Head of Machine Learning

Director / VP of Machine Learning (Computer Vision & Robotics)

Location: San Francisco

Employment Type: Full-Time

Work Model: Hybrid / Onsite

Industry: Robotics / AI / Autonomous Systems

Stage: VC-Backed Startup

About the Company:

MBN Solutions are partnered with a venture-backed robotics company building next-generation intelligent systems that combine machine learning, computer vision, and real-world autonomy. The team is focused on deploying advanced AI into physical environments at scale, solving complex challenges across perception, decision-making, and robotic interaction.

Backed by leading investors and led by experienced operators and technologists, they are entering a significant growth phase and are seeking a senior ML leader to define and scale our machine learning function.

The Opportunity:

We are looking for a highly technical and commercially minded Director or VP of Machine Learning to lead the development of our AI and perception capabilities. This role will own the machine learning roadmap, build and mentor a high-performing team, and work cross-functionally with robotics, software, and product leadership to deliver production-grade intelligent systems.

The ideal candidate combines deep expertise in machine learning and computer vision with strong leadership experience in fast-paced startup environments.

Responsibilities:

* Define and execute the company’s machine learning and computer vision strategy

* Lead development of perception systems for robotics applications, including object detection, tracking, segmentation, scene understanding, and sensor fusion

* Build and scale high-performing ML teams across research and production engineering

* Drive the deployment of ML models into real-world robotic systems with an emphasis on robustness, latency, and scalability

* Collaborate closely with robotics, autonomy, simulation, and software engineering teams

* Establish MLOps infrastructure, model evaluation frameworks, and data pipelines

* Oversee experimentation, model training, validation, and deployment workflows

* Evaluate emerging AI technologies and integrate state-of-the-art approaches where appropriate

* Partner with executive leadership on technical roadmap planning, hiring strategy, and investor discussions

* Foster a strong engineering culture focused on innovation, execution, and continuous improvement

Requirements:

* Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Robotics, Computer Vision, or related field

* 8+ years of experience in machine learning, with significant exposure to computer vision and robotics systems

* Proven leadership experience managing ML teams in high-growth startup or advanced technology environments

* Strong expertise in deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch or TensorFlow

* Experience developing and deploying computer vision models in production environments

* Knowledge of multimodal perception systems, sensor fusion, SLAM, or autonomous systems is highly desirable

* Strong understanding of MLOps, distributed training, and scalable data infrastructure

* Experience working with edge deployment, real-time inference, or embedded AI systems is a plus

* Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills

* Entrepreneurial mindset with the ability to thrive in ambiguity and rapid growth environments

Preferred Background:

* Experience in robotics, autonomous vehicles, industrial automation, drones, or embodied AI

* Prior experience in a VC-backed or high-growth startup environment

* Publications, patents, or open-source contributions within AI/ML or computer vision

* Experience hiring and scaling engineering organizations from early-stage through growth

What’s Offered:

* Competitive base salary + equity

* Opportunity to shape the AI roadmap of a cutting-edge robotics company

* Work alongside elite engineers, researchers, and founders

* High-impact leadership role with significant technical ownership

* Comprehensive benefits package

* Flexible and collaborative working environment

Apply:

If you are excited about building real-world AI systems and leading machine learning innovation within robotics, we would love to hear from you.