FPGA Design Engineer

Key Skills

C Programming, C++, Leadership, Medical robots, RTL design, Teamwork

Job Description

At Intuitive, we are united behind our mission: we believe that minimally invasive care is life-enhancing care. Through ingenuity and intelligent technology, we expand the potential of physicians to heal without constraints.

As a pioneer and market leader in robotic-assisted surgery, we strive to foster an inclusive and diverse team, committed to making a difference. For more than 25 years, we have worked with hospitals and care teams around the world to help solve some of healthcare's hardest challenges and advance what is possible.

Intuitive has been built by the efforts of great people from diverse backgrounds. We believe great ideas can come from anywhere. We strive to foster an inclusive culture built around diversity of thought and mutual respect. We lead with inclusion and empower our team members to do their best work as their most authentic selves.

Passionate people who want to make a difference drive our culture. Our team members are grounded in integrity, have a strong capacity to learn, the energy to get things done, and bring diverse, real world experiences to help us think in new ways. We actively invest in our team members to support their long-term growth so they can continue to advance our mission and achieve their highest potential.

Join a team committed to taking big leaps forward for a global community of healthcare professionals and their patients. Together, let's advance the world of minimally invasive care.

Job Description

Primary function of position:

We are seeking an FPGA Design Engineer to join the Advanced Product Development (APD) team at Intuitive Surgical. As a FPGA Design Engineer, you will work with a small, multidisciplinary, and agile team of talented and dedicated engineers to help invent the future of computer-augmented robotic surgery.

The successful candidate will contribute broadly to the APD group, with focused contributions in FPGA Register Transfer Level (RTL) design and embedded software for robotic surgical platforms. As a member of this team, you will integrate complex functionality into complete surgical robotic solutions.

The successful candidate must excel in a focused team environment, be able to derive solutions from rough requirements, and have a commitment to quality. Quick learning and a desire to understand requirements and create solutions are essential. A strong sense of shared responsibility and shared reward is required, as is the ability to make work fun and interesting. Supporting you will be a development and management team that knows and cares about what you are doing and promotes your success.

Job Description:

• Work in a cross-functional team to design, implement, and verify RTL in da Vinci Surgical System products using Verilog and SystemVerilog HDL.
• Design and implement RTL using DSP modules in the FPGA to implement motor control and filter algorithms generated using Matlab.
• Design and Implement FPGA fixed point math to achieve the floating-point equivalent on the FPGA.
• Develop effective self-checking testbenches to validate the RTL and report metrics for each test case.
• Design and/or develop modifications to existing IP, specifically focused on 3-phase motor control logic (e.g. BLDC commutation).
• Bring-up, troubleshoot, and integrate custom PCAs.
• Write and validate embedded software (C/C++) to interface with custom IP.
• Implement high-speed serial communications interfaces and inter-processor communication subsystems.
• Perform formal risk analysis and develop software mitigations.
• Follow rigorous design control methodology from design specification through design transfer to manufacturing.
• Write detailed design documentation (including specifications and verification plans) following Intuitive’s development guidelines.
• Support the Electrical Engineering team as needed with circuit design, PCA bring-up, and debug.

Qualifications

Skill/Job Requirements:

• Advanced degree in Electrical or Computer Engineering
• 3+ years of experience with Masters/PhD or 5+ years of experience with FPGA development.
• Experience with: Writing complex RTL using SystemVerilog constructs such as interfaces and structures.
• Experience with C/C++ in developing High Level Synthesis (HLS) highly desired.
• Designing with fast fabric clock speeds and identifying and resolving CDC and timing violation issues.
• Interfacing with DDR3/4 and identifying bottle necks to improve performance using strategies like pipelining.
• Self-checking test benches using SystemVerilog with use of assertions to validate test sequences.
• Developing RTL for DSP algorithms (FIR, IIR filters)
• FPGA architecture (CMTs, BRAMs, FIFO and DSP resources)
• Softcore microprocessors (Microblaze or RISC V)
• Bus protocols (SPI, I2C, AXI4 Streaming, AXI4 Memory Mapped)
• Standard bench test equipment such as oscilloscopes, function generators, logic analyzers, protocol analyzers, etc. to verify and debug designs.
• All phases of the product development lifecycle including design, implementation, debug, verification, validation, documentation, and transfer to manufacturing is preferred
• Familiarity with: Schematic capture tools (OrCAD preferred).
• Broad range of electronic technologies including memory, signal conditioning, and common communication interfaces.
• Operation and integration of common robotic system components such as encoders, force sensors, motors, and inertial measurement units.
• Interest in the medical applications of robotics and a passion to explore and understand tough technical problems

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 Employment 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.

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.

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 salary ranges are listed below:

• Base Salary Range Region 1: $127,100 - $182,900
• Base Salary Range Region 2: $108,100 - $155,500
• Shift: Day
• Travel: None