Humanoids and robotics executive search

Retained search for humanoid and robotics leadership, from hardware, controls and AI engineering through manufacturing scale-up and commercial deployment. Vice president to C‑suite.

Key roles we place ↓

Overview

What we do in humanoids and robotics

Metric places senior and executive leaders across humanoids and robotics, covering hardware and controls engineering, robot learning and AI, manufacturing scale-up and the commercial teams placing robots with customers. The work spans humanoid developers, industrial and warehouse robotics companies and the businesses deploying them. Searches are retained and run from vice president through C-suite.

Robotics is moving from demonstrations to fleets working on real sites, and the hard problems change with it. Building one capable robot and building thousands that work reliably for customers need different leaders, and the second group is much smaller.

Roles

The roles we place in humanoids and robotics

VP Hardware Engineering Mechanical, electrical and actuator design.
Head of Controls Motion control, safety and real-time systems.
Director of Robot Learning Learning, perception and autonomy for the robot.
VP Manufacturing Scaling builds from prototype to volume.
Head of Supply Chain Components, suppliers and cost at production volume.
VP Field Operations Deployment, service and uptime on customer sites.
VP Commercial Customer pilots, partnerships and revenue.
Chief Technology Officer Technical leadership across hardware and software.
General Manager Site and business unit leadership for robotics and automation companies.

+ many others

Within this sector

What humanoids and robotics covers

Hardware & Controls

Actuators, mechanical design and the controls that make a robot move safely.

Robot Learning & AI

The models and software that let robots perceive, plan and adapt.

Manufacturing Scale-Up

Taking a robot from prototype builds to volume production.

Deployment & Field Operations

Installing, supporting and maintaining robots on customer sites.

Market

Hiring in humanoids and robotics right now

Investment has pulled a wave of new companies into humanoids and robotics, and they are all hiring from the same small pool. Engineers who have shipped robots that work outside a lab are scarce, and leaders who have taken a robot into volume manufacturing are scarcer still. Many of the strongest candidates sit in adjacent industries. Automotive, consumer electronics and industrial automation have spent decades solving the manufacturing, quality and supply chain problems robotics companies now face, and those people often bring exactly what a young robotics business is missing.

Common questions

Humanoids and robotics hiring questions

The questions clients ask most often before briefing a humanoids or robotics search.

How long does a robotics leadership search take?

We work to seven days to a shortlist on most briefs. How long the search takes after that depends on the role and on notice periods, so we set out a realistic timeline with you at the start.

Do you work retained or contingent?

Retained. That is what lets our consultants map the market fully and approach people who are not looking, rather than working only from whoever has applied.

Do you place below vice president?

Most briefs sit at vice president and above. We also run director searches where the role is critical to scaling, such as a head of controls or a manufacturing lead.

Do we need someone who has built robots before?

For core engineering roles, usually yes. For manufacturing, supply chain and operations, people from automotive, consumer electronics and industrial automation often bring exactly the scale experience a robotics company is missing.

Sector specialists

Humanoids & robotics team

Alexis Foley

Business Development Lead

Zeke Arlott

Head of Frontier Tech

Meet the team →

Let's build together

Ready to brief us on a humanoids and robotics search?

Tell us about the role and we'll give you a clear read on the market, the people worth speaking to and how quickly we can move.