Clinical Development Engineering - Vision Systems at Intuitive — Sunnyvale, CA
Full-timeSunnyvale, CAPosted 2026-07-21Apply on SmartRecruiters
Full job description
Primary Function of the Position
The Clinical Development Engineer (CDE) uses their in-depth knowledge of the surgical environment and medical technology to work with design engineers and clinicians to define, develop, and validate the clinical function of new products within our multi-port and single-port surgical robotic platforms. The primary focus of the CDE is to establish and validate data-driven clinical requirements to ensure a high-quality patient outcome.
Essential Job Duties
- Apply in-depth knowledge of the operating room environment and of the da Vinci Surgical Systems to become an expert within the company on the clinical application of Intuitive’s products
- Provide a clinical voice to product development by defining and assessing clinical performance of new products
- Collaborate with marketing partners and clinicians to identify and understand clinical needs
- Use an analytical approach to identify potential product enhancements and new product ideas
- Take an active role in new product development teams, including contributing to design reviews, and providing design guidance to engineering design teams
- Assess and document clinical risks, and identify appropriate mitigations
- Conduct pre-clinical testing to validate the safety and efficacy of new products
- Support regulatory documentation and submissions
- Provide subject matter expertise to user manual and training documentation development
- Support clinical evaluation of new products at key customer sites
- Maintain current knowledge of clinical applications of Intuitive’s products
- Keep Intuitive’s vision and values at the forefront of decision making
- Perform other duties as required to support the company’s overall strategy and goals
Required Skills and Experience
- Minimum of 5 years of experience in medical device industry with a Bachelor’s degree, OR 3 years experience with a Master’s degree, or 0-1 year with both MS and PhD
- Experience working with surgeons in an operating room environment
- Fluent in surgical terminology and sound knowledge of anatomy and surgical technique
- Excellent mechanical aptitude and intuition for spatial relations, including the ability to understand complex mechanical products
Nice to have:
- Excellent analytical capability and practical skills to develop test methods and draw conclusions
- Excellent teamwork skills with proven ability to cultivate collaboration across multiple disciplines
- Effective communication skills (verbal, written, presentation)
- Proven success recognizing critical issues and driving them to closure by taking coordinated action
- Self-starter needing minimal supervision
- Self-confident and able to react quickly under pressure
Working Conditions
- Ability to travel up to 25% of the time, internationally and domestic
Mandatory Notices