Director of Engineering, Physical AI

Stack

Responsibilities

• ▹Set and drive technical vision across data collection infrastructure, teleoperation systems, ML training pipelines, model evaluation frameworks, annotation tooling, and research
• ▹Lead a multidisciplinary engineering organization (engineering managers, software engineers, ML engineers, ML research scientists), designing structure, talent strategy, and culture
• ▹Maintain technical and operational excellence, understanding team deliverables deeply and knowing when to step in
• ▹Drive cross-functional alignment across Engineering, Operations, and GTM on architecture, release processes, and priorities
• ▹Collaborate with researchers and clients to architect scalable, production-grade data infrastructure for robotics workloads

Requirements

• ▹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 of direct people management with a track record of recruiting, mentoring, and developing high-performing teams
• ▹Experience leading technical execution for complex hardware-software systems, ideally with domain knowledge in Robotics, Autonomous Vehicles, Computer Vision, and/or Machine Learning
• ▹Deep fluency in the ML development lifecycle - training pipelines, data flywheels, and evaluation frameworks 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 navigate ambiguity independently and execute with strong attention to detail
• ▹Strong operator and communicator, creating tight feedback loops across technical and executive audiences

Nice to have

• ▹MS or PhD (strong practical experience 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

Soft skills

What we offer

• ▹Base salary (San Francisco): $302,400-$378,000
• ▹Equity, subject to Board approval
• ▹Comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage
• ▹Retirement benefits
• ▹Learning and development stipend
• ▹Generous PTO
• ▹Commuter stipend in some cases

About the company

Scale's mission is to develop reliable AI systems for the world's most important decisions, providing high-quality data and full-stack technologies that power leading AI models, working with organizations such as Meta, Ernst & Young, Mayo Clinic, and U.S. government agencies.