Senior Reliability Engineer

Primary Function of Position
We are looking for a talented individual to join our growing Reliability Engineering team focused on innovative approaches to reliability and life testing. This role has the opportunity to work creatively with a team of mixed disciplines, including SW, FW, SA, EE in addition to the reliability and mechanical engineers. The primary function of this position is to make/review/improve/execute current plans for automated and semi-automated system/subsystems reliability testing. This includes design, procurement and assembly of test fixtures, and SW scripts required to limit human interactions throughout the reliability tests. Other important task is to lead/support current efforts by the design team for bench testing critical components and subsystems. The successful candidate must have a strong curiosity for how the system is performing its critical functions, also must be hands on with automation/control and data acquisition concepts and tools. He/she must be able to work with EE/FW, SW, ME, RE and mechatronics engineers to not only understand the current in-house approaches to testing but also recommend improvements that paves the way for fulfilling the new vision. He/she must have a proven track-record of automated test fixture development for medical capital and/or consumable equipment and extreme curiosity of the unexplored or unexplained, great attention to details, no fear of incomplete/developing specification and design documents, and most importantly, a passion to learn new things.
Essential Job Duties
• This position will contribute to the high-level strategies of the reliability team
regarding testing and failure data collection and analysis.
• While the immediate focus is the system reliability, important cases in instrument
and accessories may be also covered.
• The reliability team charter includes but not limited to, implementation of
proactive reliability approaches during product development.
• The team provides vital guidance to ME, SW, FW, HW, and SA teams for data-
driven design and operation decisions.
• The team also regularly analyzes field data from previous generation of the
product to identify improvement opportunities for both legacy and future products.
• Review functional and reliability requirements of systems/subsystems to plan
reliability/life tests that help evaluate the short/ long term compliance with the specs.
• Design, procure and assemble test fixtures to limit/eliminate the need for human
intervention during the tests
• Test fixture design covers the mechanical & electrical parts as well as control
platforms, algorithms & SW
• Work closely with SW, FM, IT and data team to enable automatic data collection
during the system test.
• This includes the system logs and other critical info such as temperature,
vibration, noise that may not be available directly from the system
• Modify/ develop the SW scripts necessary to run automated tests that cover the
required subset of the system operational profile

• Plan interim quality and performance inspection required to verify integrity of the
system/components critical functions during the test
• Work closely with quality, regulatory, and document control to properly document
and release the test fixtures if used for finished products and features
• Provide regular reports on the status tests, regarding cumulative test hours, total
number and nature of the failure events
• Regular triage of the failure data with the design team for full blown root cause
analysis towards design improvement
• Plan and execute accelerated and highly accelerated life tests for components
and subsystems, this may include critical accessories and instruments DOE for
performance tests to help engineering design and manufacturing team with
required gage R&R, variability and capability analysis.

Required Skills and Experience
• Minimum 3 years of work experience in reliability/life testing of medical
capital/consumer equipment and instruments with strong written and oral
communication skills.
• Solid understanding of Newtonian mechanics and measurement principles.
• Proven ability to work well in a team environment and drive individual projects.
Experience managing partners and small projects with agility.
• Direct experience with accelerated/ highly accelerated life test design and
analysis.
• Direct experience with successful test design and implementation from scratch.
• Proficiency using CAD to design highly customized fixtures and rapid prototyping.
SolidWorks preferred.
• Hands on with data acquisition tools and techniques, for measuring electrical and
physical phenomenon such as voltage, current, torque, force, pressure, or
sounds.
• Hands on with NI DAQs or similar platforms for PC-based control and
automation.
• Experience in Python, MATLAB and LabVIEW.

Required Education and Training

• Minimum Masters (Ph.D. preferred) in mechanical or reliability engineering or
other related engineering fields with direct work experience
Working Conditions
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Preferred Skills and Experience

• Hands on experience with complex mechatronic/optomechanical systems.
• Hands on with vibration measurement and analysis techniques, in both time and
frequency domains, including peak, RMS, FFT, PSD and Spectrogram analysis.
• Highly analytical in problem solving with mechanical systems and data.
• Mechanical simulation experience (ANSYS preferred).
• Experience in both hardware and software failure analysis.
• Strong skills in manipulating big data (SQL, python, excel).
• Hands on with statistical tools such as JMP, Minitab, DOE++ , Weibull++, ALTA
and GoldSim.
• Experience with compiled languages (C++) and Linux.

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.

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.