Future opportunities - Sr Manager Data Operations, Medical Imaging AI

Intuitive Surgical
Sunnyvale, CA, US2026-02-21Full-time

About the job

The Ion™ endoluminal system is Intuitive's robotic platform for minimally invasive biopsy in the peripheral lung, designed to improve the early diagnosis of lung cancer. The Ion R&D team is looking for an experienced leader to own medical image dataset development. You will build and scale a high-performing organization of internal annotation specialists and external partners, delivering high-quality datasets to enable intelligent capabilities in our robotic platform. In this role, you will work at the intersection of Machine Learning, Clinical and Regulatory Affairs, and Data Operations. You will define organization-wide standards for dataset quality, establish scalable data workflows, and serve as the single accountable owner for dataset readiness across programs. You will directly accelerate the development of AI-powered technologies that help physicians diagnose patients earlier and more accurately.

Responsibilities

Define and oversee dataset strategy and execution across multiple programs, balancing competing priorities and timelines

Translate ML engineering and clinical requirements into clear dataset specifications

Manage multiple teams of internal labeling technicians, including hiring, onboarding, training, performance management, and day-to-day workload planning

Procure and manage external annotation vendors and contractors to meet quality and schedule targets

Track dataset progress and communicate status, risks, and tradeoffs to leadership

Partner with Regulatory Affairs and Clinical Affairs to ensure datasets meet FDA and international guidelines

Establish and oversee quality control workflows, acceptance criteria, and rework processes for data annotation

Define and enforce labeling guidelines, SOP’s, and reviewer instructions in collaboration with ML engineers and clinical SME’s

Own the creation and maintenance of dataset documentation to support releases and submissions

Improve data operations workflows, standards, and tooling across teams in partnership with software and data engineering groups

Serve as the single accountable owner for dataset readiness

Qualifications

Minimum

A bachelor’s degree in computer science, biomedical engineering, or equivalent experience

Five or more years of experience in data operations or ML dataset management, including experience leading multiple teams or programs

Experience working with medical imaging data (e.g., CT, X-ray, ultrasound)

Demonstrated experience managing people and/or external vendors in an operational or technical environment

Strong project management skills with experience coordinating cross-functional work

Solid understanding of data quality, documentation, and traceability principles

Ability to interpret technical requirements and collaborate effectively with ML engineers and clinical experts

Strong written and verbal communication skills

High levels of ownership, organization, and attention to detail

Preferred

Experience working in an FDA-regulated medical device environment (e.g., 510(k), PMA, MDR, ISO 13485)

Experience writing operating procedures, work instructions, or other quality system documentation

Familiarity with annotation tools such as SuperAnnotate, Labelbox, CVAT, or similar

Understanding of AI/ML regulatory guidance (e.g., FDA Good Machine Learning Practice)