Senior Human Factors Engineer - Ion

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.

Primary Function of the Position  

As part of the Intuitive Ion Human Factors team, the Senior Human Factors Engineer works closely with designers, clinical engineers, system and software engineers, technical product managers, regulatory affairs, and other important functional teams. The Senior Human Factors Engineer is a key contributor in informing and guiding development of new products, and ensuring that those products are feasible, viable and desirable.  

As a member of new and sustaining product-development project teams, the Senior Human Factors Engineer leads as a key stakeholder within a creative and structured process to conduct user-centered design research, analyze and characterize use-related risks, conduct usability testing of products prior to launch, and track and iterate on designs once projects are in the field. They have primary responsibility for evaluating product designs with end-user test participants, and to conduct qualitative research to gain a deep understanding of users, uses and use environments; analyze and characterize usability considerations; conduct concept evaluations to realize the impact of design concepts on user workflow, behavior and performance; and translate user needs into usability requirements. 

What You'll Do

Research:  

• Plan, collect and synthesize detailed insights on how users interact with Intuitive products through various techniques including interviews, simulations, direct observations, and task analyses.  

• Support project-based and advanced longitudinal-research regarding cognitive/behavioral and ergonomic human factors topics.  

• Perform all aspects of research studies including study design, instrument development, data collection (both desktop and in the field) and management, quantitative and qualitative data analysis, reporting and dissemination, and communication with partners.  

• Create actionable insights for improving products and services based on results of internally and externally driven research.  

• Analyze and characterize usability considerations, including physical, cognitive, social and organizational aspects of human factors that influence performance while interacting with Intuitive products.  

• Draft usability requirements. 

Design:  

• Contribute to workflow and user interface designs and negotiate design recommendations to mitigate use errors and improve usability.  

• Develop usability requirements driving user interface design, training, and labeling.  

• Assist creation and revision of user-interface requirements documents.  

• Advocate strongly and consistently for the clinical caregiver experience for safety and usability, with understanding of the nuance and balance of user/customer needs and business needs.  

Collaborate:  

• Lead the efforts required to create and update usability risk analyses for Intuitive Surgical products.  

• Represent the Human Factors function on core teams for large projects.  

• Coordinate human factors efforts across projects involving several sub-systems.  

• Manage usability-engineering activities within development projects and provide schedules and status to technical product managers and engineering project managers.  

• Mentor junior human factors engineers (e.g., interns and team colleagues), and others in organization in usability engineering methods and best practices, as well as Intuitive product development processes.  

• Track usability findings from the field and support responses to field actions. 

What You'll Bring

Required Skills and Experience 

• Minimum Education: BS in Human Factors Engineering, Cognitive Psychology, Computer Science with human-computer interface (HCI) emphasis, Human Centered Design, or related field. MS strongly preferred.  

• Minimum of 8 years of related experience with a bachelor’s degree (in engineering); or 6 years and a master’s degree; or a relevant PhD with 3 years’ experience; or equivalent experience with human factors/biomedical devices.  

• Experience in medical device or similar highly regulated industry is of significant value.  

• Ability to conduct user research studies in diverse populations demonstrated by a portfolio of designing and executing research studies (ideally in Health Care).  

• Ability to conduct traditional and rapid cycle evaluation of products (e.g., prototype testing, usability testing, and feasibility testing) within and beyond the lab (experimentally evaluating services, products, or tools in the field).  

• Experience with data collection tools, e.g., Qualtrics.  

• Ability to analyze and synthesize large quantities of qualitative and quantitative data using QDA software and statistical software (e.g. NVivo, atlas.ti, SPSS/SAS/Stata/R).  

• Excellent writing, verbal communication and presentation skills working within a highly statured communication environment using multiple communication channels (email, text, video conference, instant messaging platforms)  

• Demonstrated ability to collaborate with and across various groups and levels of management within the organization, including other engineering groups, marketing, clinical engineering, and regulatory to solve complex usability issues involving detailed risk analysis.  

• Ability to travel internationally, as well as domestically (up to 25%). 

Required Education and Training 

• Minimum Education: BS in Human Factors Engineering, Cognitive Psychology, Computer Science with human-computer interface (HCI) emphasis, Human Centered Design, or related field. MS strongly preferred. 

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.

This position may be filled at a different job level than listed here depending on
business need and/or on the selected candidate’s experience, knowledge and skills.
Compensation will be based primarily on the job level at which the role is filled and the
candidate’s qualifications, consistent with applicable law.

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.