Supplier Engineer at Intuitive Surgical, Inc. in BLACKSBURG, Virginia

Job Description:

Company 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:

Contribute your supplier development, supplier quality, and engineering skills to a dynamic development and manufacturing team that creates sensing platforms for minimally invasive robotic surgery. The supplier engineer position is being added due to growth at Intuitive's Blacksburg office. The role requires active participation with new product development and manufacturing engineering teams, ensuring that all purchased components and subassemblies can be readily obtained on time from high quality, reliable vendors. As part of this process, new vendors will need to be qualified and performance of existing vendors monitored. Supplier and material knowledge will also be applied to maintain, update, and develop manufacturing lines at the Blacksburg office.

The candidate must be able to coordinate their efforts with the development and manufacturing teams, and be able to report progress and milestones relative to overall projects. He or she must excel in a high-energy team environment and be capable of making sound decisions when faced with the time pressures and incomplete information typical of new product development and early stage manufacturing environments.

Roles and Responsibilities:

• Identify and develop key supplier relationships, managing those relationships to effectively partner Intuitive and the supplier.


• Collaborate with buyers, design/manufacturing engineering, and supplier engineering teams throughout Intuitive to identify vendor(s) that are best suited for purchased materials.


• Provide readiness information (quality, capacity, delivery) of the supply chain for major production process changes.


• Develop supplier ramp readiness plans with input from management by determining business risk based on forecast, supplier capacity, and supplier quality.


• Identify purchased part/subassembly cost reduction opportunities and lead cost reduction efforts in conjunction with buyers.


• Create and process variance requests (VRs) in SAP for non-conforming vendor materials and lead processing of VRs, including participation in vendors root cause analysis if warranted.


• Drive corrective actions in response to supplier defects by being proficient in determining true root cause, corrective and preventive actions.


• Create engineering change orders (ECO) and review for potential impact to design, manufacturing, and suppliers.


• Review supplier process change requests for potential impact to design and other requirements.


• Ensure compliance of all purchased materials to established and future compliance requirements (e.g. RoHS).

Qualifications
Skills, Experience, Education & Training:

• Minimum BS degree in Engineering or equivalent.


• Minimum 5 years related experience in any of the following areas: Supplier Quality, Supplier Development, Quality, Process and/or Manufacturing Development.


• Demonstrable knowledge of a wide range of manufacturing processes including understanding of key input variables for quality, cost and capacity (specialization can be in metal fabrication, plastics, electronics, and/or contract manufacturing).


• Significant computer experience using Windows, Word, Excel, and ERP Information Systems, preferably SAP.


• Excellent project management skills highly recommended.


• Ability to read and interpret detailed mechanical drawings Ability to make effective presentations to peers and suppliers.


• Domestic and international travel (10% max).


• Knowledge of pFMEA, process validation, inspection, and test techniques is required.


• Experience with ISO 13485, ISO 9001, or similar QMS preferred.

We provide market-competitive compensation packages, inclusive of base pay, incentives, benefits and equity, and the anticipated pay rate for this position is $100,400 to $144,400. 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 location, skills, and experience level.
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.

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