Intuitive Surgical, Inc

Staff Embedded Software Engineer, Platform Networking

Intuitive Surgical, Inc$150K — $180K *
Aerospace & Defense
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or related field with significant industry experience (10+ years for Bachelor's; 8+ years for Master's)
  • Proven track record of technical leadership in complex systems
  • Strong communication skills with the ability to articulate architectural tradeoffs
  • Expertise in OSI networking principles, TCP/IP stack, and low-level Ethernet design
  • Extensive experience in high-speed networking software development in fields such as robotics or aerospace
  • Familiarity with Linux and embedded RTOS environments, particularly in memory management and concurrency
  • Experience with leveraging modern development tools such as AI coding assistants.

Responsibilities

  • Design, develop, and deliver features related to the embedded network stack
  • Establish technical standards and direction for Layer 2/Layer 3 software
  • Lead design and code reviews while mentoring engineering staff
  • Act as the technical authority on hardware integration and troubleshoot complex issues
  • Drive cross-functional alignment across various engineering and manufacturing teams
  • Influence technology selection and advocate for investments to reduce technical debt
  • Set the roadmap for reliability improvements and performance architecture.

Benefits

  • Collaborative and high-energy work environment focused on New Product Development
  • Opportunity to directly impact medical technology aimed at improving lives
  • Engagement in multidisciplinary teams with diverse expertise
  • Chance to mentor and lead a team of engineers
  • Access to modern tools and technologies for enhanced productivity.
Full Job Description
Job Description

The Embedded Platform Software team designs and builds the foundational software infrastructure for next-generation surgical robotic systems. We are looking for a high-energy, talented Senior Software Engineer to join the Embedded Networking Software team, within the Multiport Platform Software group.

We are a small group that works in a focused, high-energy environment working on New Product Development. We believe in applying first principles thinking, data driven decision making, continuous learning, and systematic planning to deliver results and achieve our goals.
• Are you passionate about technology?
• Do you want to have a direct impact on helping people live better lives?
• Are you interested in the medical applications of robotics?
• Do you like to build complex distributed systems?
• Does working in a multidisciplinary, systems-oriented design team sound exciting?

Your Role

You will be a technical leader on the team developing our flagship product, dV5. The team's focus is to enhance and extend the dV5 robotic embedded network across all 7 Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) layers and apply that deep understanding to new surgical robotic systems. You will own the architecture, set the multi-year technical direction, and grow the engineers around you.

Your Responsibilities

In your first year in this role, you will:
• Design, develop, and deliver features, own some architectures across the embedded network stack and help define the technical roadmap across:
• Reliability, including redundancy and fault tolerance strategies
• Performance architecture for growing data transfer needs: low latency switching, traffic shaping, queue management
• A distributed publish/subscribe messaging framework built on DDS-style middleware
• Layer 5 Session APIs for seamless disconnect and reconnect of services and network nodes
• Set the technical direction and standards for Layer 2/Layer 3 software, Ethernet MAC and PHY drivers, and deterministic real-time paths for safety critical data, applying queueing theory
• Lead design and code reviews, mentor senior and mid-level engineers, and raise the bar on design quality and debugging rigor while staying hands-on in the highest-risk code
• Serve as the technical authority on hardware integration, and lead escalations on the hardest hardware-software networking failures (JTAG, GDB, protocol analyzers)
• Drive alignment across cross functional teams such as Application Development, Algorithms, FPGA, Electrical, Clinical, and Manufacturing to negotiate requirements and resolve architectural tradeoffs
• Influence build-versus-buy, vendor silicon, and middleware selection, and make the case for investments that retire technical debt

Qualifications

Required Qualifications
• Bachelor's degree with 10+ years, or Master's degree with 8+ years, of industry experience in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related discipline
• Demonstrated technical leadership on complex systems: owning architecture, mentoring engineers, and influencing direction across organizational boundaries
• A natural communicator with strong critical thinking, and clarity of thought who can explain architectural tradeoffs to engineers and executives alike
• Expert OSI networking knowledge across all 7 layers, including TCP/IP stack internals and Ethernet switching fabric design, and expert C/C++ skills for embedded development
• Deep experience architecting and delivering high-speed networking software in switching, robotics, automotive, or aerospace, including low-level Ethernet MAC/PHY driver development
• Experience with Linux and embedded RTOS environments, with a strong understanding of memory management, concurrency, and interrupt handling
• Demonstrated experience leveraging new tools and technology, such as AI coding assistants, to increase speed, and driving adoption across a team

Preferred Experience
• Experience defining multi-generation technical strategy or platform roadmaps for a shipping hardware product
• Strong hardware-software fluency: schematics, datasheets, reasoning across system abstractions
• Hands-on experience with IEEE 802.1 TSN/AVB (802.1AS, Qbv, Qav, Qci), high-availability redundancy on real hardware, and Automotive Ethernet (100/1000BASE-T1, BASE-T1S)
• Experience configuring and managing L2 switching (VLANs, QoS, segmentation) over SPI or in-band protocols
• Experience with RTOS (FreeRTOS, ThreadX, Zephyr, QNX or VxWorks) and Linux driver development
• Exposure to functional safety standards (IEC 62304, ISO 13485, ISO 14971, IEC 60601, ISO 26262) and embedded network security such as secure boot, MACsec, and IPsec

Additional Information

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.

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.

About Intuitive Surgical, Inc

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. is an American corporation that develops, manufactures, and markets robotic products designed to improve clinical outcomes of patients through minimally invasive surgery, most notably with the da Vinci Surgical System. The company is part of the NASDAQ-100 and S&P 500. Intuitive Surgical has installed more than 5,000 surgical systems worldwide, and has more than 4,000 employees.
Learn more about Intuitive Surgical, Inc
Size
9,793 employees
Market Cap
$93.6 billion
Industry
Net Income
$1 billion
Founded
1999
5 Year Trend
+16.1%
Revenue
$4.3 billion
NASDAQ

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