Intuitive Surgical Reviews

I have been working at Intuitive Surgical full-time for more than 10 years

Pros – The engineering staff is super smart and very talented. It is gratifying to know we make surgery less invasive and less traumatic. The problems we solve are difficult and interesting, and everyone works very hard to achieve the common goal.

Cons – The company is growing quickly, and the culture is changing. To get any product into the field, a herculean effort is required to satisfy V&V and regulatory requirements.

Advice to Senior Management – Keep up the good work.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at Intuitive Surgical full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – Great Product that truly benefits patient lives
Pay is great when you're hitting your numbers

Cons – Hours required to do the job right
Being micromanaged beyond your imagination
Unrealistic quota expectations (at times)
Poor work life balance

Advice to Senior Management – Don't ride your field sales team so hard. You would have more qualified applicants and a stronger sales force if they were treated more appropriately.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at Intuitive Surgical full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – Majority of leadership has a longer term, realistic view of the environment - more so than other silicon valley companies I've been at (high tech hardware/software/cap equip). Very purposeful with bringing in new talent that fits into the culture. Aware of the pitfalls of being a successful company and actively manages to mitigate.

Cons – Pace is very fast and always increasing. Some people find it difficult to achieve effective work-life balance. Still some silo'd thinking, and as the company continues to grow and get more complex, this will be a challenge

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

I have been working at Intuitive Surgical full-time

Pros – Excellent innovation, great product, strong growth, exemplary executive leadership.

Cons – Very little opportunity for career development, advancement. A lot of middle managers are incompetent and apathetic and company has grown too fast to recognize or rectify this. The culture seems to frown upon recognizing accomplishments or providing any affirmation at all, and salaries are often not in line with those of other companies.

Advice to Senior Management – Get review data on managers, and clean house... or a lot of great people are going to leave.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

I have been working at Intuitive Surgical full-time

Pros – Pay is above average as long as stock keeps rising. If stock growth stops or sales miss targets pay is not attractive.
Annual meetings in sunny places
Your general appearance and attitude needs to be good.

Cons – Your life expectancy is 3 years here
No family life, high pressure environment
Get used to seeing people get fired at a whim for no reason
Churn and burn culture

Advice to Senior Management – You're almost there

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at Intuitive Surgical as an intern for less than a year

Pros – Lots of employee focused events, they have constant meetings to generate feedback from the employees as well as explain to them how their work impacts society. I would consider the pay to be pretty good and benefits are great.

Cons – Normal challenges that arise when working in a larger company.

I worked at Intuitive Surgical

Pros – Employee stock option plan is great. Most people love the company because the stock has made them a lot of money. Many people I met there told me they plan to work themselves to the bone, make a bunch of money in a couple of years, and leave for a less demanding job. There is not a lot of employee loyalty - unless you're a male engineer, then you're a lifer.

Cons – Long hours, demanding sales force, high turnover. The sales force faces very high pressure to meet their sales quotas, and it spills over to the way they interact with HQ people. Abrasive culture. Great place to work if you're in the old boys' club. Not so great if you're a woman.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

I worked at Intuitive Surgical full-time for more than a year

Pros – Awesome technology, good pay, benefits.

Cons – Co-workers will deliberately throw you under the bus to make themselves look better. HR will not help at all, and upper management turns a blind eye. Very demanding environment with little or no direction. Managers was incompetent and pushed blame on direct reports.

Advice to Senior Management – Pay attention to problems. Empower HR to actually resolve disputes. Show a little loyalty to your employees who bend over backwards for you. This is a company with an exciting product, that could and should be a great place to work.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

I worked at Intuitive Surgical full-time for more than a year

Pros – Amazingly interesting product that is able to help people in such a positive way and that is a great feeling. Stock options so long as the stock is low.

Cons – Not a collaborative team environment, people throw each other under the bus all the time and claim credit for work that they do not perform. It's also a very sterile environment where people do not really interface which creates a depressing environment. There is no work/life balance, expect to work 70+ hrs and weekends. Also do not trust HR, there is no such thing as anonymous at this company. This is a boys club environment and anyone that speaks up for concern of cutting corners affecting quality or any other HR issues will be pushed out of the company.

Advice to Senior Management – Upper management needs to quit protecting bad employees, they are protecting people that are a lawsuit waiting to happen. Should also take into account the employees overall happiness with quality of life and work.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at Intuitive Surgical as an intern for less than a year

Pros – Great and exciting technologies, and people to learn about the technology.

Cons – IT. Not so great. Bit of a hindrance.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company