Principal Electrical/System Engineer

Intuitive Surgical; Sunnyvale (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Intuitive Surgical in Sunnyvale, CA seeks a Principal Electrical Engineer to set technical direction for the Advanced Energy portfolio across the da Vinci Surgical System. Lead architecture, roadmaps, and requirements for energy-based medical devices with cross-functional collaboration.

Ideal candidate combines deep medical device development experience, multiple product generations, mentorship skills, and ability to influence architecture and strategy across the organization; travel ~5-10% is

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering (BSEE) required.
• 15+ years experience in related electrical engineering roles.
• 8+ years of hands-on medical device product development experience, including multiple products taken through design.

Responsibilities

• Technical Ownership: Collaborate with Marketing, Software, and Clinical Engineering to define and refine product requirements across multiple programs within the Advanced Energy portfolio.

Skills

Mixed signal design

Embedded system design

Patient-isolated PCBA design

Component selection

Lifecycle management

Design for reliability/manufacturabil

PCB fabrication/assembly/testing

Medical electrical equipment standards

Technical leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Travel willingness

V&V planning/execution

Risk management

Mentorship/leadership

Architecture strategy influence

Product development lifecycle

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering (BSEE)

Job description

Primary Function of Position

As a Principal Electrical Engineer, you will set technical direction and strategy for the innovative surgical energy equipment and accessories portfolio for Intuitive's da Vinci Surgical System, shaping architecture and technology roadmaps across multiple products and programs. You'll thrive in a dynamic, high-energy environment, making sound decisions with incomplete information-typical of cutting-edge product development. The ideal candidate has deep technical expertise, a track record of successful medical product development across multiple product generations, and a collaborative, mentorship-driven approach that elevates engineering capability across the organization.

Essential Job Duties

• Technical Ownership: Collaborate with Marketing, Software, and Clinical Engineering to define and refine product requirements across multiple programs within the Advanced Energy portfolio.
• Technical Strategy & Roadmap: Define the multi-year technology and architecture roadmap for energy-based surgical platforms, setting technical direction that spans multiple products and programs.
• System Integration: Identify and implement methods to satisfy product specs, ensuring seamless integration into effective system designs.
• Development & Testing: Develop, validate, and document hardware solutions that meet clinical and environmental requirements.
• Problem Solving: Provide technical expertise to resolve complex design, manufacturing, or field challenges.
• Prototyping: Guide prototyping and feasibility studies for future product concepts, directing engineers through build, test, and down-select decisions.
• Stakeholder Support: Offer expert guidance on energy-based surgical products to internal company stakeholders, including senior leadership and executive technical reviews.
• Organizational Influence: Represent Advanced Energy engineering in cross-divisional and executive-level technical reviews; influence platform, architecture, and make/buy decisions at a business-unit level.
• Quality & Regulatory: Define risk management strategy and process (DFMEA, hazard analysis, risk/benefit assessment per ISO 14971) and design verification/validation planning to ensure compliance with IEC 60601 series standards, and applicable FDA/international regulatory requirements. Author or review technical documentation supporting regulatory submissions (e.g., 510(k), CE/MDR technical files).
• Clinical Collaboration & Validation: Partner with Clinical Engineering, surgeons, and human factors teams to validate device performance against real-world surgical use cases, including support for cadaver labs, animal studies, or clinical evaluations as needed.
• Risk Management Leadership: Drive cross-functional risk analysis activities throughout the product lifecycle, identifying and mitigating electrical, mechanical, and use-related hazards for patient and user safety across the product portfolio.
• Mentorship & Technical Leadership: Formally mentor Staff and Senior engineers, lead cross-team design reviews, and drive technical communities of practice to raise engineering capability across the organization.

Required Skills and Experience

• Proficient in mixed signal design, embedded system design, and patient-isolated PCBA design.
• Skilled in component selection, lifecycle management, and design for reliability/manufacturability.
• Experienced in PCB fabrication, assembly, and testing.
• Hardware development in fast-paced, high-impact environments.
• Knowledgeable in all product development phases: design, implementation, debugging, verification, validation, and manufacturing transfer.
• Team player with hands-on engineering experience.
• Demonstrated application of medical electrical equipment standards (e.g., IEC 60601-1, IEC 60601-1-2 EMC, IEC 60601-2-2 for HF surgical equipment) in product design and verification.
• Strong communicator, able to influence and collaborate across teams and levels.
• Willingness to travel (~5-10%).
• Growth mindset; eager to learn and solve tough technical challenges.
• Passion for creating robust, reliable products.
• Hands-on experience with electrical safety design and testing for patient-connected circuitry.
• Direct experience with medical device design controls, including risk/hazard analysis, design verification and validation (V&V) planning and execution.
• Demonstrated technical leadership across multiple technical domains or product platforms, with the ability to influence architecture and strategy decisions org-wide without formal authority.
• Track record of successfully developing and launching multiple products or product generations through the full product development lifecycle.
• Project leadership or mentoring experience.

Required Education and Training

• Bachelor's degree (BSEE).
• 15+ years experience in related electrical engineering roles.
• 8+ years of hands-on medical device product development experience, including multiple products taken through design