VP of Engineering

Formulate Robotics; Mountain View (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation with equity

High ownership and autonomy

Foundational technology to reshape全球制造

In-person collaboration

Job summary

Formulate Robotics, based in Mountain View, CA, seeks a VP of Engineering to own the engineering execution for a platform that orchestrates Gen 3 hardware. You will lead a multidisciplinary org spanning robotics, embedded, cloud software, and AI/ML, shaping architecture and standards while shipping high-impact solutions.

You will collaborate with Product to translate customer needs into milestones, manage end-to-end system integration, and nurture a culture of hands-on leadership, learning, and

Qualifications

• 8+ years of engineering experience with 3+ years leading teams (manager-of-managers a plus).
• Proven ability to ship complex, cross-disciplinary systems (hardware + software preferred).
• Strong technical judgment across multiple domains: robotics/automation, embedded/firmware, cloud/platform, AI/ML.

Responsibilities

• Own the engineering roadmap and execution for Gen 3 hardware + the platform that runs it.
• Build and lead a high-performing team across robotics, controls, firmware/embedded, cloud software, and AI/ML.
• Set architecture and technical standards: reliability, safety, testability, observability, and maintainability.
• Drive system integration from end to end: mechanical/electrical interfaces, firmware, services, UI, data pipelines.
• Partner closely with Product to translate customer needs into clear priorities, milestones, and shipped releases.
• Establish engineering operating cadence: planning, reviews, incident postmortems, retros, and continuous improvement.
• Design for manufacturability and deployment at scale: cost-down, serviceability, calibration, QA gates, and runbooks.
• Build the feedback loop: instrumentation + data systems that let the platform learn and improve over time.
• Own hiring and team design: org structure, leveling, interviewing, onboarding, and culture.
• Jump into complex technical problems when needed and lead by example.

Skills

Engineering leadership

Systems architecture

Robotics & automation

Embedded/firmware

Cloud & platform software

AI/ML tooling

Education

Bachelor's degree in a technical field

Tools

Git/GitHub

CI/CD pipelines

ROS / robotics frameworks

Job description

About The Role

As VP of Engineering, you'll own the engineering execution for our platform that orchestrates it. This is a senior leadership role for a builder who can set technical direction, hire and develop a world-class team, and stay hands-on where it matters.

About The Role

As VP of Engineering, you'll own the engineering execution for our platform that orchestrates it. This is a senior leadership role for a builder who can set technical direction, hire and develop a world-class team, and stay hands-on where it matters.

You'll lead a multidisciplinary org spanning robotics/automation, embedded & controls, cloud/platform software, and applied AI/ML. Our work lives in the real world: sensors, actuators, safety, uptime, cost-down, throughput, and quality--paired with software that turns manufacturing into a programmable, learning system.

This is a full-time, California-based role with in-person collaboration expected in our Mountain View office.

We care less about pedigree and more about high agency, first-principles thinking, and a willingness to learn fast. You should be the kind of leader who ships, unblocks, and continuously upgrades your own workflow with modern AI tooling.

What You'll Do

• Own the engineering roadmap and execution for Gen 3 hardware + the platform that runs it.
• Build and lead a high-performing team across robotics, controls, firmware/embedded, cloud software, and AI/ML.
• Set architecture and technical standards: reliability, safety, testability, observability, and maintainability.
• Drive system integration from end to end: mechanical/electrical interfaces, firmware, services, UI, data pipelines.
• Partner closely with Product to translate customer needs into clear priorities, milestones, and shipped releases.
• Establish engineering operating cadence: planning, reviews, incident postmortems, retros, and continuous improvement.
• Design for manufacturability and deployment at scale: cost-down, serviceability, calibration, QA gates, and runbooks.
• Build the feedback loop: instrumentation + data systems that let the platform learn and improve over time.
• Own hiring and team design: org structure, leveling, interviewing, onboarding, and culture.
• Jump into complex technical problems when needed and lead by example.

What We’re Looking For

• 8+ years of engineering experience with 3+ years leading teams (manager-of-managers experience is a plus).
• Demonstrated ability to ship complex, cross-disciplinary systems (hardware + software preferred).
• Strong technical judgment across at least two of: robotics/automation, controls, embedded/firmware, cloud/platform, AI/ML.
• Comfortable operating in ambiguity: you can define the plan, make tradeoffs, and move fast without perfect information.
• High agency and ownership mindset - you don't wait to be told what to do.
• Systems thinker who understands interfaces, failure modes, testing strategy, and lifecycle management.
• Hands-on leadership style; capable of reviewing designs/code and mentoring engineers deeply.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• AI-native working style - actively leveraging modern AI tools to accelerate engineering output and quality.
• Nice-to-haves: factory automation, industrial controls, distributed systems, manufacturing environments.

What We Offer

• Competitive compensation with equity.
• High ownership and autonomy in a fast-moving environment.
• Opportunity to build foundational technology that reshapes global manufacturing.
• In-person collaboration with a small, ambitious team building real-world systems.