Samuel Au has a long and diverse work experience. Samuel began their career in 2007 as a Postdoctoral Associate at The MIT Media Lab, where they designed optimization and control algorithms for advanced prosthetic devices. During this time, they co-invented a robotic ankle-foot prosthesis with Professor Hugh Herr. In 2008, Au began working at Intuitive Surgical as a Systems Analyst, where they were a core team member for the da Vinci FC project for lung cancer biopsy. Samuel then progressed to Senior Systems Analyst and Manager, Systems Analysis, where they co-invented and led the development of the FDA approved daVinci Si Single-Site surgical platform and Single-Site Wristed Needle Driver. In 2016, Au joined The Chinese University of Hong Kong as a Professor, and later as an Associate Professor. In 2020, they began working as President of Cornerstone Robotics Limited and Director of Multi-Scale Medical Robotics Center Ltd.

Samuel Au attended The Chinese University of Hong Kong from 1994 to 1999, earning a B.Eng. and M.Phil. in Mechanical and Automation Engineering. Samuel then attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 2000 to 2007, earning a Ph.D in Mechanical Engineering.