Principal Modeling Engineer

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  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 The Principal Modeling Engineer will play a critical role in the development of next-generation robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) systems.  Specifically, this role will lead the thermal management of the 3D surgical viewer, including displays, lights sources, cameras, computing and processing printed circuit boards.  This position will also play a key role in the finite element modeling and modal analysis of the structural design on the robot sub-system.

This role will also be involved in modeling of printed circuit boards for thermal management of integrated circuits and associated heat sink designs, forced-air cooling fans, etc.

Successful candidates will exhibit a hands-on approach, a sense of ownership, and commitment to shared responsibilities, actively contributing to both the sustainment of existing capital equipment and the advancement of new surgical technologies that meet the evolving needs of customers and the business.

Essential

Job Duties Provide finite-element models of proposed electro-optical system designs for next-generation 3D surgical viewer to create a thermal-management concept and detailed design and models for key structural electro-mechanical sub-systems on the RAS system

Create thermal management budgets for displays in the surgical viewer and for the printed circuit board assemblies

Work with design teams to develop test plans and perform design verification testing on thermal management sub-systems and coordinate with responsible functions for design validation when needed.

Effectively communicate FEA model results and provide clarity in design tradeoffs with other design engineers to develop complete HW and SW solutions

Perform advanced troubleshooting and failure analysis of failures.

Collaborate with cross-functional teams affected by changes.

Qualifications Required Education, Skills & ExperienceMS or PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or Applied Physics or closely related field and 5 years (minimum) work experience, 10+ years preferred. Deep skill in the use and application of finite element analysis (FEA) tools such as Ansys (or equivalent)
Skill in the use of 3D CAD modeling and generating 2D CAD part drawings and design specifications as needed.

Knowledge of GD&T tolerance analysis, especially as applied to designs that are driven by thermal and structural FEA models.

Ability to collaborate with manufacturing and suppliers to achieve cost effective and manufacturable designs.

Knowledge of material selection for thermal management sub-systems, such as heat sinks, thermal pads, fans, thermos-electric coolers, thermal pastes, etc.

Knowledge of manufacturing processes, process controls, design of experiments (DOEs) and capability analysis.

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