Sr. Interaction Designer — 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 Position

Interaction Design is a key role at Intuitive, spanning multiple technical disciplines to design interactions and user interfaces for complex robotic systems operating in safety-critical environments. We bring human-centered design to healthcare innovation and to the development of robotic interfaces that are safe, effective, and delight our users.

As a Senior Interaction Designer on the Ion team, you will lead the design work and product innovation for minimally invasive lung care. You will drive interaction strategy and execution in all stages of product development from early concepting to final design and implementation, partnering closely with other designers, Human Factors, engineers, product managers, and clinical experts.

Ion is advancing human-machine interaction in minimally invasive robotics, and we are thrilled to welcome you to the team working on technologies such as embedded interfaces, 3D modeling, machine learning, and sophisticated robotic control systems.

This full-time on-site position is based in our Sunnyvale, CA office.

Roles & Responsibilities

• You are a human-centered designer driven by improving the life of patients and tackling novel challenges in healthcare

• You thrive in highly technical domains and bring clarity and structure to complex, ambiguous problem spaces

• You have experience designing beyond traditional digital products, ideally within embedded, hardware-integrated, or other complex technical domains

• You can confidently define system states, transitions, and workflows, while also delivering precise and production-ready UI specifications

• You are methodical and drive design decisions through insights and iteration

• You elevate the quality bar through strong design judgment and attention to detail

• You are inclusive by nature and understand the purpose and value of cross-functional collaboration

• You demonstrate strong listening, communication, and analytical skills that enable you to operate effectively in a dynamic, cross-functional environment

What You’ll Do

• Design world-class interaction design solutions for physical and digital components of a complex robotic system.

• Define the behavior of interactive systems for new and evolving product capabilities, driven by evidence and deep problem understanding, exploring, prototyping and iteration to reduce ambiguity and risk.

• Drive discovery and user research activities, collaborating with our Human Factors and clinical teams to develop a strong understanding of the problem space. Shape research plans, synthesize findings, and translate insights into actionable design direction. You will also participate in usability evaluations through informal and formal testing with representative users in lab and clinical setting.

• Deliver high-quality UI specifications and interaction patterns, partnering closely with engineering to ensure accurate implementation.

Skills, Experience, Education, & Training

• Bachelor’s or master's degree in Interaction Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Human Factors, or equivalent      

• A minimum of 5 years of experience in product design or related field (in-house, agency, or freelance work)

• Proficiency in current design tools and software applications, including including advanced prototyping methods

• Demonstrated experience leading complex interaction design initiatives

• Willingness to work in surgical environments and comply with hospital vendor credentialing requirements

• Ideally, experience designing embedded, hardware-integrated, or other complex technical systems beyond traditional digital products.

• Ideally, experience designing medical devices or other safety-critical products

• Ability to travel up to 10% of the time

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.