Director of Robotics SW & AI (Global Talent)

Overview
Reports to: Chief executive officer (CEO)
Team size: 50-100
We are seeking a world-class engineering leader to lead the creation of the autonomy and software intelligence of next-generation humanoid robots from first principles. You will lead multidisciplinary engineering teams spanning Robotic Perception, SLAM & Navigation, Teleoperation, Motion Control, Manipulation & Loco-Manipulation, and Robot Control Software, while fostering a culture of bold innovation, rapid experimentation, and engineering excellence.
Your performance will be evaluated based on autonomy milestones and sim-to-real transfer metrics, safety/reliability gates, deployment-readiness, and the team's growth & retention.
International candidates are highly encouraged to apply. Relocation support and global recruitment are available for outstanding talent.
Why join us
You will build the autonomy of a humanoid platform from first principles - not iterate on an existing product. Our key differentiator is a strong, passionate team already capable of building a complete digital twin of the robotic system, enabling comprehensive testing and validation across simulation, hardware-in-the-loop, and physical robots. You will own that advantage end-to-end, with the freedom to invent new architectures and the infrastructure to validate them fast.
Key Responsibilities
Autonomy Vision & Technology Strategy
Define the long-term autonomy vision and software technology roadmap for future generations of humanoid robots.
Drive first-principles engineering to invent new autonomy architectures rather than incrementally improving existing pipelines.
Identify breakthrough opportunities across the complete software stack, including perception, state estimation, localization and navigation, teleoperation, manipulation and loco-manipulation, motion control, motion planning, and real-time control software.
Continuously evaluate emerging global research and translate cutting-edge results into competitive robotic capability.
Autonomy Architecture & Innovation
Lead the design of autonomy architectures that significantly advance robot capability, robustness, dexterity, and intelligence.
Define how learning-based and model-based components compose across the stack, including the interfaces between control policies, classical planning, and real-time control.
Challenge conventional approaches and encourage bold technical exploration through rapid prototyping and iterative experimentation.
Drive system-level architecture decisions balancing capability, latency, determinism, computational cost, scalability, and future extensibility.
Own safety and field-deployment reliability as a first-class objective - the robots operate near people and in industrial environments (warehouse, EV). Establish safety-relevant engineering practices, validation gates, and reliability standards.
Lead the development of dexterous manipulation and loco-manipulation as a core humanoid capability, from grasping and in-hand manipulation to whole-body coordinated tasks.
Own simulation, digital twin, and sim-to-real as first-class infrastructure powering the design-build-test-learn loop.
Engineering Leadership
Lead multidisciplinary Robotic Perception, SLAM & Navigation, Teleoperation, Motion Control, Manipulation, and Robot Control Software organizations.
Build a world-class software engineering culture centered on technical excellence, creativity, ownership, and continuous innovation. Grow a team of 76 engineers to 88 engineers in 6 months.
Mentor senior technical leaders and group leads while establishing high engineering standards, architecture reviews, and technical decision-making processes.
Foster close collaboration across Foundation AI, Hardware, Product, and Deployment teams to develop integrated robotic systems.
Define and own the interface contracts between the autonomy stack and: (1) Hardware platform and (2) Foundation AI stack
Documented specifications, versioned APIs, and clear ownership boundaries; this way, integration happens by design rather than case-by-case.
(*) Scope boundary: this role owns robotics software and autonomy engineering, while Foundation AI owns the learning / foundation-model layer
Advanced Research & Technology Exploration
Stay at the forefront of global advancements in embodied AI, robot learning, perception, SLAM, optimal control, simulation, and real-time systems.
Build collaborations with universities, research institutes, startups, and technology partners to accelerate innovation.
Drive proof-of-concept development, algorithm validation, and feasibility studies for next-generation robot autonomy.
Encourage patent generation, technical publications, and the creation of proprietary core technologies.
Autonomy Development & Deployment
Lead the development of the autonomy stack from research prototype through validation on real humanoid platforms.
Drive rapid design-build-test-learn cycles across simulation, hardware-in-the-loop, and physical robots.
Guide engineering trade-offs and system optimization through experimentation, benchmarking, and iterative refinement.
Ensure autonomy capabilities are robust, safe, and reliable enough to establish the foundation for future commercial products.
Qualifications
Bachelor's, Master's, or Ph.D. in Robotics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Control Engineering, or related disciplines.
10+ years of experience developing advanced robotics or autonomous systems software (or an equivalent record of achievement), with significant experience leading multidisciplinary engineering organizations.
Demonstrated success taking robot autonomy from concept to working systems operating on real hardware.
System-level understanding of the full robotics software stack (perception, state estimation and SLAM, navigation, teleoperation, motion control, manipulation, motion planning, and real-time control software), with deep, hands-on expertise in one or two of these areas.
Experience developing humanoid robots, legged robots, or other frontier robotic systems, including the domain-specific software considerations that distinguish them from conventional autonomous systems.
Strong understanding of how learning-based and model-based methods combine in deployed robotic systems, together with solid command of real-time, safety-relevant software engineering.
Passion for solving difficult engineering challenges through first-principles thinking and hands-on innovation.
Proven ability to recruit, inspire, and lead world-class engineering teams in a fast-paced R&D environment.
Excellent communication and leadership skills in a multicultural and international organization.
Preferred
Experience at leading robotics, autonomous vehicle, aerospace, or advanced technology companies.
Strong record of patents, publications, breakthrough algorithms, or commercially deployed autonomy systems.
Experience building entirely new autonomy platforms rather than incremental product evolution.
Passion for creating technologies that redefine the future of robotics.