About the job
Core Responsibilities:
The Supplier Engineer plays a vital role in ensuring that suppliers adhere to Intuitive Surgical Inc.'s standards for quality, service, delivery, and cost-effectiveness. The ideal candidate will spearhead initiatives aimed at enhancing supplier business and manufacturing processes. Key responsibilities include evaluating and selecting suppliers, collaborating with engineering teams to provide Design for Manufacturability (DFM) insights for new product designs, and supporting both New Product Introductions (NPI) and ongoing production by monitoring supplier performance and driving improvements.
This position will specifically focus on the manufacturing of electronic components, including printed circuit boards (PCBs), printed circuit board assemblies (PCBAs), sub-assemblies, and complete electronic systems for some of Intuitive's latest innovations. Candidates should have a robust history of successfully bringing electronic devices to market, particularly in the medical device sector, along with direct experience working with electronics manufacturing service (EMS) providers and component suppliers. Familiarity with various electronics manufacturing technologies such as surface mount technology (SMT), automatic optical inspection (AOI), in-circuit testing (ICT), and functional testing (FUT) is essential, as is knowledge of electronic system and PCBA design.
Key Duties:
- Deliver project and part qualification documentation including Supplier pFMEA, Process Validations (IQ/OQ/PQ), Inspection Reports, Gage R&R, and Process Capability Analysis.
- Partner with suppliers to implement cost reductions, capacity enhancements, and risk management strategies.
- Evaluate and select appropriate processes and suppliers, ensuring a long-term fit and total cost of ownership considerations.
- Oversee supplier changes, including manufacturing process modifications, production optimization, facility alterations, equipment qualification, and validation of new production lines.
- Manage modifications to ISI requirements by initiating changes to specifications and drawings through engineering change orders.
- Lead corrective actions for supplier variances, from symptom identification through root cause analysis, including thorough CAPA documentation.
- Effectively prioritize and manage multiple projects and tasks concurrently.
- Communicate project statuses clearly and effectively to stakeholders.
- Establish and maintain a clear vision for supplier development and improvement.
- Determine the necessary documentation level for tracking actions and justifying decisions.
- Generate and monitor key performance metrics for the team and suppliers, ensuring timely achievement of those metrics.
- Encourage suppliers to continuously enhance their business and manufacturing performance in line with Intuitive's standards for excellence, employing best practices in project management and Six Sigma methodologies.