Sr. Human Factors Design Engineer

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.

The Human Factors Design Engineer (HFDE) is part of the Human Factors (HF) organization that aims to maximize usability and desirability of Intuitive products while minimizing risk through scientific research and usability engineering. HFDE is focused on research and design within product development of new robotic systems, instruments and accessories. This role works closely with product managers, clinical engineers, mechanical engineers, computer scientists, industrial/ interaction designers, regulatory affairs, quality and design controls, and other cross functional teams.

HFDE helps de-risk design strategies within product development through a range of formative research activities and hands‑on design engineering activities that inform the definition of user requirements and user interface design requirements underlying the user experience of Intuitive products.

The HFDE position reports to a Manager within the broader HF organization at Intuitive.

• Develop, position and execute end-to-end formative research plans within product development that are inclusive of user research, human performance research, as well as explorative co‑creation and usability evaluations with prototypes of varying fidelity and resolution.
• Plan, collect and synthesize data to generate insights on how and why users interact with Intuitive products through various techniques including interviews, simulations, direct observations, task analysis, human performance research, persona development, usability testing, mixed methods research, discovery from known use problems, etc.
• Represent Intuitive during interactions with end‑user clinicians and customers in multiple international markets to gather design insights in a highly professional manner, during formative research activities.
• De‑risk design strategies by identifying root causes that account for human performance influencers underlying the user experience.
• Analyze, define and evaluate workflow and user interface designs. Negotiate design recommendations and improvements to prevent hazardous situations related to use errors and improve usability.
• Accountable for establishment, authoring and management of usability design inputs. Translate findings from formative research activities into insights that are used to define evidence‑based user requirements and user interface design requirements to inform user interface design, labeling and training.
• Collaboratively develop conceptual prototypes that reflect performance influencers for showcasing and translating for stakeholders.
• Advocate for safety, usability and desirability of the user experience while balancing tradeoffs associated with project risks and product risks related to…