Director of AI – Robotics Start-Up

Client: VC-Backed Robotics Start-Up | Hospitality & Service Sector Focus

Location: U.S. (Hybrid)

Challenge:
An early-stage robotics start-up, founded by a former MIT researcher, was racing toward its first product demonstration—a humanoid-style SME robot designed to perform real-world, specialized hospitality tasks like housekeeping and room service. With hardware rapidly prototyping, they faced a critical gap on the AI side: there was no technical leadership in place to define vision, architect solutions, or scale intelligent task execution.

They needed a Director of AI—not just an engineer, but a co-founder-calibre hire—capable of owning everything from computer vision to integration with humanoid motion. The right person had to be a visionary, hands-on technical leader from a top-tier AI background… and ready to join an aggressive, equity-backed mission at pace.

Solution Delivered by Executive Coalition:
We launched a founder-level AI leadership search targeting:

Senior computer vision & AI professionals from elite research, robotics, or deep learning backgrounds

Profiles with product-focused startup mentality and ability to build & deploy quickly

Interest in early-stage equity and long-term vision

We used a highly targeted outreach strategy focused on domain alignment, startup readiness, and leadership traits—positioning the opportunity not as a job, but as a founding mission.

Outcome:
✔ Co-founder-level Director of AI hired within 4 weeks
✔ Now leading AI strategy across robotic motion, task mapping, and learning
✔ Positioned as internal tech leader ahead of product pilot launch in September
✔ Hardware and AI now aligned under a clear commercial vision

Why It Matters:
Start-ups building cutting-edge products don’t just need tech—they need foundational leadership who can shape the business and ship the product. That’s what Executive Coalition delivers.