Head of Robot - Software & Hardware

Job description

Position Summary We are seeking an experienced Head of Robot Delivery & Engineering to lead the successful definition, development, industrialization, and delivery of next-generation robotic products through strategic Joint Design Manufacturing (JDM) partnerships. This executive leader will own robot product and project delivery while building and managing the Shenzhen-based robot software, hardware, and power system teams. The role combines technology leadership, portfolio management, product definition, partner governance, and disciplined program execution from concept through mass production and sustaining support. The successful candidate will bring deep robot vacuum cleaner industry expertise, a strong record of leading multidisciplinary organizations, and the executive presence to align internal stakeholders, JDM partners, suppliers, and manufacturing teams around quality, cost, schedule, and customer outcomes. Key Responsibilities 1. Product and Business Leadership Own the robot product delivery strategy and execution roadmap, aligned with company objectives and market priorities. Lead product planning, product definition, feature prioritization, platform strategy, and technology roadmap development. Drive the end-to-end product lifecycle: concept, feasibility, development, verification, validation, industrialization, launch, and sustaining engineering. Partner with business, product, engineering, operations, quality, supply chain, and commercial stakeholders to define requirements, business cases, schedules, and investment priorities. Balance innovation, customer experience, performance, reliability, cost, manufacturability, and time-to-market. 2. JDM Partner and Program Leadership Serve as the senior executive interface for key JDM partners, strategic suppliers, and manufacturing stakeholders. Establish clear governance, accountability, decision rights, escalation paths, and operating rhythms across internal and partner teams. Drive partner execution across product concept, requirements, architecture, detailed development, validation, pilot builds, ramp, and mass production. Own integrated program plans, major milestones, budgets, resource allocation, dependencies, and executive reporting. Identify delivery risks early and lead cross-functional recovery or mitigation plans. Ensure all programs achieve agreed quality, cost, schedule, performance, compliance, and customer-experience targets. 3. Engineering Organization Leadership Build, lead, and mentor a high-performing Shenzhen engineering organization spanning robot software, embedded systems, hardware/electrical engineering, power systems, system integration, verification, and program management. Define the organization structure, capability plan, hiring roadmap, performance expectations, succession pipeline, and leadership development approach. Create a culture of technical excellence, transparency, ownership, collaboration, and predictable execution. Provide coaching and direction to functional leaders while ensuring strong cross-functional system ownership. 4. Technology Leadership Provide technical leadership across robot system architecture, autonomy and navigation, perception, SLAM, AI/computer vision, embedded software, sensor integration, motion control, battery and power management, connectivity, cloud integration, and mobile ecosystems. Chair major architecture, design, readiness, and technical risk reviews; make or facilitate timely system-level trade-off decisions. Drive platform reuse, modularity, design quality, engineering standards, and long-term technology differentiation. Evaluate emerging technologies and translate relevant advances into pragmatic product and platform investments. 5. Portfolio Management Manage multiple robot programs across product tiers, platforms, regions, and generations. Prioritize investments and allocate resources based on strategic value, customer impact, technical readiness, risk, and return. Maintain alignment among product roadmaps, technology roadmaps, JDM capacity, and business commitments. Provide concise portfolio-level visibility to executives, including health, trade-offs, decisions, and corrective actions. 6. Operational Excellence Implement robust development governance, change control, configuration management, quality gates, issue management, and launch-readiness processes. Establish measurable KPIs covering schedule predictability, quality, cost, technical maturity, risk retirement, partner performance, and customer outcomes. Drive root-cause resolution and continuous improvement across product development and delivery processes. Ensure compliance with applicable product safety, regulatory, cybersecurity, reliability, and manufacturing requirements. Candidate Qualifications Education Bachelor's degree in Robotics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, Automation, or a related engineering field. Master's degree preferred; MBA or equivalent business leadership experience is an advantage. Required Experience Overall robotics experience Minimum 15+ years in robotics product development, engineering, product delivery, or related leadership roles. Leadership tenure At least 8 years leading sizeable, multidisciplinary robotics or intelligent-device engineering organizations. Robot vacuum leadership Proven leadership experience in the robot vacuum cleaner industry, with direct accountability for commercially successful products. Product delivery record Demonstrated delivery of multiple robot products or platforms from concept through validation, industrialization, mass production, launch, and post-launch support. JDM and manufacturing Extensive experience working with JDM, ODM, EMS, key component suppliers, and contract manufacturing partners. Portfolio and program leadership Strong career record in technology leadership, product definition, portfolio management, and complex project/program management. Multidisciplinary team management Experience managing robot software, hardware, power systems, system integration, verification, and program teams in a matrixed, global environment. Communication Fluency in Mandarin Chinese and strong business English preferred for effective engagement with China-based partners and global stakeholders. Preferred Industry Background Preference will be given to senior leaders from top-tier robot vacuum cleaner or consumer robotics companies, such as Roborock, Ecovacs, Dreame, iRobot, Narwal, Xiaomi ecosystem companies, SharkNinja, Midea, or comparable leading organizations. Equivalent experience in commercially successful autonomous consumer robots will also be considered. Technical Expertise Robot Platforms and System Architecture Robot vacuum cleaner architecture, system engineering, platform definition, module strategy, and system-level trade-off management. Experience translating customer and product requirements into scalable technical architectures and executable engineering plans. Autonomy, Navigation, and AI Autonomous navigation, SLAM, localization, mapping, path planning, obstacle avoidance, perception, sensor fusion, computer vision, and edge AI. Understanding of algorithm performance, data strategy, validation methods, and deployment constraints for commercial robotic products. Embedded Software and Connectivity Embedded Linux, RTOS, BSP, device drivers, middleware, diagnostics, OTA update systems, wireless connectivity, cybersecurity, and cloud integration. Experience governing software architecture, release quality, configuration control, and product lifecycle support. Motion Control and Power Systems Motor control, motion control, actuator and sensor integration, battery management systems, charging systems, power electronics, thermal performance, and energy optimization. Ability to lead system-level decisions that balance cleaning performance, runtime, reliability, acoustics, safety, and cost. Product Realization and Manufacturing Design for excellence (DFX), verification and validation, reliability engineering, quality management, regulatory compliance, NPI, pilot builds, production ramp, and sustaining engineering. Demonstrated ability to resolve complex cross-functional issues with JDM partners, suppliers, factories, and internal engineering teams. Digital Product Ecosystem Mobile applications, cloud services, device connectivity, telemetry, fleet and product analytics, customer experience, and service diagnostics. Understanding of end-to-end product integration across robot, dock, application, cloud, and after-sales service systems. Leadership Competencies • Strategic and systems thinking • Technology vision and judgment • Executive presence and communication • Organization building and talent development • Cross-cultural leadership • Portfolio and investment management • Partner and stakeholder management • Decisive risk-based execution • Customer and market orientation • Influence across complex matrix organizations Dyson is an equal opportunity employer. We know that great minds don’t think alike, and it takes all kinds of minds to make our technology so unique. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and employment decisions are made without regard to race, colour, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, protected veteran status or other any other dimension of diversity.