Staff Mechanical Design Engineer

Primary Function of Position:

• The Staff Mechanical Engineer works in and leads cross-functional teams to maintain and improve the design, production, and service of the da Vinci® Surgical System. 
• They determine root cause of complex problems with electro-mechanical components, manufacturing process and system performance. 
• They identify mechanical design and manufacturing process solutions to improve performance, cost, and reliability, and perform the development, documentation, verification and implementation of these solutions.  

Roles and Responsibilities:

• Investigation and determination of root cause of latent and emerging design, manufacturing or material defects
  • Develop, design, test, document, and implement solutions for these defects according to corporate standards and departmental operating procedures
• Conversion of components to more cost effective production methods (including but not limited to Casting, welding and PIM)
• Candidate is expected to be comfortable with execution of design verification/validation test protocols and documentation of results in test reports in a regulated environment (FDA, Military, FAA or equivalent)
• Candidate is expected to easily navigate and understand FMEA documentation
• Comfortable providing advice, mentoring, coaching and guidance to advance the technical and business expertise of colleagues
• Works to identify and implement best practices between teams and engineering departments
• Establish individual and team goals consistent with overall project goals

Specific Skill/Job Requirements:

• Minimum Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering or similar technical field
• Minimum 12 years of experience designing and manufacturing electromechanical products in an FDA or other regulated industry
• Comfortable with all phases of the product development lifecycle including design, analysis, debug, verification, transfer to manufacturing, and sustainment.
• Understand concepts of design input, design output, requirement traceability, and FMEA risk analysis
• Technical expertise with mechanism design is required, with a preferrable focus on robotics and/or medical products
  • Design, manufacture and troubleshooting of electromechanical components and assemblies including brushless DC motors, brakes, bearings, gears, ball screws, linear actuators, encoders and other sensors
  • Component selection and design for reliability and manufacturability
  • Mechanical analysis, including statics, dynamics, kinematics, stress, fatigue, thermal, and reliability
  • Design, analyze and document components, structures, and mechanical assemblies in SolidWorks or similar CAD software
  • Release designs following good documentation principles and configuration control methods
  • Manufacturing process development and creation of assembly instructions
  • Proficiency at failure analysis 
  • Experience investigating significant and unique issues where analysis of situations or complex data requiring an evaluation of intangibles.
  • Fluency in ASME Y14.5 GD&T and tolerance stack analysis
• Demonstrated knowledge of a wide variety of manufacturing processes
• Metallurgical heat treatment, stress relief, grinding/lapping
• Component fabrication methods including CNC machining, wire EDM, brazing, and surface coatings
• Preferred to have experience designing for volume manufacturing processes such as metal casting, plastic injection molding, metal-injection molding, sheet metal stamping, compression molding, thermoforming, etc.
• Experience with CAPAs and quality/regulatory audits is a plus
• Capable of using MATLAB to create or modify test scripts and system software
• Experience with Statistical Process Control in a Mass Production environment
• Experience providing inputs to regulatory agency approval including UL, CE and FDA is a plus
• Comfortable operating machine shop, measurement and test equipment

General Skill/Job Requirements:

• Self-driven with the ability to excel in a high-energy, small, focused team environment and maintain a strong sense of shared responsibility and shared reward. Contributes to a positive and fun work environment.
• Excel in a fast paced, high transaction, mass-production environment
• Utilize deep technical knowledge and broad expertise to achieve company objectives in creative and effective ways
• Strong track record of leading departmental and cross-functional projects and strategic initiatives from concept through completion 
• Capacity to lead multiple complex projects at once
• Ability to communicate effectively (written, oral) across all levels and organizations
• Ability to lead and mentor other engineers
• Real excitement to learn anything new that comes and get to the bottom of tough technical problems
• Passion for creating robust, reliable products with a strong commitment to high product quality
• Sense of shared responsibility and reward
• Experience with driving a design to closure while weighing the compromise of cost, schedule and risk
• Effectively takes the lead in communicating with and influencing senior stakeholders
• Acts independently to determine methods and procedures on new or special assignments. 
• Can operate and drive results and set priorities with limited supervision.
• Independently plans, organizes and oversees complex, highly strategic assignments involving multiple teams and individuals
• Effectively guides the work of others to ensure well-integrated, timely, high quality and within-budget deliverables
• Effectively takes decisions and resolves issues that impact multiple teams and departments, given the broad scope of responsibilities often involving complex strategies and high-level objectives

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 Employment 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.

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 salary ranges are listed.