Director of IT, Engineering and PLM Applications

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. Position Overview We are seeking a visionary and results-driven Director of IT - Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) and Engineering Applications to lead the strategic roadmap, implementation, and continuous evolution of our enterprise PLM ecosystem. In this role, you will bridge the gap between technical execution and business strategy. You will be responsible for transforming how our products are conceived, designed, manufactured, and maintained, ensuring digital continuity across the product lifecycle. The ideal candidate has a proven track record of leading large-scale PLM implementations within highly regulated industries, specifically medical devices or complex manufacturing environments . As a key leadership figure, you will leverage exceptional communication and relationship-building skills to align cross-functional stakeholders—including Engineering, Quality, Regulatory Affairs, Operations, and IT—into a unified digital thread strategy. We are seeking a results-driven Director of IT - Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) and Engineering Applications to lead the strategic roadmap, implementation, and continuous evolution of our enterprise PLM and related ecosystem. In this role, you will bridge the gap between technical execution and business strategy. You will be responsible for transforming how our products are conceived, designed, manufactured, and maintained, ensuring digital continuity across the product lifecycle. The ideal candidate has a proven track record of leading large-scale PLM implementations and engineering business applications environments within highly regulated industries, specifically medical devices or complex manufacturing environments . As a key leadership figure, you will leverage exceptional communication and relationship-building skills to align cross-functional stakeholders—including Engineering, Quality, Regulatory Affairs, Operations, and IT—into a unified digital thread strategy. Key Responsibilities Strategic Leadership & Governance Define the PLM Roadmap: Architect and execute a multi-year enterprise PLM strategy that aligns with business growth, digital transformation goals, and regulatory requirements. Cross-Functional Alignment: Act as the primary liaison and strategic partner between business units (Engineering, Quality, Regulatory) and technical teams (IT, Solution Architects, System Integrators). Change Management: Lead comprehensive organizational change management efforts to ensure high adoption rates and minimal disruption during system deployments. Budget & ROI Ownership: Manage the PLM program budget, resource allocation, and vendor relationships, while establishing clear KPIs to measure system value and operational efficiency. Business Process & Compliance Digital Thread Integration: Drive the integration of PLM with adjacent enterprise systems (ERP, MES, CAD, and QMS) to ensure seamless data flow and a single source of truth. Regulatory & Quality Excellence: Ensure the PLM system fully supports compliance frameworks (e.g., FDA 21 CFR Part 11, ISO 13485, EU MDR) including electronic signatures, audit trails, design history files (DHF), and device master records (DMR). Process Optimization: Continuously evaluate and harmonize engineering and manufacturing business processes (e.g., Bill of Materials (BOM) management, Change Control, CAPA) across different sites and business units. Required Experience Education: Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related technical discipline. An MBA or advanced degree is highly preferred. Years of Experience: Minimum of 10+ years of progressive experience in product lifecycle management, with at least 5 years in a senior leadership/director-level role . Industry Expertise: Deep experience working within large medical device organizations or complex discrete manufacturing environments (e.g., aerospace, automotive, high-tech industrial). Implementation Track Record: Proven history of successfully leading at least one major, enterprise-wide PLM tool implementation or upgrade (e.g., PTC Windchill, Siemens Teamcenter, Dassault Systèmes Enovia) from inception through hyper-care. Skills & Competencies Stakeholder Management: Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, with a demonstrated ability to influence, negotiate with, and build consensus among executive-level business and IT leaders. Regulatory Knowledge: Strong understanding of medical device regulations or complex manufacturing quality standards (FDA, ISO, GMP). Technical Acumen: Solid understanding of PLM architecture, data modeling, CAD integration, configuration management, and enterprise system integration methodologies. Agile/Program Management: Proficiency in modern project management methodologies (Agile, SAFe, or PMP) to manage complex, multi-phase software rollouts. 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