualifications

• MD or DO required; active clinical practice is valued but not required for candidates with substantial innovation, venture, startup, business development, Biodesign, or corporate strategy experience.
• Must demonstrate at least one of the following experience profiles: (1) meaningful hands-on clinical practice or procedural care experience plus exposure to innovation, venture, startups, business development, Biodesign, or product development; or (2) strong venture, startup, business development, Biodesign, corporate strategy, or product strategy experience plus sufficient clinical fluency to evaluate medical needs and care pathways.
• Ability to identify unmet clinical needs and convert observations into structured hypotheses, need statements, development plans, or investment theses.
• Experience conducting clinician, patient, or stakeholder interviews and synthesizing voice-of-customer input into actionable product or strategy recommendations.
• Comfort operating in ambiguous, early-stage environments where the path forward is uncertain and evidence must be built iteratively.
• Strong cross-functional influence skills and ability to collaborate with engineering, clinical, regulatory, reimbursement, product, and business stakeholders.
• Ability to evaluate clinical workflows, procedure economics, adoption barriers, competitive dynamics, and strategic implications for new technology platforms.
• Clear executive communication skills, including crisp written synthesis, structured presentations, and the ability to explain complex clinical concepts to non-clinical audiences.
• Curiosity, ownership mindset, and enthusiasm for building new technologies that can transform care delivery and improve patient outcomes.
• Biodesign or equivalent needs-based innovation training preferred; experience in venture, startups, business development, product strategy, or corporate strategy strongly preferred.
• Experience evaluating product design, go-to-market strategy, or new business viability prior to final product decisions.
• Experience in prioritizing product strategy relative to multiple competing technologies, product lines, or market opportunities.
• Experience leveraging buyer insights to shape product positioning or go to market messaging.
• Experience creating or leading cross-functional integration teams and involving development parties early for success planning.

Responsibilities

• Identify, frame, and prioritize unmet clinical needs using clinical immersion, literature review, market sensing, and voice-of-customer input.
• Translate physician and patient insights into concise need statements, opportunity hypotheses, clinical workflows, requirements, and early de-risking plans.
• Evaluate early-stage opportunities for clinical importance, feasibility, strategic fit, adoption barriers, competitive landscape, and potential business impact.
• Partner with engineering and design teams to define clinical use cases, procedural workflows, performance goals, and prototype feedback loops for new platforms.
• Lead or support early clinical de-risking activities, including preclinical studies, simulated use, workflow validation, and early feasibility planning where appropriate.
• Develop point-of-view assessments on emerging technologies, startups, venture-backed innovation, adjacent markets, and external partnership opportunities.
• Collaborate with regulatory, reimbursement, health economics, product, and commercial strategy partners to shape indication strategy and development pathways.
• Engage KOLs, clinicians, entrepreneurs, academic innovators, and external partners to validate concepts and inform investment decisions.
• Communicate findings to senior stakeholders through clear written recommendations, executive presentations, and data-driven opportunity narratives.

Skills

Clinical insight

Innovation exposure

Venture/startup experience

Strategic thinking

Executive communication

Cross-functional collaboration

Go-to-market strategy

Product strategy

Education

MD/DO degree

Job description

Company Description

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.

The Future Forward organization is Intuitive’s advanced concepts group. We explore emerging technologies, prototype next-generation solutions, and build software experiences that shape the future of robotic-assisted surgery.

If you're ready to contribute to something bigger than yourself and help transform the future of healthcare, you'll find your purpose here.

Job Description

Primary Function of the Position

The Physician, Corporate Strategy is an MD physician innovator embedded within Intuitive’s Future Forward Incubator. This role translates clinical insight and early-market understanding into new growth opportunities, helping identify unmet clinical needs, evaluate strategic fit, and shape technology concepts from initial hypothesis through early de-risking. We are open to candidates who bring one of two complementary profiles: (1) strong clinical practice experience with exposure to innovation, venture, startups, business development, Biodesign, or product development; or (2) deep venture, startup, business development, Biodesign, or corporate strategy experience with an MD background and enough medical/clinical fluency to credibly assess patient care, procedure workflows, and clinician needs. The successful candidate will work closely with engineering, clinical, product, regulatory, reimbursement, and strategy partners to determine which opportunities should advance and how they should be clinically and commercially framed.

