Future Forward, Clinical Research Engineering Lead (Finance)

Company Description
At Intuitive, we are united behind our mission: we believe that minimally invasive care is life-enhancing care. Through ingenuity and intelligent technology, we expand the potential of physicians to heal without constraints.
As a pioneer and market leader in robotic-assisted surgery, we strive to foster an inclusive and diverse team, committed to making a difference. For more than 25 years, we have worked with hospitals and care teams around the world to help solve some of healthcare's hardest challenges and advance what is possible.
Intuitive has been built by the efforts of great people from diverse backgrounds. We believe great ideas can come from anywhere. We strive to foster an inclusive culture built around diversity of thought and mutual respect. We lead with inclusion and empower our team members to do their best work as their most authentic selves.
Passionate people who want to make a difference drive our culture. Our team members are grounded in integrity, have a strong capacity to learn, the energy to get things done, and bring diverse, real world experiences to help us think in new ways. We actively invest in our team members to support their long-term growth so they can continue to advance our mission and achieve their highest potential.
Join a team committed to taking big leaps forward for a global community of healthcare professionals and their patients. Together, let's advance the world of minimally invasive care.
Job Description
Primary Function of Position

The Future Forward Lead of Clinical Research Engineering guides the strategic planning and execution of clinical engineering efforts across early-stage platform and technology development at Intuitive. This person brings deep clinical and technical expertise along with proven leadership in people management and development, cross-functional collaboration, and resource stewardship.

This role is pivotal in translating user needs and clinical gaps into platform design, de-risking strategies, and clinical execution plans. It also involves overseeing a high-performing team of clinical research engineers and setting the standard for project planning, budget forecasting, timeline execution, and cross-functional alignment-all in service of delivering safe, effective, and innovative medical platforms and novel technologies to address unmet needs.

Essential Job Duties

Strategic Program Leadership

• Serve as the primary clinical engineering leader for early-stage robotic platform development within Future Forward.
• Establish and oversee clinical development strategies for preclinical and clinical evaluation phases, ensuring alignment with regulatory, reimbursement and commercial goals.
• Define and manage program goals, timelines, and budgets across multiple, concurrent projects with varying complexity and risk levels.
• Drive alignment between engineering, clinical, regulatory, and commercial functions through effective communication and clear prioritization frameworks.

Project Planning and Resource Management

• Develop and manage integrated program plans, Gantt timelines, resource loading, and cross-functional dependencies.
• Optimize allocation of clinical engineering talent, labs, and capital resources across multiple projects.
• Own clinical engineering budget forecasting and ensure disciplined use of company resources aligned with portfolio goals.
• Ensure all programs are progressing according to plan, managing risks, resolving blockers, and adjusting resources as needed.

Team Leadership and Development

• Supervise, mentor, and grow a team of clinical research engineers, focusing on both personal development and organizational capability.
• Foster a high-performance, values-driven culture focused on accountability, transparency, and innovation.
• Anticipate organizational capability needs and proactively recruit or develop team members to meet existing and evolving business demands.

Innovation and Clinical Integration

• Guide development of novel evaluation models, procedural workflows, and experimental designs to accelerate technology iteration and maturity.
• Oversee prototype evaluation activities in clinical labs, ensuring clear translation of insights to design and systems engineering teams (both qualitative and quantitative).
• Guide the creation of clinical risk assessments and clinical validation strategies to support design iteration and regulatory filings.

Stakeholder Collaboration

• Serve as a primary clinical voice in early-stage programs, influencing cross-functional peers and senior administrators.
• Engage with KOLs, surgeons, and external experts to pressure-test clinical use cases and inform platform direction.
• Collaborate with regulatory, reimbursement, and product management teams to shape evidence generation plans.

Execution of Early Clinical Studies

• Drive clinical strategy and execution of preclinical studies and early feasibility trials to de-risk new platforms.
• Drive clinical engineering team through support of clinical studies including larger scale studies such as support of qualified registries and randomized controlled trials.
• Drive protocol design, site selection, IRB engagement, and real-time response to study execution challenges.
• Support eventual scale-up and transition to clinical affairs for pivotal studies and commercial readiness.

Qualifications
RequirementsIn order to adequately perform the responsibilities of this position the personal must have:

• Advanced degree (MS or PhD preferred) in Biomedical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related technical discipline with direct application to medical device design and clinical integration.
• Minimum 10+ years of hands-on experience in medical device development, with at least 5+ years in clinical engineering leadership roles overseeing cross-functional teams through all phases of product development-concept, preclinical, first-in-human (FIH), early feasibility and traditional clinical studies.
• Proven track record of leading complex, multi-site preclinical and clinical studies, including protocol design, regulatory strategy interface, and real-time clinical judgment support.
• Demonstrated expertise in translating unmet clinical needs into engineering requirements, including authorship of product requirement documents (PRDs), clinical risk analyses (CRA), usability risk assessments (URA), and design input documentation.
• Exceptional technical knowledge in areas including robotic systems, surgical instrumentation, embedded software interaction, and procedural workflows in minimally invasive surgery or interventional therapeutics.
• Deep familiarity with design control processes FDA QSR or MDR compliance.
• Expert-level ability in clinical risk identification and mitigation, including development and execution of validation strategies to de-risk usability and safety for novel technologies.
• Skilled in project planning and execution using tools such as Microsoft Project, Smartsheet, or equivalent; demonstrated ability to model resource requirements, develop multi-phase program timelines, and manage cross-functional interdependencies.
• Demonstrated leadership in clinical lab and benchtop model development, including mechanical test method design and prototype evaluation aligned with defined performance specifications.
• Experienced in working directly with surgeons, key opinion leaders (KOLs), and multidisciplinary experts to gather, synthesize, and apply clinical feedback to early-stage technology development.
• Exceptional working knowledge of intellectual property development and a history of contributing to patent filings related to clinical applications, device design, or procedural innovation.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, capable of clearly articulating complex clinical and technical information across stakeholders including regulatory, engineering, and commercial leadership.
• Proven ability to drive, coach, and develop high-performance teams; demonstrated success recruiting and retaining top clinical engineering talent
• Must be available to work full-time and commute/relocate to Sunnyvale, CA
• Up to 25% travel. Some international travel may be required.
• Primary Location: Sunnyvale, CA

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

Base Salary Range Region 1: $210,400 USD - $315,600 USD
Base Salary Range Region 2: $178,900 USD - $268,300 USD
Shift: Day
Workplace Type: Onsite - This job is fully onsite.