Head of Systems

mimic; Zürich; On-site; CHF 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

mimic, a Zurich-based deep tech robotics & AI startup, seeks a Head of Systems to drive the technical evolution of its robotics and AI stack into a scalable, reliable platform.

The role is hands-on and leadership oriented: set architectural standards, elevate engineering discipline, ensure production-grade reliability, and own certification of the software and robotics stack.

Qualifications

• Experience designing, scaling and operating production-grade software systems.
• Strong system-level thinking focused on scalability and reliability.
• Experience shipping complex production software for on-edge ML devices.
• Hands-on coder able to dive into code.
• Ability to raise engineering standards across teams.
• Clear communication across technical and non-technical audiences.

Responsibilities

• Guide scalable architecture decisions across robotics, AI, and infrastructure.
• Lead productization from prototype to production system.
• Establish and enforce code quality, testing, and DevOps standards.
• Contribute to critical parts of the software stack.
• Drive software and robotics system certification.
• Mentor and develop team members.

Skills

Production-grade software

System-level thinking

Robotics/AI software

Hands-on coding

Engineering leadership

Technical communication

Cross-functional collaboration

Job description

mimic is a deep tech robotics & AI start-up based in Zurich and supported by leading VCs. We give industry workers a helping hand for tedious manual labour tasks and mitigate labour shortages with a versatile automation platform. Our automation solutions, driven by dexterous robotic hands and cutting edge AI trained on human observations, bring a new level of AI embodiment to the real world.

The Role

We’re looking for a Head of Systems to drive the technical evolution of our state-of-the-art robotics and AI stack into a scalable, reliable, and production-grade platform.

This is a hands-on leadership role. You will set and enforce architectural standards, elevate engineering discipline, and ensure our deployed software runs reliably with little human intervention. You will also own certification of the full software and robotics stack.

What You’ll Do

• Guide scalable architecture decisions across robotics, AI, and infrastructure
• Lead productization efforts from prototype to robust production system
• Establish and enforce code quality, testing, and DevOps standards
• Personally contribute to the critical parts of the software stack
• Drive software and robotics system certification
• Guide, develop and mentor team members

What We’re Looking For - Must Haves:

• Proven track record designing, scaling, and operating production-grade software systems
• Strong system-level thinking, optimizing for scalability and reliability
• Experienced in shipping complex production software for on-edge ML devices (robotics, autonomous driving, drones, IoT)
• Hands-on and capable of diving deep into code
• Strong at guiding and raising engineering standards across teams
• Ability to represent the company and its technical excellence in robotic systems with clear communication skills across technical and non-technical audiences
• Experience in working with teams of diverse skillsets and aligning technical direction

Nice to Have

• Experience with robotics middleware or real-time systems
• Background in safety-critical or certified environments
• Experience building telemetry or remote operation systems
• Experience scaling deep tech products into production
• Experience with agile project management and leadership of technical teams

You will have the opportunity to shape a robotics & AI company from the ground up. In flat hierarchies you will work directly with the founders and some of the best talents in the robotics space. At mimic, you are accepted for who you are. As part of our ongoing journey towards creating a diverse and inclusive environment we encourage everyone to apply and we are looking forward to you bringing along your knowledge, personal experiences, and fresh perspectives. Together we can solve some of the greatest challenges in robotics.