Sr. Software Engineer - Embedded Real-Time Audio

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.

Primary Function of Position

Our team is responsible for the real-time software infrastructure and state machines that support critical performance, safety and user-facing features of the da Vinci™ Surgical System, Intuitive’s flagship product. Our real-time software includes infrastructure for motion control algorithms, audio intercom and system sounds, data streaming and logging, and platform support for our next-generation da Vinci™ Simulator product line. Because our workstreams depend upon and enable the work of other teams, we occupy an exciting intersection of real-time architecture, feature development, and demonstration of product safety and reliability.

The successful candidate must excel in a focused, small-team and cross-functional environment, be able to drive to solutions from rough requirements, and have a commitment to high product quality. They must demonstrate ownership of their areas of responsibility and of the overall product. A strong sense of shared responsibility and shared reward is required. A demonstrated experience and comfort working with C++ in an embedded environment is required.

Essential Job Duties

• Design and develop product-focused, robust, efficient, and elegant C++ software in a heterogeneous, multi-processor SoC/FPGA/real-time-embedded environment.
• Analyze and quantify overall system performance and safety, including verification of adherence to specifications as well as identification of improvement opportunities, such as reduced latency and increased reliability/determinism. Extend existing tools and create new tools to support such analysis efforts.
• Interface and collaborate effectively and respectfully with other teams, including Platform Software, Electrical Engineering and FPGA Design, Mechanical Engineering, System Analysis, System Test, User Interface Software Engineering, Manufacturing and Clinical Engineering.
• Participate in product risk analysis, defining requirements, implementing mitigations, and drafting and executing verification tests.
• Identify and prove out new architectural enhancements to the software infrastructure and development processes that elevate the broader organization beyond your own team.
• Extend embedded audio software architecture to enable or improve user-facing audio features along with system audio, audio data pipelines and processing.
• Contribute to the design, extension, and testing of our audio and system events streaming software that serve as the communication mechanism for the system sounds and for communication between Surgeon and OR staff.
• Consider and apply appropriate inter-process communication software design principles.
• Contribute to multiple areas of software development, including but not limited to the following:
  • configuration and monitoring of custom audio processing hardware.
  • real-time processing performance analysis.
  • extension of current processing frameworks to new processors and hardware designs.
  • design, development, and extension of offline hardware simulation environments to facilitate rapid software development and testing.
  • bring-up of research prototypes used to evaluate new product concepts.
  • design and development of hardware / software diagnostic tools.

Required Education, Skills & Experience

• Minimum of 8 years of experience and a Bachelor's degree; or 6 years of experience and a Master's degree; or a PhD with 3 years of experience; or equivalent experience.
• Experience in developing real-time embedded software for one or more of the following areas (or similar): audio intercom/DSP, embedded audio pipelines, robotics, automotive and consumer electronics devices.
• Experience in modern C++ and familiarity with design patterns.
• Experience in developing for Embedded Linux and/or RTOS/QNX at multiple levels, such as hardware bring-up, drivers, application.
• Experience in software support for hardware development including diagnostic tests, utilities, and power-on self-tests.

Preferred Skills & Experience

• Experience with scripting languages (e.g. Python, Matlab, etc.) for diagnostic/test automation.
• Comfort with concepts of design input, design output, traceability, and risk analysis.
• Demonstrated experience and comfort with all phases of the product development lifecycle (design, implementation, debug, verification, validation, and transfer to manufacturing).
• Experience with designing software products in an FDA or other regulated industry or for mission critical applications.
• Familiarity with Audio HW/SW integration (Microphones, Speakers, Codecs etc.), audio data pipeline frameworks and routing, Audio buffering, clock synchronization, transporting audio over network and audio processing algorithms like Echo Reduction and Cancellation, Noise Reduction, Automatic Gain control.
• Familiarity with Audio system related metrics, observability and diagnostics.

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.

This position may be filled at a different job level than listed here depending on
business need and/or on the selected candidate’s experience, knowledge and skills.
Compensation will be based primarily on the job level at which the role is filled and the
candidate’s qualifications, consistent with applicable law.

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.