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 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.

Job Description

Primary Function of Position

The candidate will join a leading R&D team to advance research and development in cutting-edge computer vision for robotic endoscopic video technologies. The focus will be on vision foundation/diffusion models, feature detection, and multimodal video analysis, contributing to next-generation AI platforms for real-world applications.

We are seeking a talented individual passionate about the latest advancements in computer vision and deep learning. Expected contributions include literature research, algorithm development and implementation, and experimental evaluation on large-scale video and image datasets.

Essential Job Duties

• Explore and experiment with state-of-the-art computer vision models, including foundation models and generative diffusion models, with applications to video understanding, multi-modal data, and visual feature extraction.
• Prototype novel algorithms and evaluate performance using public and proprietary datasets.
• Conduct literature surveys and summarize key findings in reports and presentations.

Qualifications

Required Skills and Experience

• Solid understanding and hands-on experience in computer vision, deep learning, and video analysis.
• Knowledge in one or more areas: large vision-language models, generative diffusion models, feature detection, scene understanding, video classification, or multimodal learning.
• Proficiency in programming with Python or C++, with experience in relevant frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, OpenCV, DINO/CLIP, HuggingFace Transformers, etc.).
• Strong research and communication skills, with the ability to summarize findings and present them clearly.
• Passionate about pushing the boundaries of AI technologies to solve complex, real-world problems.
• Passion for developing technologies to improve the lives of patients and physicians.
• Self-driven, able to work independently and deliver rapid prototyping and experimentation.
• Ability to perform fast prototyping iterations; thinking outside the box to solve practical problems.

University Hiring Program Eligibility Requirements:

• University Enrollment: Must be currently enrolled in and returning to an accredited degree-seeking academic program in the Spring of 2027.
• Internship Work Period: Must be available to work full-time (approximately 40 hours per week) during a 10-12 week period starting August or September 2026. Specific start dates are shared during the recruiting process.

Required Education and Training

• Current enrollment in a Computer Science, Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering or related degree-seeking program at the Doctorate level. Master's level students would also be considered based on specific relevant experience. 

Additional Information

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.

We provide market-competitive compensation packages, inclusive of base pay (paid at an hourly rate), benefits, and a housing allowance. 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 relevant skills and experience for this internship, degree-seeking academic program (PhD, Master’s, Bachelor’s, etc), year in school, and location. The hourly rate is prorated against the intern program salaries listed and total program compensation will be based on internship duration.