Sr. Machine Learning Engineer

Intuitive; Sunnyvale (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 250,000; Full time

Job summary

Intuitive is seeking a senior algorithm engineer to lead planning and guidance software for the Ion endoluminal system. You will design and evaluate real-time ultrasound analysis algorithms, fuse imaging with pre-operative data, and deploy models in constrained medical hardware.

Join a team developing endoluminal biopsy planning with ViTs, GNNs, and diffusion models, delivering robust clinical-grade imaging software and pursuing patent opportunities.

Qualifications

• MS or PhD in CS/EE/BME or related field
• 5+ years hands-on industrial experience in algorithm development with medical imaging and computer vision
• Proficiency in Python and C++, with production-grade software design
• Knowledge of ML frameworks and toolkits including PyTorch, OpenCV, MONAI, ITK, VTK, TensorRT or ONNX
• Strong domain expertise in ultrasound physics and temporal/video data analysis; experience with EBUS or high-res transducers (preferred)
• Experience with spatiotemporal deep learning architectures and deployment of low-latency real-time ultrasound apps

Responsibilities

• Drive the full cycle of medical imaging analysis software development from R&D concepts into robust, commercial medical device products
• Design, prototype, and implement advanced computer vision and machine learning algorithms for real-time ultrasound processing
• Develop specialized algorithms for speckle reduction, acoustic shadowing mitigation, and temporal tracking across video frames
• Apply and fine-tune architectures like spatio-temporal ViTs, recurrent networks, nnU-Net, GNNs, and diffusion models for ultrasound data
• Architect and deploy model pipelines into high-performance C++ production environments with quantization, pruning, and hardware acceleration
• Support system integration and testing and generate design documentation and patent applications

Skills

Python

C++

Computer vision

Medical imaging

PyTorch

OpenCV

MONAI

ITK

VTK

TensorRT

ONNX

Education

MS or PhD in CS/EE/BME

Tools

PyTorch

OpenCV

MONAI

ITK

VTK

TensorRT

ONNX

Job description

The Ion™ endoluminal system is Intuitive's new robotic platform for minimally invasive biopsy in the peripheral lung, with an initial goal of improving the early diagnosis of lung cancer. We are seeking a senior algorithm engineer to play a lead technical role in conceptualizing, designing, and evaluating our next-generation planning and guidance software. This role is dedicated to developing advanced algorithms to analyze real-time ultrasound (US) imaging- specifically endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) and min-profile ultrasound probes - for the accurate detection, segmentation, and classification pulmonary structures. This position focuses heavily on processing temporal, high-resolution ultrasound video streams, mitigating inherent acoustic artifacts, and fusing ultrasound data with pre-operative imaging modalities to improve targeting confidence and clinical outcomes.

Essential Duties

• Drive the full cycle of medical imaging analysis software development, developing algorithms from R&D concepts into robust, commercial medical device products.
• Design, prototype, and implement advanced computer vision and machine learning algorithms tailored for real-time processing of diverse ultrasound modalities, including EBUS and ultrasound probes.
• Develop specialized algorithms to handle the unique challenges of high-frequency ultrasound data, including speckle reduction, acoustic shadowing mitigation, and temporal tracking across video frames.
• Apply and fine-tune state-of-the-art architectures, including spatio-temporal Vision Transformers (ViTs), recurrent networks, nnU-Net, Graph Neural Network (GNN) and Diffusion models, adapting them for noisy, high-frame-rate clinical ultrasound datasets.
• Architect and execute model deployment pipelines, seamlessly integrating trained models into high-performance C++ production environments, utilizing techniques like quantization, pruning, and hardware acceleration to ensure real-time performance on constrained medical systems.
• Support system integration and testing while generating formal design documentation and patent applications.

Qualifications

• MS or PhD in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, or a related field.
• 5+ years of hands‑on industrial experience in algorithm development, with a deep specialization in medical imaging and computer vision.
• Exceptional proficiency in Python and C++, with a deep understanding of modern software component design for production environments.
• Expert knowledge of ML frameworks and software toolkits, including PyTorch, OpenCV, MONAI, ITK, VTK, and model optimization tools such as TensorRT or ONNX.
• Strong domain expertise in ultrasound physics, acoustic image processing, and temporal/video data analysis is highly preferred, especially experience with data from EBUS or high-resolution small‑profile transducers.
• Experience with spatiotemporal deep learning architectures and deployment of low-latency real‑time applications for ultrasound imaging applications.
• Experience or knowledge of the development of AI/ML features in strict alignment with Good Machine Learning Practice (GMLP) principles, ensuring data representativeness and model transparency.
• A proven track record of shipping commercial AI/ML software products is bonus.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills for effective cross‑functional collaboration with clinical and engineering teams.

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. 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, and within a