Senior Mechanical Engineer

Senior Mechanical Engineer

Requirements

• Minimum five (5) years of experience taking products from concept to production (medical product experience preferred).
• At least eight (8) years of experience with precision mechanical design.
• Familiarity with all phases of the product development lifecycle including design, implementation, debug, verification, qualification, and transfer.
• Understanding of mechatronics, robotics, and servo-controlled systems strongly preferred. Experience developing software control algorithms a plus.
• Proven ability to apply the basic laws of physics to understand and achieve quick and reliable solutions to engineering problems.
• Exceptional mechanical aptitude and visual thinking skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills such as finite element analysis, statistics, and experimental designs.
• Strong understanding of design for reliability and manufacturability.
• Proven ability to work well in a team environment and drive individual projects. Experience managing partners and small projects.
• Proficiency using CAD to design and document mechanical designs. SolidWorks preferred.
• Excellent verbal communication and presentation skills. Ability to present the work completed on his or her projects effectively.
• Ability to interface with customers and potential business partners in a highly professional manner.
• Comfortable with hands-on development work: Comfort operating standard machine shop equipment for prototyping (mill, lathe, etc.). Proficient with techniques for rapidly fabricating proof-of-concept and functional prototypes. Comfortable with standard mechanical and electrical measurement and test equipment.

Responsibilities

• Work within cross-functional project teams to create, evaluate, and prove out new product architectures and refine them for hand off to new Product Development.
• Collaborate with subject matter experts to understand the clinical, usability, and other needs of users of da Vinci systems as they relate to surgical instruments and accessories.
• Develop technical requirements for designs based on an understanding of customer needs, commercial objectives (e.g. cost of goods), regulatory requirements, and feasibility constraints.
• Perform conceptual design, detailed design, analytical modeling, prototyping, data analysis, and troubleshooting of novel instruments and accessories for the da Vinci robotic surgical system.
• Develop and perform early performance testing, with assistance from other functions as needed. Assist with evaluation of prototypes by supporting bench, ex-vivo, and in-vivo laboratory testing with clinical experts.
• Develop and manage relationships with key partners.
• Provide written protocols, reports, and presentations related to design activities on an ongoing basis.
• Review mechanical engineering designs of other Intuitive engineers in both a formal and informal capacity.
• Refine and document product designs as needed to support successful transfer into the new product development organization.
• Assess technologies from outside entities for potential licensing and adaptation to the da Vinci product line.
• Identify, test, and report on new materials, manufacturing processes, and technologies that could benefit existing products or enable new product designs.
• Document, prepare and review patent submissions.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience and skills in design of high volume (e.g. injection molded, MIM) components, and design for manufacturability strongly preferred.