Essential Job Duties

• Identify, frame, and prioritize unmet clinical needs using clinical immersion, literature review, market sensing, and voice-of-customer input.
• Translate physician and patient insights into concise need statements, opportunity hypotheses, clinical workflows, requirements, and early de-risking plans.
• Evaluate early-stage opportunities for clinical importance, feasibility, strategic fit, adoption barriers, competitive landscape, and potential business impact.
• Partner with engineering and design teams to define clinical use cases, procedural workflows, performance goals, and prototype feedback loops for new platforms.
• Lead or support early clinical de-risking activities, including preclinical studies, simulated use, workflow validation, and early feasibility planning where appropriate.
• Develop point-of-view assessments on emerging technologies, startups, venture-backed innovation, adjacent markets, and external partnership opportunities.
• Collaborate with regulatory, reimbursement, health economics, product, and commercial strategy partners to shape indication strategy and development pathways.
• Engage KOLs, clinicians, entrepreneurs, academic innovators, and external partners to validate concepts and inform investment decisions.
• Communicate findings to senior stakeholders through clear written recommendations, executive presentations, and data-driven opportunity narratives.

Experience and Qualifications

• MD or DO required; active clinical practice is valued but not required for candidates with substantial innovation, venture, startup, business development, Biodesign, or corporate strategy experience.
• Must demonstrate at least one of the following experience profiles: (1) meaningful hands‑on clinical practice or procedural care experience plus exposure to innovation, venture, startups, business development, Biodesign, or product development; or (2) strong venture, startup, business development, Biodesign, corporate strategy, or product strategy experience plus sufficient clinical fluency to evaluate medical needs and care pathways.
• Ability to identify unmet clinical needs and convert observations into structured hypotheses, need statements, development plans, or investment theses.
• Experience conducting clinician, patient, or stakeholder interviews and synthesizing voice‑of‑customer input into actionable product or strategy recommendations.
• Comfort operating in ambiguous, early‑stage environments where the path forward is uncertain and evidence must be built iteratively.
• Strong cross‑functional influence skills and ability to collaborate with engineering, clinical, regulatory, reimbursement, product, and business stakeholders.
• Ability to evaluate clinical workflows, procedure economics, adoption barriers, competitive dynamics, and strategic implications for new technology platforms.
• Clear executive communication skills, including crisp written synthesis, structured presentations, and the ability to explain complex clinical concepts to non‑clinical audiences.
• Curiosity, ownership mindset, and enthusiasm for building new technologies that can transform care delivery and improve patient outcomes.
• Biodesign or equivalent needs‑based innovation training preferred; experience in venture, startups, business development, product strategy, or corporate strategy strongly preferred.
• Experience evaluating product design, go‑to‑market strategy, or new business viability prior to final product decisions.
• Experience in prioritizing product strategy relative to multiple competing technologies, product lines, or market opportunities.
• Experience leveraging buyer insights to shape product positioning or go to market messaging.
• Experience creating or leading cross‑functional integration teams and involving development parties early for success planning.

Working Conditions

• Must be available to work full‑time onsite in Sunnyvale, CA
• Ability to travel to clinical sites, customer locations, or conferences (up to 25%)
• May involve standing or walking for extended periods during clinical observations or procedures
• Must be able to lift up to 20 lbs occasionally (e.g., for transporting prototypes or equipment)
• Ability to meet hospital credentialing and compliance requirements for clinical site access (e.g., vaccination)
• We are an AA/EEO/Veterans/Disabled employer.

Additional Information

Due to the nature of our business and the role, please note that Intuitive and/or your customer(s) may require that you show current proof of vaccination against certain diseases including COVID-19. Details can vary by role.

Intuitive is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants and employees, and prohibit discrimination and harassment of any type, without regard to race, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, color, age, religion, protected veteran or disability status, genetic information or any other status protected under federal, state, or local applicable laws.

Mandatory Notices

U.S. Export Controls Disclaimer: In accordance with the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (15 CFR 743.13(b)), some roles at Intuitive Surgical may be subject to U.S. export controls for prospective employees who are nationals from countries currently on embargo or sanctions status.

• 743.13(b)), some roles at Intuitive Surgical may be subject to U.S. export controls for prospective employees who are nationals from countries currently on embargo or sanctions status.

Certain information you provide as part of the application will be used for purposes of determining whether Intuitive Surgical will need to (i) obtain an export license from the U.S. Government on your behalf (note: the government’s licensing process can take 3 to 6+ months) or (ii) implement a Technology Control Plan (TCP) (note: typically adds 2 weeks to the hiring process).

For any Intuitive role subject to export controls, final offers are contingent upon obtaining an approved export license and/or an executed TCP prior to the prospective employee’s start date, which may or may not be flexible.

We will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records in accordance with fair chance laws.

Preference will be given to qualified candidates who do not reside, or plan to reside, in Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, or Tennessee.

This position may be filled at a different job level than listed here depending on business need and/or on the selected candidate’s experience, knowledge and skills.

Compensation will be based primarily on the job level at which the role is filled and the

Candidate’s Qualifications, Consistent With Applicable Law.

We provide market-competitive compensation packages, inclusive of base pay, incentives, benefits, and equity. It would not be typical for someone to be hired