Head of Autonomous Systems (Santa Rosa)

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 .