Head of Autonomous Systems

Strativ Group; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 300,000 - 500,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading DeepTech Research Lab in San Francisco seeks a Head of Autonomous Systems to lead the development of next-generation autonomous systems. This position requires a hands-on technical leader with over 7 years of experience in AI and robotics, capable of managing teams and driving strategic ownership of autonomy roadmaps. The ideal candidate will bridge AI and physical systems, ensuring safety and reliability in autonomous operations. This is a full-time role within a cutting-edge environment.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in autonomous systems, AI/ML, robotics, or control systems.
• Experience in designing and deploying autonomous systems and coordinating multi-agent behavior.
• Ability to bridge AI with physical systems in real-time decision making.

Responsibilities

• Lead and scale the efforts in building autonomous systems.
• Manage a team of engineers and researchers while setting technical direction.
• Ensure safety and reproducibility in systems engineering.

Skills

Leadership in autonomous systems

AI/ML proficiency

Robotics experience

Control systems knowledge

Job description

Base pay range

$300,000.00/yr - $500,000.00/yr

Head of Autonomous Systems

We are partnered with a highly technical DeepTech Research Lab building next-generation autonomous systems that operate across complex physical and digital environments. The organisation is well-funded ($40m+), running large-scale R&D programs, and working at the frontier of autonomy, agentic AI, and real-world system control.

Their work focuses on unifying artificial intelligence and physical systems - combining LLM-driven reasoning, structured planning, perception, and deterministic execution with real-world constraints such as safety, latency, and reliability. The platform enables autonomous agents to sense, decide, and act across end-to-end workflows involving hardware, software, and humans-in-the-loop.

The team is composed of deeply technical engineers and researchers from backgrounds including robotics, AI systems, control, distributed infrastructure, and applied ML. This is a high-ownership environment where senior leaders are expected to design, build, and deploy foundational systems that unlock entirely new capabilities in autonomy.

They are hiring a Head of Autonomous Systems to lead and scale this effort. The role sits at the intersection of AI research, robotics/autonomy, and systems engineering, with a strong emphasis on safety, reproducibility, and first-principles thinking. We are looking for a hands‑on technical leader who can act as both a people manager and system architect.

Key Experience Required

• 7+ years’ experience across autonomous systems, AI/ML, robotics, or control systems, with proven people leadership and team‑building experience
• Demonstrated leadership in designing and deploying agentic or autonomous systems, including planning, decision‑making, tool use, multi‑agent coordination, and long‑running autonomous behaviour
• Strong experience bridging AI with the physical world - robotics, industrial automation, autonomous platforms, cyber‑physical systems, or real‑time decision systems
• Deep applied engineering background, with the ability to architect end-to-end autonomous stacks spanning perception, reasoning, control, simulation, deployment, and monitoring
• Strategic ownership of the autonomy roadmap, including hiring and mentoring senior engineers/researchers, setting technical direction, managing safety and risk, and translating research into operational systems

Please apply ASAP for more information - we are aiming to have this position finalized in January.

Seniority level

Director

Employment type

Full‑time

Job function

Information Technology, Science, and Research

Industries

Data Infrastructure and Analytics and Software Development