Senior Systems Research Engineer – Embodied AI & Robotics

• Full-time
• Shift: Day
• Max. Salary Region 2: 240700 USD
• Max. Salary Region 1: 283200 USD
• Ways of Working:
  Onsite - This job is fully onsite.
• Employee Type:
  Employee
• Min. Salary Region 1: 196800 USD
• Global Job Level (HCM):
  Professional 4 (11)
• Min. Salary Region 2: 167300 USD

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.

As a Senior Systems Research Engineer
, you will join a future‑forward team to explore and build embodied AI applications at the intersection of state‑of‑the‑art AI/ML and robotics. In this deeply hands‑on technical role, you will recommend performant architectures, and iteratively develop and integrate embodied AI applications to de‑risk and demonstrate technical feasibility, performance, and safety. Your goal is to ensure that embodied AI applications are seamlessly developed and integrated into high‑quality, reliable product development.

You will act as architect, developer, and integrator, partnering cross‑functionally with motion controls, perception, AI/ML, software, and hardware teams to address significant unmet needs. Success in this role requires excelling in an agile, small‑team environment—transforming initial concepts into robust prototypes, iterating methodically, and consistently maintaining safety, performance, and quality with a patient‑first mindset.

• System Architecture & Integration: Design and optimize software interfaces between subsystems, ensuring seamless integration between edge AI, firmware, OS, hardware, and cloud services. You will oversee the deployment and continuous improvement of these systems to ensure high reliability and performance.
• Robotic Control & Data Pipelines: Architect and build robust data pipelines and real‑time systems for sensor fusion, perception, and robotic control. You will focus on optimizing AI/ML models specifically for embedded platforms to achieve low‑latency execution.
• Engineering Excellence: Apply rigorous software practices, including writing maintainable code, modular architecture, and comprehensive testing. You will document intellectual property and adapt to evolving project needs by exploring diverse frameworks before specializing in high‑impact technology stacks.
• Project Ownership & Strategy: Lead complex, end‑to‑end embodied intelligence projects, making critical architectural decisions and technical trade‑offs. You will define the strategic roadmap for the robotics platform—from foundational models to real‑time onboard inference—while serving as a core contributor to team planning and design reviews.
• Cross‑Functional
  
  Collaboration:
  
  Partner with motion controls, perception, and hardware teams during early‑stage exploration to address clinical, functional, and safety requirements. You will work closely with the research and product development teams to integrate…