Director, Robotic Manipulation Platform & Software

NVIDIA; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 320,000 - 488,750; Full time

Job summary

NVIDIA is seeking an exceptional engineering leader to head Isaac for Manipulation in Austin, TX. You will own strategy, roadmap, and execution for manipulation, mentor world-class robotics engineers, and drive real-world deployment on robotic arms across manufacturing and logistics.

You will collaborate with NVIDIA Research, Isaac Sim/Lab, and foundation-model teams to ship sim-to-real solutions, and work with partners to ensure APIs meet real workflows.

Qualifications

• BS, MS, or PhD in Robotics, Computer Science, Electrical/Mechanical Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience).
• 12+ total years of robotics or robotics-adjacent systems experience, including 3+ years leading, mentoring, and managing engineering teams.
• Hands-on expertise with robotic arms, manipulation, grasping, motion planning, and control to perception-guided manipulation.
• Working understanding of GPU-accelerated computing and modern ML infrastructure (CUDA, PyTorch, GPU-accelerated simulation, edge inference).
• Ability to work with external partners, customers, and developer communities and translate needs into roadmap and shipping product.
• Strong software engineering fundamentals (modern C++ and Python) for technical and architectural decisions.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Isaac Manipulation team: recruit, grow, and mentor engineers; set direction and drive delivery.
• Shape the roadmap with Product Management for grasping, motion planning, perception-for-manipulation, and learned policies.
• Translate hardest contact-rich tasks into robust, real-world capabilities for manufacturing, logistics, and automation.
• Bridge research and product with NVIDIA Research, Isaac Sim/Lab, and foundation-model teams to bring sim-to-real approaches.
• Engage partners and developers as the technical face of Isaac Manipulation and gather requirements for APIs and tools.
• Drive architecture and execution to fully use NVIDIA GPUs and the accelerated stack across simulation, training, and on-robot inference.
• Deliver multi-functional programs with focus on quality, performance, and real-world deployment of learned policies.

Skills

Robotics

Team leadership

C++

Python

System architecture

Education

BS/MS/PhD in Robotics, CS, EE or related

Tools

CUDA

PyTorch

Job description

NVIDIA is seeking an exceptional engineering leader to head Isaac for Manipulation in Austin, TX. You will own strategy, roadmap, and execution for manipulation, mentor world-class robotics engineers, and drive real-world deployment on robotic arms across manufacturing and logistics.

You will collaborate with NVIDIA Research, Isaac Sim/Lab, and foundation-model teams to ship sim-to-real solutions, and work with partners to ensure APIs meet real workflows.