Software Engineer - Emulation

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
Intuitive has an immediate opening in Sunnyvale, CA for a software engineer with a focus on the internal da Vinci emulator. The emulator project will provide hundreds of software engineers with a virtual robot at their fingertips to enable rapid iterative software development. This platform will provide software engineers with rapid automated feedback indicating if the software is safe and reliable to use for internal clinical labs. Our team will be responsible for building, deploying, and supporting our full-system emulator, hybrid hardware-in-the-loop setups, and creating the framework for automated testing, both virtual and physical.

A successful candidate must excel in a high-energy focused team environment and must balance delivery of new features, support existing features, and track system changes. An excellent candidate can rapidly learn the large complex and continually evolving systems, through establishing working relationships with multiple engineers in multiple departments and direct experimentation with the existing system. A deep sense of shared responsibility and shared reward is required, as is the ability to make work fun and interesting. As part of the emulator team, immediate responsibilities include:

Responsibilities

• Expand the functionality of the internal da Vinci emulator by faithfully emulating microcontrollers, sensors, FPGAs, and physics models.
• Learn and explore the continuously evolving da Vinci system software and firmware.
• Explore creative ways to faithfully emulate da Vinci hardware.
• A vigorous advocate for hardware “simulation first” that educates developer on the productivity benefits of using the emulator.
• Continuously follow up with developers (i.e. our internal customers) to support feature requests, bug fixes, and system integration.

Qualifications

Required Education, Skills & Experience

• 5 years of related experience with a University degree; or 3 years experience and a Master’s degree; or a PhD without experience; or equivalent work experience
• Proven ability to understand and debug complex systems
• Strong experience using both C++ and Python
• Proficient communication skills and the ability to collaborate with a diverse range of talented engineers
• Experience with microcontrollers, bit-manipulation and memory-mapped device I/O

Desired Skills & Experience

• Experience with C for low-level embedded devices
• Experience with test automation and test development
• Knowledge of Linux process management, signals, and inter-process communication
• Familiarity with web-development featuring React
• Experience with Docker or virtualization
• Experience with advanced Git concepts

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.

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 compensation ranges are listed.

Client-provided location(s): Sunnyvale, CA

Job ID: 291f5a20-396f-40af-8736-ab3f691d925b

Employment Type: OTHER

Posted: 2026-01-27T14:50:49