Lead Director of Photography

Intuitive is hiring a Lead Director of Photography based in Sunnyvale, California. This role sits inside Intuitive’s in-house creative studio, where the Lead DP owns the visual language across brand filmmaking, motion content, and photography production from early creative development through final delivery. It’s a fit for a working cinematographer who operates equally well as a creative collaborator and a one-person production unit on smaller shoots.

About the Role

The Lead Director of Photography works inside Intuitive’s Brand and Creative studio, contributing to a range of branded content production including interviews, scripted scenes, product storytelling, and photography campaigns. Day to day, that means moving between pre-production planning, active camera and lighting work on set, and post-production collaboration with editors and motion designers. The role requires someone who can prep a shot list in the morning, run a crew in the afternoon, and sit in an edit suite giving useful creative feedback later in the week.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as lead cinematographer across studio productions, owning camera package selection, lens choices, lighting design, composition, and coverage strategy from pre-production through wrap.
• Develop visual treatments, shot lists, and storyboards during creative development, bringing production craft into the room before a single frame is shot.
• Direct talent, interviews, and scenes on assignments where a dedicated director is not part of the production structure.
• Establish and raise lighting and composition standards across photography produced by the studio and its external partners, including mentoring teammates through direct feedback on their work.
• Partner with editors and motion designers in post-production workflow to shape pacing, rhythm, and movement, contributing hands-on editing support when the project calls for it.
• Plan and independently execute smaller shoots without a dedicated producer, managing all production logistics while protecting creative intent and output quality.

What You Bring

• A substantial body of work across branded content production, documentary, or commercial cinematography that demonstrates a clear and consistent visual point of view.
• Hands-on fluency with professional camera systems, lighting packages, and grip equipment across a range of production scales.
• Experience contributing to color, editorial, and finishing on projects from principal photography through final delivery.
• Comfort working across both large crew productions and solo or minimal-crew shoot environments.
• A working knowledge of photography standards, studio workflows, and equipment practices beyond cinematography.

Why This Role

Intuitive is a medical technology company with a creative studio operating at a level that expects genuine craft, not just content volume. The Lead Director of Photography has real influence over how the brand looks and sounds across moving image and photography, with access to senior creative leadership and the latitude to shape studio standards over time. This is a staff role inside a mature in-house production environment, not a contract engagement.

Apply now for the Lead Director of Photography position at Intuitive and bring your cinematography background to a studio that treats visual craft as a core business function.