Senior Software Engineer

Job description

Intuitive's Intraoperative Intelligence team is focused on Clinical Decision Intelligence: helping surgeons make better decisions in the operating room by giving them information they don't currently have access to. We do that through a combination of imaging, machine learning, and augmented reality, extracting meaning from the surgical scene and presenting it in ways that are actually useful in the moment. You'll be taking novel clinical ideas from rough concept to production software on the da Vinci platform, working alongside a small, tight-knit group of engineers and researchers across computer vision, machine learning, graphics, and imaging software — collaborating to define what a feature actually needs to be, then driving it from early prototype to fully integrated, production-ready software.

At Intuitive, "Patients First" is more than a motto. In this team, that translates directly into how we build software. Strong engineering is a given, but the real measure of success is whether what we put in front of a surgeon makes a difference when it matters most. We build for outcomes, not for the sake of building.

What You'll Do

• Design, build, and maintain software for real-time surgical visualization and augmented reality applications running on the da Vinci surgical system
• Collaborate closely with designers, clinical engineers, human factors specialists and software teams to translate complex clinical needs into reliable, performant software
• Build and iterate on prototypes quickly, then carry the best ideas through to production
• Define high-level requirements and architect clean software interfaces for a distributed robotic system
• Participate in failure mode analysis, to identify and implement robust hazard mitigation strategies
• Work within a regulated development environment, supporting verification, validation, and documentation requirements as needed
• Familiarity with software development methodologies and tooling, including version control, code review, and testing practices Hands-on experience working in a Linux development environment

Qualifications

What You'll Bring

Bachelor's degree or higher in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical field. Equivalent practical experience will be considered. Strong proficiency in C++ in a production software environment Solid understanding of computer graphics fundamentals, including rendering pipelines, shaders, and scene management Practical experience with graphics APIs such as OpenGL, Vulkan, or Metal Experience integrating software into larger systems with well-defined interfaces and constraints

Preferred Skills & Experience

Prior work in surgical robotics or medical imaging, and a genuine interest in healthcare and the role technology can play in improving patient outcomes An entrepreneurial mindset: comfortable with ambiguity, energized by early-stage problems, and able to move from concept to working prototype without a lot of hand-holding Demonstrated use of AI-powered tools (such as generative design, LLM-assisted coding, or AI-driven UI prototyping platforms) to accelerate the ideation-to-prototype pipeline — knowing not just how to use these tools, but when and why they add value

Background in Human-Computer Interaction Engineering, with a solid understanding of how people engage with software in high-stakes environments Experience building high quality user interface using Qt/QML framework Experience with Unity, including building and shipping real-time 3D applications Experience with Nvidia CUDA programming Experience with computer vision or machine learning, particularly in applied or real-time contexts