Director of Product Strategy, Physical AI
Scale AI · San Francisco, CA
Posted July 28, 2026
Job Description
Role Overview
The Director of Product Strategy, Physical AI will report to the General Manager of Physical AI, and will be responsible for defining the long-term strategy and business positioning of our frontier data products. In this senior leadership role, you will own and direct the development and commercialization of our products. You will collaborate closely with Operations, Engineering, and GTM, partnering with Researchers and ML Engineers to guide product direction and help solve our most complex business challenges. You will own a range of business-critical efforts, bringing creative, data-driven, and market-informed value from concept to execution. You will also support customer business needs by understanding their research goals, technical challenges, and innovation plans.
This role requires significant ownership in a fast-paced environment and you will motivate internal teams to set the pace for business growth.
Role will be based in San Francisco, California. Domestic and International travel expected (up to 30%).
Key Responsibilities:
- Develop and execute long-term product portfolio strategy; work directly with internal leadership to drive prioritization through data and market insights
- Identify new growth opportunities and market trends; develop business case for product investments and research
- Partner with Researchers and ML Engineers from prospective and existing customers; build credibility to effectively communicate the value of Scale offerings and influence successful business outcomes
- Conduct competitive intelligence and customer research
- Partner closely with GTM and Operations to drive cross-functional strategic initiatives
- Thrive in a multi-tasking environment with the ability to adjust priorities quickly
- Consistently share knowledge of industry trends and solutions
- Act as a hands-on leader and dedicated coach who isn't afraid to get into the weeds, challenge existing norms, and address difficult conversations directly to elevate team performance
Required Qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Robotics, Computer Science, or a related technical field
- 8+ years of Enterprise Product Management, Business Operations, Strategy, or related roles in fast-paced environments, including 4+ years direct people management with a demonstrated history of recruiting, mentoring, and developing high-performing Product Managers
- Experience leading product strategy for complex hardware-software systems, with deep domain knowledge in Robotics, Autonomous Vehicles, Computer Vision, and/or Machine Learning strongly preferred
- Strong analytical skills, and a data-driven, commercially-minded approach to developing product strategies and solving problems to scale from 0 to $100M+ in ARR
- Demonstrated ability to develop strong consultative relationships with external partners and internal cross-functional teams at all levels, including VP and above, researchers, and customers
- Proven ability to independently navigate, execute effectively amidst ambiguity, and strong attention to detail
Nice to Haves:
- MS or PhD is a plus, though strong practical experience is equally valued
- Publication Record: First-author publications at top-tier AI/ML conferences (NeurIPS, CVPR, ICRA, CoRL)
Compensation packages at Scale for eligible roles include base salary, equity, and benefits. The range displayed on each job posting reflects the minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries for the position and may be inclusive of several career levels at Scale; it will be determined during the interview process based on work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, qualifications, interview performance, and relevant education or training. Scale employees in eligible roles are also granted equity based compensation, subject to Board of Director approval. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your preferred location during the hiring process, and confirm whether the hired role will be eligible for equity grant. You'll also receive benefits including, but not limited to: comprehensive health, dental and vision coverage, retirement benefits, a learning and development stipend, and generous PTO. Additionally, this role may be eligible for additional benefits such as a commuter stipend.
PLEASE NOTE: Our policy requires a 90-day waiting period before reconsidering candidates for the same role. This allows us to ensure a fair and thorough evaluation of all applicants.
About Us:
At Scale, our mission is to develop reliable AI systems for the world's most important decisions. Our products provide the high-quality data and full-stack technologies that power the world's leading models, and help enterprises and governments build, deploy, and oversee AI applications that deliver real impact. We work closely with industry leaders like Meta, Ernst & Young, Mayo Clinic, Time Inc., the Government of Qatar, and U.S. government agencies including the Army and Air Force. We are expanding our team to accelerate the development of AI applications.
We believe that everyone should be able to bring their whole selves to work, which is why we are proud to be an inclusive and equal opportunity workplace. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability status, gender identity or Veteran status.
We are committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with physical and mental disabilities. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation in the application or recruiting process due to a disability, please contact us at accommodations@scale.com. Please see the United States Department of Labor's Know Your Rights poster for additional information.
We comply with the United States Department of Labor's Pay Transparency provision.
PLEASE NOTE: We collect, retain and use personal data for our professional business purposes, including notifying you of job opportunities that may be of interest and sharing with our affiliates. We limit the personal data we collect to that which we believe is appropriate and necessary to manage applicants’ needs, provide our services, and comply with applicable laws. Any information we collect in connection with your application will be treated in accordance with our internal policies and programs designed to protect personal data. Please see our privacy policy for additional information.
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