Vice President of Engineering

Head of Engineering, Climbing Robotics for Critical InfrastructureWe are working with a well funded, early stage robotics company building a genuinely new category of climbing robot for critical infrastructure, including electrical transmission networks, pipelines, bridges, industrial tanks, shipbuilding, renewable energy assets and data centers. Rather than drones or conventional inspection methods, the platform uses proprietary magnetic locomotion to climb steel structures and physically interact with them, with a long term roadmap extending into contact measurement, corrosion analysis, grinding, welding preparation and bolt torque verification.The company is on its third to fourth generation of robot development and is solving problems that simply do not have off the shelf answers yet, particularly around magnetic adhesion and actuator design. Strong customer interest already exists across the US, Canada and Europe, and the business is well capitalized heading into a significant funding round later this year, with no concerns around future fundraising.About the roleThis is a true player coach position, roughly 80 percent hands on engineering leadership and execution, 20 percent strategic planning. You will be the company's first true engineering leadership hire, working closely with the founders to introduce engineering process, structure and operational discipline while keeping the pace and culture that has gotten the company this far. You will not be inheriting a mature engineering organization, you will be helping build one, including laying the foundations needed for rapid growth after the upcoming raise. The title today is Head of Engineering, with a clear intention to promote into a VP Engineering position as the company scales rather than hiring externally for that seat.What we are looking forRobotics industry experience, ideally within legged robotics, field robotics or other complex autonomous systems. Strong systems engineering experience with testing and validation as a genuine part of your background. Experience building engineering organizations inside early stage startups, including introducing process and structure rather than inheriting it. Around five years of engineering leadership experience, including managing small engineering teams and, where possible, managers. Strong technical credibility across robotics software, C++, ROS2 and simulation or modeling tools. Experience balancing customer needs with engineering priorities during rapid product development. A genuine appreciation for robotics operating in harsh outdoor environments where reliability is critical.What will make you successful here is calm, experienced leadership, comfort working in ambiguity, a willingness to build process from scratch, being a strong communicator who asks good questions rather than chasing every new idea, staying pragmatic and execution focused, being comfortable changing direction when needed, using AI as a genuine engineering productivity tool, and being more motivated by building meaningful technology than by maximizing salary. Low ego and collaborative colleagues who are enjoyable to work with matter a great deal here.