Clearpath snags ISRG design guru Hanuschik

Self-driving vehicle development company Clearpath Robotics said today it picked up Intuitive Surgical‘s (NSDQ:ISRG) director of design & management Mike Hanuschik.

Hanuschik led the design and product management for Intuitive Surgical’s flagship da Vinci surgical robot system, the market leading robotic surgery platform. The da Vinci is used in over 500,000 procedures annually, according to the company.

“Mike has a proven track record of building world-class teams and developing complex robot systems that are well adopted. He is an inspiring leader who knows how to create and execute an ambitious vision. We couldn’t be more excited to have him join our executive team,” CEO Matt Rendall said in a press release.

Hanuschik started at Intuitive Surgical with no formal design education, according to a Print Magazine interview.

After leaving his job in the Navy, where he spent his time repairing displays and interfaces for fighter jets, Hanuschik found himself at a job fair Intuitive Surgical was attending. According to Hanuschik, he was offered a choice of either working on the da Vinci system, or on batteries.

He started with the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company as a product support engineer, moving through product management to become design and management director for the da Vinci system.

Clearpath has tagged Hanuschik as its chief product officer, and said he will help establish and grow Clearpath’s Silicon Valley product design office.

“The 1st thing that stands out about Clearpath is the people. When you walk around the company, there’s a palpable sense of excitement about the work they are doing and it shows in the quality of the products they create. They clearly know how to have fun yet maintain high standards of craftsmanship and a heightened sense of urgency,” Hanuschik said.

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