Field CTO - Physical AI & Robotics

Lavendo • San Francisco, CA

10h • $295,000 - $365,000

About The Position

Our client is a fast-growing, publicly traded AI cloud infrastructure company with a global footprint spanning R&D hubs across North America, Europe, and Israel. Built by a world-class team of engineers and AI researchers with deep expertise in hardware, software, and ML systems, they are building the foundational infrastructure that powers the next generation of AI-driven businesses worldwide.
Their platform enables companies of all sizes to tackle real-world AI challenges and transform their industries without the burden of massive infrastructure investments or the need to build large in-house AI/ML teams.
To lead a new era in cloud computing by giving companies the tools and resources they need to solve real-world challenges and transform industries - without massive infrastructure costs or the need to build large in-house AI/ML teams.
This is a rare, "Zero to One" opportunity to define an entirely new category of cloud infrastructure from the ground up. As Field CTO for Physical AI & Robotics, you will own the technical product strategy for one of the most consequential emerging domains in technology — robotics, autonomous systems, simulation/world models, and embodied intelligence.
Operating at the intersection of deep customer engagement and platform engineering, you will serve as the senior technical face of the company to Physical AI customers and partners, while simultaneously shaping internal roadmap decisions. You will work directly with customer CTOs to close complex, high-impact deals and architect scalable solutions that solve problems not just for one customer — but for an entire market.

Requirements

• 10+ years of experience in cloud infrastructure, platform engineering, or distributed systems
• 5+ years of experience in AI, HPC, and/or robotics with exposure to production or large-scale systems
• Prior experience in a senior technical leadership role (Field CTO, Head of Engineering, Principal Architect, or Distinguished Engineer)
• Dual-competency: equally comfortable drawing distributed system architecture for engineers and communicating business value to a CEO
• GTM fluency — proven experience partnering with Sales to close large enterprise deals and enabling field teams with technical assets
• Product-minded leadership: experience defining platform or product strategy from market feedback, not just executing technical tickets
• Strong hands-on understanding of GPU-centric infrastructure, high-performance compute, storage, and networking
• Robotics fluency: familiarity with Physical AI workflows including simulation, synthetic data generation, training pipelines, and real-world deployment
• Executive presence and strong communication skills — able to influence product teams and leadership through clarity and credibility
• Comfort operating in fast-moving, ambiguous environments at hyperscalers, cloud platforms, or advanced AI startups

Responsibilities

• Executive Technical Leadership: Serve as the external "CTO" face to Physical AI customers, partners, and ecosystem stakeholders, building trust with executive peers
• Lighthouse Deal Support: Partner with Sales leadership to close strategic deals by leading architectural workshops and aligning technical roadmaps with customer goals
• Technical Product Strategy: Translate bespoke customer needs into clear, scalable requirements for product, engineering, and infrastructure teams
• Field Enablement: Act as a force multiplier for the sales organization by developing technical narratives, reference architectures, and training materials to upskill Field SAs and Sellers
• Cross-Functional Alignment: Drive alignment across Product, Engineering, Infrastructure, and GTM teams so the internal roadmap reflects real market needs
• Architectural Guidance: Help customers maximize value from platform services while identifying the core "primitives" needed to support end-to-end robotics workflows
• Pattern Recognition: Identify recurring customer pain points across robotics, simulation, and data pipelines to surface product gaps and influence roadmap direction
• Ecosystem & M&A: Partner with simulation platforms and robotics framework vendors to identify integration opportunities and evaluate potential M&A targets
• Feedback Loops: Maintain structured internal feedback mechanisms to ensure customer learnings are tracked and acted upon by R&D

Benefits

• Competitive salary: $295,000 – $365,000 OTE + Equity
• 100% company-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance for employees and families
• 401(k) with up to 4% company match and immediate vesting
• 20 weeks paid parental leave for primary caregivers; 12 weeks for secondary caregivers
• Remote work reimbursement up to $85/month for mobile and internet
• Company-paid short-term, long-term disability, and life insurance

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive
• Education Level: No Education Listed