VP Engineering

About LightSpeed

LightSpeed Build Technologies is revolutionizing the construction industry through AI-powered robotics. Our flagship systems—BRUTE for automated wall panel manufacturing and DEX for on-site collaborative construction—are addressing the global housing crisis by delivering unprecedented speed, precision, and affordability in homebuilding.

Position Overview:

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.

What you'll work on:

Engineering Execution & Technical Leadership

• 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

Team Building & Management

• 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

Production Robotics & Scaling

• 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

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• 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

Required Qualifications:

Robotics & Technical Expertise

• 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

Leadership & Team Management

• 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

Preferred Qualifications:

• 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

Why Join LightSpeed:

• Lead a high-caliber engineering team building robots that address the global housing crisis

• Hands-on technical leadership: this role stays close to the metal, not trapped in meetings

• Direct impact on scaling from 3 to 1,000 deployed robotic cells

• Work with production robots, sensors, and real manufacturing environments daily

• Competitive compensation including salary, equity participation, and comprehensive benefits