VP Engineering
Lightspeed•Northbrook, IL
•Onsite
About The Position
As Vice President of Engineering, you will lead LightSpeed’s engineering organization and own the execution of our robotics platform from development through production deployment. This is a hands-on technical leadership role, not a strategy-only position. You will write and review code, make real-time architecture decisions, debug production systems, and directly manage a team of robotics, AI/ML, computer vision, and hardware engineers. You will be responsible for shipping reliable, high-performance robotic systems as we scale from 3 deployed cells to 100+ over the next 18 months. The ideal candidate has deep personal experience in industrial robotics (ROS2, MoveIt2, motion planning), a track record of building and leading engineering teams in hardware-intensive environments, and the drive to operate as a player-coach at a fast-moving startup.
Requirements
- 8+ years of hands-on robotics engineering, with direct experience programming and deploying industrial or collaborative robot systems
- Deep proficiency with ROS2 architecture, MoveIt2/MoveIt Pro for motion planning, and real-time robot control
- Strong programming skills in Python and C++ for robotics applications
- Experience with industrial robot platforms (Hyundai, FANUC, ABB, KUKA, Universal Robots, or similar)
- Understanding of DDS middleware, real-time communication, and industrial networking protocols (EtherCAT, EtherNet/IP)
- Hands-on experience with robotics simulation tools (MuJoCo, IsaacSIM, Gazebo) and sim-to-real deployment
- Working knowledge of sensor integration: LIDAR, depth cameras, force/torque sensors, encoders
- 3+ years leading or managing engineering teams (10+ engineers), including hiring, performance management, and mentorship
- Track record of shipping production systems in hardware-intensive, real-time environments
- Experience scaling engineering teams and processes through rapid growth phases
- Ability to context-switch between hands-on technical work and people management without losing effectiveness in either
- Strong communication skills for translating technical status and risk to non-technical stakeholders
Nice To Haves
- Experience with multi-robot coordination and distributed robotic systems
- Background in automated manufacturing, industrial automation, or construction technology
- Familiarity with AI/ML integration in robotics (computer vision, reinforcement learning, predictive maintenance)
- Experience with production monitoring, DevOps, and CI/CD for robotics deployments
- Contributions to open-source robotics projects (ROS2, MoveIt, or related)
- Startup or high-growth company experience where you built engineering processes from scratch
- MS or PhD in Robotics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field
Responsibilities
- Own the full robotics software stack: ROS2-based control, motion planning (MoveIt2), multi-robot coordination, sensor integration, and deployment tooling
- Make hands-on architecture and design decisions for real-time control systems, robot coordination, and production infrastructure
- Write and review code in Python and C++ for robotics applications, control loops, and system integration
- Debug complex production issues across software, hardware, and networking layers in deployed robotic cells
- Drive technical standards for code quality, testing, CI/CD, and release management across the engineering org
- Evaluate and select technology platforms, tools, and frameworks for robotics, AI/ML, and infrastructure
- Directly manage and mentor a multidisciplinary engineering team (currently ~10 engineers across robotics, AI/ML, computer vision, and hardware)
- Hire, onboard, and develop engineers as the team scales to support 100+ cell deployments
- Establish engineering processes, sprint cadences, and development workflows that balance speed with reliability
- Foster a high-accountability, low-bureaucracy engineering culture focused on shipping production-ready systems
- Conduct regular 1:1s, performance reviews, and technical growth planning for direct reports
- Ensure deployed LPDC cells meet uptime, precision, and throughput targets in production environments
- Lead the transition from monolithic application architecture to scalable, multi-cell systems supporting 100+ deployments
- Develop monitoring, alerting, and diagnostic tooling for remote management of distributed robotic cells
- Collaborate with Operations on cell deployment, commissioning, and field support processes
- Drive continuous improvement in robot cycle times, position accuracy, and system reliability
- Partner with the CEO and executive team on technical feasibility, timelines, and resource planning
- Coordinate with Operations and Project Management on deployment schedules and customer requirements
- Support sales with technical due diligence, customer demos, and integration planning
- Provide engineering input to fundraising materials and investor conversations as needed
Benefits
- Competitive compensation including salary, equity participation, and comprehensive benefits
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Executive
