From the bustling streets of Bangalore to the innovation hubs of California, Arjun Urs has built a career that merges cutting-edge technology with a mission to save lives. Born into a humble, middle-class family in India, Arjun’s journey is not one of overnight success, but of relentless learning, purposeful engineering, and an unwavering belief that code can be a force for good.
Today, Arjun serves as a Staff Software Engineer at Intuitive Surgical – the global leader in robotic-assisted surgery—headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. In this role, he leads the team responsible for building patient-specific 3D anatomical models that surgeons use for both pre-operative and intra-operative planning. These models are more than just digital renderings—they are lifelines for patients, especially those battling complex conditions like cancer.
At Emory University Hospital, for example, surgeons use IRIS-generated models to map tumors and critical surrounding anatomy before surgery, and then reference those same models during the procedure. Powered by AI and machine learning, the platform transforms traditional medical imaging into precise, interactive 3D reconstructions within hours instead of days. This speed and accuracy have a profound impact—reducing surgical time, minimizing complications, and giving patients a better chance at recovery.
Arjun played a pivotal role in designing the platform’s architecture, implementing a HIPAA-compliant, serverless infrastructure using AWS Lambda and Step Functions. He also integrated AI-based segmentation algorithms, allowing the system to automatically identify and reconstruct anatomical structures with remarkable precision. What once required tedious manual work by imaging specialists is now an intelligent, automated workflow that empowers surgical teams to focus on patient care rather than data preparation.
But Arjun’s contributions extend beyond his own coding. At Intuitive Surgical, he actively mentors other engineers, sharing not only his technical expertise in cloud computing and AI/ML but also his vision for building technology with measurable human impact. His approach fosters innovation within the team while ensuring that every engineer understands the “why” behind the work—because in healthcare, the stakes couldn’t be higher.
His passion for improving healthcare technology began years earlier. In 2014, Arjun became the first engineering hire at CareIT, a telehealth startup. There, he led development of a secure, scalable platform for real-time video consultations between patients and doctors. Long before virtual care became mainstream, his work at CareIT brought quality healthcare to remote and underserved communities, integrating features like e-prescriptions, secure messaging, and payment processing to make care both accessible and efficient.
Before entering medtech full-time, Arjun built a diverse portfolio of technical achievements—creating cloud observability tools at Microsoft, scaling subscription systems at Autodesk, and developing social engagement platforms at Crowdnub, a Microsoft Ventures–incubated startup. These experiences gave him a broad technical foundation, but his heart was always drawn back to projects with real-world healthcare impact.
Reflecting on his journey, Arjun credits his roots for shaping his values. “Growing up in a middle-class family in Bangalore taught me to be resourceful and to value every opportunity,” he says. “When you apply technology to healthcare, you’re not just solving problems—you’re changing lives.”
In a world where AI and machine learning are often seen through the lens of convenience or commercial gain, Arjun’s work is a reminder of their most noble application – helping surgeons save lives. From a modest home in India to the forefront of medical technology in Silicon Valley, his story proves that when technical skill meets human purpose, innovation can transcend borders, industries, and even time zones.
For Arjun Urs, coding has never been about lines of logic—it has always been about lives.
