Staff Software Engineer, Data

Intuitive Surgical, Inc.; Sunnyvale (CA); On-site; USD 190,000 - 322,100; Full time

Job summary

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. is seeking a Staff Software Engineer to build services and APIs for robotic platforms and mission-critical operations.

You will lead architecture, design high-value data APIs, and ensure secure, scalable solutions with strong testing and CI/CD. The role requires 8+ years in software engineering, experience with Java/Go/Python, data ingestion, and distributed systems in production, plus AWS and container orchestration—ideally Docker/Kubernetes.

Qualifications

• Experience building data-intensive services and APIs in one or more languages such as Java, Go, Python.
• Experience designing and operating data ingestion/processing systems for high-volume files, events, or telemetry.
• Experience with stream and batch processing frameworks (Flink, Spark) in production environments.
• Experience with Airflow or similar workflow orchestration platforms.
• APIs designed with REST/GRPC, clear contracts and versioning.
• Experience with relational and NoSQL databases and transactional modeling.
• Experience with GitLab CI/CD and AWS deployment practices for backend services.
• Experience with Docker/Kubernetes environments and ECS/EKS.
• Strong distributed-systems fundamentals, reliability, observability, and incident management.

Responsibilities

• Lead the architecture and development of services and APIs supporting robotic platforms and mission-critical operations.
• Design APIs exposing high-value system data to business stakeholders in secure, scalable, well-governed ways.
• Define service interfaces and data contracts with backward compatibility.
• Implement comprehensive testing in CI pipelines (unit, integration, end-to-end).
• Drive CI/CD, observability, and operational practices for frequent, high-confidence releases.

Skills

Java

Go

Python

Data ingestion

REST APIs

GRPC

CI/CD

AWS

Docker

Kubernetes

Distributed systems

Troubleshooting

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's or Master's degree in computer science or related field

Tools

Apache Flink

Apache Spark

Apache Airflow

PostgreSQL

DynamoDB

GitLab CI/CD

Docker

Kubernetes

Amazon ECS

Amazon EKS

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.

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 Position

We are seeking a Staff Software Engineer to build services and APIs that support our robotic platforms and other mission-critical operations, including file and event ingestion, real-time data processing, and APIs for critical business operations. The successful candidate will ensure that services and APIs are built with strong quality, automation, and operational excellence.

Essential Job Duties

• Lead the architecture and development of services and APIs that support the robotic fleet with file and event ingestion and processing.
• Design and implement APIs that expose high-value system data to business operation stakeholders in secure, scalable, and well-governed ways.
• Define service interfaces, data contracts, and integration patterns that are clear, testable, and backward compatible.
• Implement comprehensive unit, integration, and end-to-end testing within CI pipelines.
• Drive CI/CD, observability, and operational practices that support small, frequent, and high-confidence releases.

Ensure services and APIs include first-class documentation, health endpoints, and uptime monitoring.

Partner with embedded, infrastructure, and product teams to deliver solutions that are useful and broadly adoptable.

Collaborate with security and quality teams to ensure solutions meet compliance and operational requirements.

Provide technical leadership and mentorship to engineers, helping guide architecture, implementation, and engineering best practices

Qualifications

Required Skills and Experience

• Strong experience building data-intensive services and APIs in one or more languages such as Java, Go, Python, or similar.
• Strong experience designing and operating data ingestion and processing systems for high-volume files, events, or telemetry in production environments.
• Experience with stream and batch data processing frameworks such as Apache Flink, Apache Spark, or similar technologies.
• Experience orchestrating data pipelines and scheduled workflows using Apache Airflow or similar workflow orchestration platforms.
• Strong experience designing REST or GRPC APIs with clear contracts, documentation, versioning, and backward compatibility.
• Strong experience with relational and NoSQL databases such as Postgres, DynamoDB, or similar, service-side data modeling, and transactional system design.
• Strong experience with automated testing, Gitlab CI/CD, and AWS-based deployment practices for backend services.
• Experience with containerized deployment and orchestration technologies such as Docker, Kubernetes, Amazon ECS, or Amazon EKS.
• Solid understanding of distributed systems concerns such as reliability, failure handling, observability, and operational support.
• Strong troubleshooting and incident management skills.
• Excellent problem-solving skills and a collaborative mindset.

Required Education and Training

• - Bachelor's or Master's degree in computer science or related field.
• - Minimum of 8 years relevant experience in software engineering related to data-intensive services and APIs.

Working Conditions

None

Preferred Skills and Experience

• - Experience working with medical devices or other regulated industries.
• - Experience with defining and implementing data privacy requirements.

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.

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 timeframe that does not unreasonably impede the hiring need. If applicable, candidates will be notified and instructed on any requirements for these purposes.

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 at the top end of range for the role, as actual pay will be determined based on several factors, including experience, skills, and qualifications. The target compensation ranges are listed.

Base Compensation Range Region 1: $223,900 USD - $322,100 USD

Base Compensation Range Region 2: $190,300 USD - $273,800 USD

Shift: Day

Workplace Type: Set Schedule - This job will be onsite weekly, the percentage of onsite work will be defined by the leader.