Head of AI

Makematter; Menlo Park (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Matter is building the world’s first network of autonomous factories. We are moving beyond static, hard-coded automation. We view the factory as a singular, distributed robotic system powered by Physical AI.

You will bridge the Sim-to-Real gap in high-throughput environments where latency and safety are non-negotiable. Lead the AI roadmap and the Physical AI stack to deliver production-ready outcomes.

Job description

The Mission: Enable Global Abundance

Matter is building the world’s first network of autonomous factories. We are moving beyond static, hard-coded automation. We view the factory as a singular, distributed robotic system powered by Physical AI.

We aren't fixing legacy systems; we are building an AI-native manufacturing stack from the ground up to solve America’s supply chain and labor constraints.

The Challenge: Moving Atoms

Most AI happens behind a screen. At Matter, your code moves atoms. You will bridge the Sim-to-Real gap in high-throughput environments where latency and safety are non-negotiable.

Technical Frontiers You will Lead

• Foundation Models for Physics: Building models that understand material properties and assembly logic.


• Multi-Agent Symphony: Coordinating robots, conveyors, and tools for non-linear assembly.


• Sub-millimeter Precision: Vision-driven state estimation in "messy" real-world environments.


• The Data Flywheel: Turning every "failed" grasp into training data that makes the global network smarter.


• Zero-Touch NPI: Enabling factories to re-program themselves for new products in hours, not months.

What You will Own

• The AI Roadmap: Define the boundary between classical control and end-to-end neural networks.


• The Physical AI Stack: Architecting everything from edge-sensing to real-time control.


• Team Building: Recruiting a "Special Forces" team of robotics and systems engineers.


• Production Outcomes: Owning Yield, Throughput, and Uptime.

Who You Are

• A "First Principles" Builder: You value shipping production code over publishing research papers.


• Deep Domain Expertise: Proven track record in Robotics, RL, CV, or Autonomous Systems (AVs/UAVs).


• Hardware Intuition: You understand that AI is only as good as the hardware it controls.


• Leadership Grit: You’ve survived the "trough of disillusionment" in hardware-software deployments.

Why Matter?

• AI-Native from Day Zero: No legacy baggage. We’re designing AI-native hardware and infrastructure from day zero.


• Battle-Tested Team: We’ve built world-class factories for the last decade.


• "Lead Bullets" Philosophy: No silver bullets. We win through relentless, compounding technical victories.


• True Impact: Lowering the cost of goods and re-industrializing America.