Manager, Supply Chain Planning & Logistics at Intuitive · Bengaluru

Company Description

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.

Job Description

Primary Function of the Position

We are seeking a supply chain professional to own end-to-end demand forecasting, supply planning, inventory control, and logistics execution for a portfolio of medical devices — capital equipment, instruments, accessories, and spare parts.

The role drives a disciplined S&OP process across a regulated, lot-traceable, and often import-dependent supply chain — balancing patient-facing service levels, working capital, regulatory compliance, and cost-to-serve.

The incumbent will be the bridge between Commercial (tender + commercial channel), Regulatory Affairs, Quality, Manufacturing / Imports, Finance, and Service — ensuring on-shelf availability of life-critical products and uninterrupted service support to the installed base.

Key Responsibilities

Demand Planning & Forecast Management

• Own statistical and consensus demand forecasts at SKU / region / channel level, segmented by capital equipment, instruments, accessories, consumables, and spares, on a rolling 18-month horizon.
• Support New Product Introduction (NPI) launches — build phase-in plans aligned to regulatory milestones, sales-force readiness, and channel fill.
• Manage EOL and product-transition planning with care — clinical preferences and regulatory constraints make abrupt phase-outs risky.
• Run spare-parts and accessory planning driven by installed-base data, attach rates, and service-event history.
• Track forecast accuracy — MAPE, WMAPE, bias, FVA — at category level; isolate tender forecast error from commercial baseline.

Supply Planning & Inventory Control

• Convert the demand plan into a constrained supply plan across in-house.
• Work closely with global Supply planner.
• Own inventory planning and control — safety stock, cycle stock, and strategic stock — segmented by criticality (lifesaving / Class C-D items held at higher service levels, slow-moving accessories at lower tier).
• Manage expiry, FEFO discipline, and inventory ageing to keep write-offs within target.
• Plan around import lead times, CDSCO license validity, and customs clearance dependencies for imported SKUs.
• Coordinate with global stakeholders — regional supply hubs, principal manufacturers, and global category / planning teams — for supply allocation, expedites, and execution tracking across time zones.

Logistics & Service Levels

• Oversee inbound (imports + domestic), inter-DC, and outbound logistics to distributors, hospitals (direct), and field service engineers.
• Manage 3PL/4PL partners under ISO 13485-aligned vendor audits and Good Distribution Practices (GDP).
• Track and improve OTIF, lane-level cold-chain excursion %, expiry write-off %, freight cost per unit, OTIF-to-hospital direct, and tender-fulfilment %.

S&OP & Stakeholder Integration

• Run a disciplined monthly S&OP — Demand Review → Supply Review → Pre-S&OP → Executive S&OP — with a separate tender pipeline review layered in.
• Act as the single integrator across Commercial, Tender, Service, Regulatory, Quality, Manufacturing, Imports, and Finance; quantify trade-offs (service to a hospital vs. expiry risk vs. cash).
• Drive scenario plans for tender wins/losses, NPI go-live shifts, supplier disruptions, and import delays.

Analytics, Systems & Continuous Improvement

• Drive deployment and adoption of planning systems — o9, SAP — alongside QMS-integrated traceability in ERP.
• Build dashboards for forecast accuracy, inventory ageing / expiry runway, service level by hospital, tender OTIF, and import lead-time variance.
• Champion Lean / Six Sigma initiatives and GDP-aligned SOPs; institutionalize a logistics control tower for critical SKUs.

Stakeholder Management

• Manage cross functional stakeholders across commercial, Service, Regulatory, Manufacturing, Planning , Imports and Finance.
• Build and sustain Strong working relationship with global counterparts ,3PL/4PL Partners.
• Represent the function in senior business reviews and external audits (CDSCO, ISO 13485 surveillance).

Qualifications

Required Skills and Experience

• 7–10 years of professional experience in a similar position, ideally within a medical device company.
• Demonstrated ownership of demand planning, supply planning, and logistics in a regulated, multi-channel environment.
• Strong analytical skills with attention to detail and accuracy.
• Strong communication skills, both verbal and written.
• Effective time management and ability to drive multiple parallel workstreams.
• Ability to build and sustain long-term professional relationships across cross-functional and external stakeholders.

Required Education and Training

• Bachelor's degree (Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, or related discipline).

Preferred Skills and Experience

• MBA / PGDM in Operations or Supply Chain Management.
• Familiarity with an integrated ERP, preferably SAP (MM / SD / PP modules).
• Hands-on exposure to advanced planning systems — o9,SAP
• Strong knowledge of the MS Office product suite, particularly Excel (advanced functions, Power Query).
• Working knowledge of CDSCO Medical Devices Rules 2017, GDP, and ISO 13485 as applied to distribution and storage.
• APICS CPIM / CSCP / CLTD or Lean Six Sigma certification.
• Exposure to Power BI / Tableau for analytics and dashboard

Additional Information

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.

U.S. Export Controls Disclaimer: In accordance with the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (15 CFR §743.13(b)), some roles at Intuitive Surgical may be subject to U.S. export controls for prospective employees
who are nationals from countries currently on embargo or sanctions status.

Certain information you provide as part of the application will be used for purposes of determining whether Intuitive Surgical will need to (i) obtain an export license from the U.S. Government on your behalf (note: the government’s licensing process can take 3 to 6+ months) or (ii) implement a Technology Control Plan (“TCP”) (note: typically adds 2 weeks to the hiring process).

For any Intuitive role subject to export controls, final offers are contingent upon obtaining an approved export license and/or an executed TCP prior to the prospective employee’s
start date, which may or may not be flexible, and within a timeframe that does not unreasonably impede the hiring need. If applicable, candidates will be notified and instructed on any requirements for these purposes.

This position may be filled at a different job level than listed here depending on

business need and/or on the selected candidate’s experience, knowledge and skills.

Compensation will be based primarily on the job level at which the role is filled and the

candidate’s qualifications, consistent with applicable law.