Staff Clinical Development Engineer - Incubator

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

Job summary

Intuitive in Sunnyvale, CA is seeking a Staff Clinical Development Engineer - Incubator to lead the clinical development workstream for a defined opportunity, owning clinical de-risking activities and driving evidence generation to advance the program toward a validated solution.

You will collaborate with physicians and cross‑functional partners to translate clinical and technical insights into structured development plans, design early clinical and preclinical evaluations, and ensure risks are

Responsibilities

• Lead the clinical development workstream for a defined opportunity, owning clinical de-risking strategy and execution
• Design and execute preclinical and early clinical evaluations to assess feasibility, usability, and performance
• Develop and refine procedural workflows, use cases, and clinical approaches for the target application
• Identify key technical and clinical risks and drive structured plans to resolve them
• Collaborate with engineering to define and iterate on product requirements, design inputs, and performance targets
• Lead clinical labs and external evaluations, ensuring rigorous execution and high-quality data generation
• Translate findings into clear development direction and actionable recommendations
• Partner with physicians to refine clinical strategy and ensure alignment between clinical intent and technical execution
• Contribute to program advancement decisions by synthesizing evidence across clinical, technical, and user dimensions
• Engage with key opinion leaders and external stakeholders to support validation and adoption readiness

Job description

Job Description

Primary Function of the Position

The StaffClinical Development Engineer - Incubatoris a key member of Intuitive’s innovation incubator, reporting to the project engineering lead. In this role, you will lead the clinical development workstream for a defined opportunity, owning the design and execution of clinical de-risking activities and helping advance the program from early concept toward validated solution.

Working closely with physicians and cross-functional partners, you will translate clinical and technical insights into structured development plans, drive execution of clinical and preclinical evaluations, and ensure that key risks are identified and resolved. This role operates with a high degree of independence and accountability, with responsibility for delivering the clinical evidence and workflows needed to support program advancement and investment decisions.

Essential Job Duties

• Lead the clinical development workstream for a defined opportunity, owningclinical de-risking strategy and execution

• Design and executepreclinical and early clinical evaluations to assess feasibility, usability, and performance

• Develop and refine procedural workflows, use cases, and clinical approaches for the target application

• Identify key technical and clinical risks and drive structured plans to resolve them

• Collaborate with engineering to define and iterate on product requirements, design inputs, and performance targets

• Lead clinical labs and external evaluations, ensuring rigorous execution and high-quality data generation

• Translate findings into clear development direction and actionable recommendations

• Partner with physicians to refine clinical strategy and ensure alignment between clinical intent and technical execution

• Contribute to program advancement decisions by synthesizing evidence across clinical, technical, and user dimensions

• Engage with key opinion leaders and external stakeholders to support validation and adoption readiness