The Staff Design Engineer will lead next gen catheter steerable catheter and flexible endoscope designs at Intuitive. The successful candidate will have a strong background in catheter design and processes, including braiding, laminating, laser welding, and Injection molding. The candidate must have a proven track record of designing, building and testing catheter designs from initial concept to manufacturing transfer. The candidate must have a solid Engineering background with experience in CAD, FEA and Materials have demonstrated ability to use these tools for designing many of the components needed for a complex steerable catheter. The candidate should be comfortable with hands on building and testing, but also have a strong understanding of the engineering theory behind such devices.
Roles & Responsibilities:
- Lead all design deliverables for derivative and breakthrough steerable catheter and endoscope projects.
- Create novel designs that meet the needs of all stakeholders including clinical and manufacturing
- Test early phase devices to identify risks, root causes and appropriate design related solutions
- Quicky assess design options and necessary activities to drive decisions based on sound engineering principles and data
- Develop Test Methods and identify appropriate level of testing such as sample size and limit/challenge testing to ensure design is robust and capable of meeting requirements for a wide variety of process and clinical conditions
- Complete detailed drawings and robust tolerance analysis and update designs accordingly.
- Organize and analyze data and schedule periodic technical reviews to present findings, conclusions and next steps to piers and stakeholders
- Work closely with Clinical, Supply Chain and Manufacturing to establish requirements, metrics and assess tradeoffs and progress
- Engage Manufacturing Engineering, Equipment Engineering and production to help develop robust processes for high volume and cost effective manufacturing
- Partner with design control engineer to follow all Design control SOPs and complete design control deliverables including requirements, risk analysis and Design V&V testing
- Provide design and process support and continued sustaining support during the early phases of manufacturing
- Maintain close ties to RMA and field complaints to assess potential design related changes that may be needed
Qualifications
Skills, Experience, Education, & Training:
- Minimum BS Mechanical Engineering or related engineering discipline required, MS or Higher Preferred. Advanced degrees may substitute for experience
- Minimum 10 years of experience developing commercial medical products, at least 5 yrs of steerable catheter design experience
- Thorough understanding of the state of the art of steerable catheters or flexible endoscopes.
- Thorough understanding of the state of the art at design and manufacturing houses for catheter components such as extrusions, braiding, mandrels, pullwires and catheter sub assemblies
- Demonstration of multiple years of hands on steerable catheter prototyping and development.
- Demonstration of strong analytical ability to test and assess design concepts
- Training in ‘Design for Six Sigma’ and robust design techniques is a plus.
- SolidWorks proficient.
- Proficient with Matlab, and capable of performing data analysis on large data sets
- Capable of performing FEA, MoldFlow or CFD if needed
- Hands-on engineering with ability to work well in a team environment.
- Excellent written and communication skills.
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.
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.

Intuitive, headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., is the pioneer and a global leader in robotic-assisted, minimally invasive surgery. Intuitive... Read more