Director of Engineering, Physical AI

Scale AI; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 302,400 - 378,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental & vision coverage

Retirement benefits

Learning stipend

Generous PTO

Commuter stipend

Job summary

Scale AI in San Francisco seeks a Director of Engineering for Physical AI to lead a multi-disciplinary team and own the execution of the Physical AI Data Engine, the platform powering embodied AI deployments.

You will shape the technical vision, guide data collection infra, ML training pipelines, and production systems, collaborating with Operations and GTM to align product direction and scale robotics workloads.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Robotics, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
• 8+ years of engineering experience in fast-paced environments, including 4+ years direct people management demonstrated history of recruiting, mentoring, and developing high‑performing technical teams through rapid growth and change.
• Experience leading technical execution for complex hardware‑software systems, with deep domain knowledge in Robotics, Autonomous Vehicles, Computer Vision, and/or Machine Learning strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Set and drive the technical vision across data collection infrastructure, teleoperation systems, ML training pipelines, model evaluation frameworks, annotation tooling, and research.
• Lead a multidisciplinary engineering organization—spanning engineering managers, software engineers, ML engineers, and ML research scientists—while designing the organizational structure, talent strategy, and culture required to scale rapidly without compromising on quality or strategic alignment.
• Maintain exceptional technical and operational excellence by deeply understanding team deliverables, asking incisive questions, identifying slipping standards early, and knowing precisely when to step in.
• Drive cross-functional alignment across Engineering, Operations, and GTM on platform architecture, release processes, and shared priorities.
• Collaborate with researchers and clients to architect and deliver scalable, production‑grade data infrastructure tailored for complex robotics workloads.

Skills

Leadership

Robotics

ML pipelines

Python

C++

TypeScript/Node

Cloud (AWS)

Kubernetes

Temporal/Airflow

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering/Robotics/CS

Tools

Temporal

Airflow

Job description

Director of Engineering, Physical AI

Role Overview

The Director of Engineering will report to the General Manager of Physical AI, and will be responsible for leading a multi-disciplinary engineering organization. In this senior leadership role, you will own the execution of the Physical AI Data Engine — the platform powering the next generation of Physical AI/Embodied AI. You will collaborate closely with Operations and GTM to guide product direction and help solve the data bottleneck that stands between today's robotics research and real-world deployment.

This role requires significant ownership in a fast-paced environment and you will motivate internal teams to set the pace for business growth. Travel will come into play.

Key Responsibilities:

• Set and drive the technical vision across data collection infrastructure, teleoperation systems, ML training pipelines, model evaluation frameworks, annotation tooling, and research
• Lead a multidisciplinary engineering organization—spanning engineering managers, software engineers, ML engineers, and ML research scientists—while designing the organizational structure, talent strategy, and culture required to scale rapidly without compromising on quality or strategic alignment
• Maintain exceptional technical and operational excellence by deeply understanding team deliverables, asking incisive questions, identifying slipping standards early, and knowing precisely when to step in
• Drive cross-functional alignment across Engineering, Operations, and GTM on platform architecture, release processes, and shared priorities
• Collaborate with researchers and clients to architect and deliver scalable, production‑grade data infrastructure tailored for complex robotics workloads

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Robotics, Computer Science, or a related technical field
• 8+ years of engineering experience in fast-paced environments, including 4+ years direct people management demonstrated history of recruiting, mentoring, and developing high‑performing technical teams through rapid growth and change
• Experience leading technical execution for complex hardware‑software systems, with deep domain knowledge in Robotics, Autonomous Vehicles, Computer Vision, and/or Machine Learning strongly preferred
• Deep fluency in the ML development lifecycle — training pipelines, data flywheels, and evaluation frameworks as systems you've built and owned
• Comfortable leading teams across Python, C++, and TypeScript/Node stacks, distributed systems, cloud infrastructure (AWS, Kubernetes), and workflow orchestration (Temporal, Airflow)
• Proven ability to independently navigate, execute effectively amidst ambiguity, and strong attention to detail
• Strong operator and communicator to create tight feedback loops between teams, surface problems early, and drive decisions with clarity across technical and executive audiences

Nice to Have

• MS or PhD is a plus, though strong practical experience is equally valued.
• Hands‑on experience with teleoperation systems (ALOHA, UMI, hand tracking), robotic hardware platforms, or imitation learning
• Background in sensor fusion, SLAM, or 3D data processing
• Experience scaling data collection systems globally

Compensation packages at Scale for eligible roles include base salary, equity, and benefits. The range displayed on each job posting reflects the minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries for the position and may be inclusive of several career levels at Scale; it will be determined during the interview process based on work location and additional factors, including job‑related skills, experience, qualifications, interview performance, and relevant education or training. Scale employees in eligible roles are also granted equity based compensation, subject to Board of Director approval. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your preferred location during the hiring process, and confirm whether the hired role will be eligible for equity grant. You'll also receive benefits including, but not limited to: comprehensive health, dental and vision coverage, retirement benefits, a learning and development stipend, and generous PTO. Additionally, this role may be eligible for additional benefits such as a commuter stipend.

The base salary range for this full-time position in the location of San Francisco is:

$302,400 — $378,000 USD

PLEASE NOTE: Our policy requires a 90-day waiting period before reconsidering candidates for the same role. This allows us to ensure a fair and thorough evaluation of all applicants.

About Us:

At Scale, our mission is to develop reliable AI systems for the world's most important decisions. Our products provide the high‑quality data and full‑stack technologies that power the world's leading models, and help enterprises and governments build, deploy, and oversee AI applications that deliver real impact. We work closely with industry leaders like Meta, Ernst & Young, Mayo Clinic, Time Inc., the Government of Qatar, and U.S. government agencies including the Army and Air Force. We are expanding our team to accelerate the development of AI applications.

We believe that everyone should be able to bring their whole selves to work, which is why we are proud to be an inclusive and equal opportunity workplace. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability status, gender identity or Veteran status.

We are committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with physical and mental disabilities. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation in the application or recruiting process due to a disability, please contact us at [e-mail]. Please see the United States Department of Labor's Know Your Rights poster for additional information.

We comply with the United States Department of Labor's Pay Transparency provision.

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