Kelli Sum is a Human Factors Design Engineer at Intuitive Surgical, where she has spent the past five years contributing to the design and development of robotic surgical systems. With eight years of experience in the medical device industry, Kelli specializes in applying human factors engineering to complex medical technologies to ensure they are safe, effective, and intuitive for healthcare professionals.

In her role, Kelli leads user-centered design efforts across the product development lifecycle. She partners closely with mechanical engineers, software engineers, industrial designers, user interface and interaction designers, product managers, and biomedical and clinical research engineers. Together, they gather feedback from surgeons and clinical staff, translate user needs into design requirements, and identify usability risks in alignment with FDA human factors guidance for medical devices. Her focus is on ensuring that products are designed to fit the user — not the other way around — reducing frustration, minimizing error, and supporting safe clinical performance.

A proud alumna of San José State University, Kelli earned both her Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering and her Master’s degree in Human Factors and Ergonomics there. She also attended De Anza College, and is passionate about encouraging students who are exploring pathways into engineering and human factors careers.

Outside of work, Kelli enjoys playing basketball, spending time with her one-year-old, and volunteering with the Cherry Blossom Festival in San Francisco Japantown. She is excited to return to SJSU to share insights from her career journey and experiences in medical device innovation.