SVP of Engineering

Job description

Job responsibilities

• Lead the execution of the overall engineering strategy for Bonsai Robotics across software, hardware, autonomy, AI, applications, and platform development.
• Lead, mentor, and scale a high-performing multidisciplinary engineering organization, fostering accountability, collaboration, and technical excellence.
• Own engineering execution across the company, ensuring alignment of architecture, roadmaps, staffing, budgets, and milestones with company priorities.
• Partner closely with product, operations, business development, and executive leadership to deliver the technical strategy required to support customers, partners, and internal programs.
• Drive the development of integrated hardware and software systems for autonomous off-road platforms, ensuring performance, reliability, safety, and manufacturability.
• Ensure proper technical rigor in system architecture, development practices, validation, release readiness, and root cause analysis across all engineering functions.
• Establish operating mechanisms, planning processes, and metrics that improve predictability, cross-functional coordination, and speed of execution.
• Oversee engineering resource allocation and investment decisions, balancing near-term delivery needs with long-term platform strategy.

Job requirements

• Demonstrated success leading, directing and managing engineering leaders across multiple domains, including hardware, autonomy, AI, application development, and platform engineering.
• Strong systems-level understanding of robotics and autonomous products, including the interaction of software, hardware, AI, controls, and field performance.
• Experience establishing engineering operating rhythms, cross-functional planning processes, and execution metrics in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong product and business judgment, with the ability to translate company strategy into clear engineering priorities and organizational decisions.
• Experience with engineering budget planning, headcount management, and tradeoff decisions across multiple product and platform investments.
• Ability to attract, develop, and retain exceptional engineering talent while building a culture of accountability, ownership, and continuous improvement.
• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to influence at the executive, technical, and cross-functional levels.
• Experience leading engineering organizations in startup or growth-stage environments.