Manager, Embedded Software Engineering - Future Forward

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 an energetic, authentic Embedded Software Engineering Manager to lead and empower a high-caliber team of brilliant, highly motivated engineers launching a groundbreaking medical device. In this high-impact, hands-on role, you will champion the technical excellence and development of low-level software across RTOS and embedded Linux platforms. You excel at translating complex technical vision into execution while cutting through technical complexity to keep your team aligned, energized, and moving fast. If you thrive in a dynamic, highly regulated environment (FDA 21 CFR Part 820, IEC 62304) where early-stage product challenges evolve rapidly and team energy runs high, this is your opportunity to shape the future of medical technology.

Essential Job Duties

• Lead, Inspire, & Multiply: Serve as a passionate leader for a high-performing team of firmware and software engineers. Cultivate a culture of innovation, high autonomy, technical rigor, and rapid execution through direct mentorship and hands-on guidance.
• Drive High-Speed Technical Execution: Direct and participate in the technical architecture across board bring-up, real-time control algorithms, platform development, cybersecurity, OS management, and safety-critical software.
• Bridge Strategy & Agile Delivery: Craft, own, and track dynamic, bottom-up engineering roadmaps that meet aggressive product milestones, seamlessly managing interdependencies with hardware, clinical, and human factors teams.
• Champion Modern Engineering Practices: Continuously elevate the team’s development engine—driving modern Agile workflows, CI/CD automation, clear code reviews, and proactive bug management built for speed and regulatory compliance. unit testing, test driven development (TDD)
• Embed Safety & Risk Management: Lead risk-based design efforts (hazard analysis, software FMEA) to architect robust, failsafe software systems that uncompromisingly prioritize patient safety.
• Accelerate Delivery to Market: Own the software release lifecycle end-to-end—from unit testing and full verification/validation (V&V) to seamless transfer to manufacturing.
• Amplify Team Impact: Serve as the team’s chief advocate and key technical liaison, clearly articulating technical wins, tradeoffs, and roadmaps to executive leadership, cross-functional partners, and regulatory bodies.

Qualifications

Required Education, Skills & Experience

• Education: BS in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field.
• Technical Experience: 10+ years of hands-on embedded software engineering experience (C/C++), with deep expertise in RTOS and embedded Linux environments.
• Leadership: 3–5 years of experience directly managing, growing, and energizing high-performing technical teams.
• Medical Regulatory Expertise: Deep knowledge of IEC 62304 software lifecycle processes and FDA 21 CFR Part 820 design controls.
• Safety-Critical Systems: Proven track record architecting complex, safety-critical embedded systems, including risk management and failure mode analysis (FMEA).
• Delivery Track Record: Proven ability to drive complex software deliverables from napkin sketch through V&V and commercial transfer under ambitious timelines.
• Modern Tooling: Strong fluency with Git, CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, and agile release management practices. static analys