Machine Learning Scientist Intern

Company Description

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.

Job Description

Primary Function of Position 

Contribute broadly to the Advanced Product Development team, responsible for machine learning, advanced analytics, and new technology development focused on surgical workflow and performance for next generation robotic surgery platforms.

The successful candidate must excel in a high-energy, focused, small-team environment, be able to initiate and drive new research and development directions. A strong sense of shared responsibility and shared reward is required.

Essential Job Duties 

• Exploration and development of machine learning algorithms for spatiotemporal analysis, including multiclass classification, clustering, temporal segmentation, sequence labeling, spatial segmentation, and 3D reconstruction.
• Development of new technologies and digital products to improve surgeon and team performance on robotic surgery platforms.
• Contributing to multiple areas of research, including but not limited to the following:
  • Designing and applying machine learning algorithms to novel, surgical applications
  • Characterizing surgeon and team behavior and workflow to optimize new technologies
  • Fully integrating machine learning into core digital products and intelligent systems
  • Conducting user studies to evaluate digital product concepts
• Presenting research at international conferences and publishing research in top academic journals

Required Skills and Experience

University Hiring Program Eligibility Requirements:

• University Enrollment: Must be currently enrolled in and returning to an accredited degree-seeking academic program after the internship.
• Internship Work Period: Must be available to work full-time (approximately 40 hours per week) during a 10-12 week period starting May or June. Specific start dates are shared during the recruiting process.

Qualifications

Required Education and Training 

• Current enrollment in Computer Science, Statistics, Applied Mathematics, Robotics, Neuroscience or engineering related degree-seeking program at the Doctorate level
• Demonstrate excellent communication skills both written and verbal
• Interested in early research and development through to product roll-out
• Solid understanding of statistics, machine learning, and deep learning algorithms and techniques is required
• Experience with sequence modeling, image analysis, activity recognition, temporal segmentation, spatial segmentation and/or 3D reconstruction on real-world data is required
• Experience with Python is required
• Hands-on experience with deep learning frameworks such as TensorFlow and/or PyTorch is required
• Hands-on experience with CNNs, RNNs, LSTMs, and attention-based architectures is required

Working Conditions 

• None

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Hands-on experience leveraging foundation models (Dino, SAM, DepthAnything, VLMs, and/or LLMs) is strongly preferred
• Experience with data visualization is a plus
• Experience with R, SQL is a plus
• Experience with clinical studies is a plus

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 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.

We provide market-competitive compensation packages, inclusive of base pay (paid at an hourly rate), benefits, and a housing allowance. 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 relevant skills and experience for this internship, degree-seeking academic program (PhD, Master’s, Bachelor’s, etc), year in school, and location. The hourly rate is prorated against the intern program salaries listed and total program compensation will be based on internship duration.

Client-provided location(s): Sunnyvale, CA

Job ID: 5dcbc61a-6b4c-4fb3-81b5-f37df369f719

Employment Type: INTERN

Posted: 2026-02-06T21:38:27