Strategic Sales Director
Robust AI | San Carlos, CA — Remote | Full Time
About you and this role
Robust AI is an mid-stage startup founded by an unsurpassed team of veterans in robotics, AI, and Supply Chain who are dedicated to making the promise of Physical AI a reality. We are a collaborative group with a diverse set of perspectives, seeking talented individuals who are passionate about making robots that are valuable to customers and delightful to use. Help us redefine the very foundation of robotics and build robots that are smart, safe, and flexible: fully autonomous and truly collaborative.
As a Strategic Sales Director at Robust.AI, you will own our largest and most consequential customer relationships — selling, deploying, expanding, and permanently embedding the next generation of warehouse robotic systems inside enterprise fulfillment networks. This is a high-visibility role reporting to the Head of Sales, with influence across every commercial and technical group within the Robust.AI organization. You will possess a unique combination of well-developed customer-facing skills, problem-solving abilities, leadership, and relationship management through effective communication. You are also comfortable working in a startup environment, can collaborate with a team and can pivot effectively. You will have a strong network and deep experience of selling in fulfillment warehouses. This is a senior individual-contributor role: you carry your own number and mentor the sellers around you rather than managing a team.
Main responsibilities
Work with Robust.AI Sales Leadership to help size and position robotic solutions to both new and existing customers
Develop, maintain, and grow a strong pipeline of qualified opportunities in our target market
Drive and manage the entire sales cycle, from initial engagement to closed sales, for large and mid-market opportunities
Build and defend the business case: ROI models, subscription economics, and performance-based structures
Lead pricing and contract negotiation in partnership with sales leadership, structuring agreements that scale
Navigate complex, multi-stakeholder buying processes including procurement, legal, safety, and IT security review
Own a named portfolio of strategic accounts: build penetration plans that map the organization, identify the economic buyer, and multi-thread across operations, engineering, finance, and IT
Collaborate internally with solutions, marketing, product, and customer success teams to provide feedback from the field and ensure an ideal customer experience
Act as a player-coach, leading and mentoring junior reps on the team and in your territory
Network and develop relationships with partners in our space to help expand our market presence
Travel to and spend time onsite with prospects to qualify and assess their current operations and fit of our solution
Lead and drive the expansion of systems at early-stage customer sites
Conduct post-project evaluation and identify successful and unsuccessful project elements
Effectively communicate with customers daily to ensure smooth transitions to deployment and continued scaling opportunities
Communicate and troubleshoot with the Robust engineering team What you'll bring to the table
BS in Business Administration, Operations, Engineering, or related field and at least 8 years of related work experience
Strong knowledge and understanding of distribution and fulfillment operations
An existing network of relationships with 3PLs, retailers, and fulfillment operators that you can activate from day one
A proven track record of achieving and exceeding sales targets and objectives
Demonstrated success closing large, complex, multi-stakeholder deals with long sales cycles and executive sponsorship
Strong commercial and financial fluency — you can build and defend an ROI case in front of customer executives
Experience mentoring or coaching other sellers, formally or informally
Ability to communicate technical/complex information both verbally and in writing
Self-motivated and able to solve problems independently and in customer settings
Strong communication skills to collaborate effectively with internal and external teams
Knowledge of and interest in diverse technical topics, including software, hardware, and robotics
Experience managing and navigating enterprise level sales
Perform multiple tasks concurrently and respond to pressure situations effectively
Strong leadership and relationship-building skills
50% Travel required Nice to have
Experience selling RaaS, subscription, or other consumption-based commercial models
Experience growing a single-site deployment into an enterprise-wide, multi-site program
Familiarity with WMS/WES ecosystems and how automation integrates with them What we offer
Competitive compensation with quota-based accelerators
Stock options and growth potential
Strong startup (and fun) culture
Medical, Dental, and Vision coverage
Flexible vacation and sick leave practices
Paid parental leave Robust AI fosters a culture of belonging and a shared commitment to equality and equity. Having a diverse set of perspectives is key to ensuring AI and robotics serve the needs of all.
Robust AI is a mid-stage startup founded by veterans in robotics, AI, and supply chain management dedicated to making Physical AI a reality. The company develops the next generation of warehouse robotic systems designed to be fully autonomous and truly collaborative, helping enterprises automate their fulfillment networks. Their focus is on building robots that are smart, safe, flexible, and valuable to customers. Robust AI works with enterprise clients to deploy and scale robotic solutions within warehouse and fulfillment operations.
