Chief Science Officer

Sereact

. Set the research agenda for Cortex, including vision-language-action models, world models and planning, learning from interaction on real robots, and generalization across tasks and embodiments .

Posted 10/22/2026full-timeStuttgart • GermanyLeadWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

Use this summary to align your resume positioning with the role.

Demonstrates expertise in leading research in robot learning and embodied AI, with a strong focus on vision-language-action models, reinforcement learning, and real-world robot applications. Proven ability to build and manage research teams, make strategic decisions on data and compute investments, and effectively communicate scientific concepts to diverse stakeholders.

Highest-signal resume keywords

Robot Learning LeadershipVision-Language-Action ModelsReinforcement LearningPhD In Machine LearningResearch Team Building

ATS Keywords

Tailor your resume

Applicant Tracking System Keywords

Tip: use these terms in your resume and cover letter to boost ATS matches.

Hard Skills

Imitation LearningWorld ModelsData Strategy DevelopmentCompute Strategy ManagementEvaluation Benchmark CreationLarge-Scale PretrainingIndustrial ManipulationFleet LearningResearch Roadmap EstablishmentScientific Publication

Soft Skills

CommunicationLeadershipCollaborationDecision-MakingNetworking

Tools & Technologies

Real-Time Robot InferenceSynthetic DataOpen-Source PlatformsTeleoperation Systems

Industry Keywords

Embodied AIRoboticsResearch OrganisationAcademic PartnershipsCustomer-Operation Performance

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Set the research agenda for Cortex, including vision-language-action models, world models and planning, learning from interaction on real robots, and generalization across tasks and embodiments
Decide which research directions receive people and compute and which are discontinued
Own the data strategy across deployment, teleoperation, open-source, and synthetic data
Own the compute strategy from large-scale training to real-time robot inference
Build evaluation benchmarks that predict customer-operation performance
Build and lead the research organisation in Zurich and Stuttgart
Set the hiring bar and attract leading robot-learning researchers
Take research into production with engineering for reliable 24/7 fleet operation
Decide with founders what to publish, open-source, or patent
Represent Sereact scientifically with customers, partners, universities, and investors and build academic partnerships
Partner with the CTO, product, and operations to align research, engineering, and deployment
Establish the research roadmap, evaluation standard, organisational ownership, and release rhythm during the first 12 months

Requirements

What you’ll need

Experience leading research in robot learning or embodied AI, including VLA models, imitation learning, reinforcement learning, or world models
Experience building a research team
Experience running work on real robots, ideally outside the lab and for long stretches
Strong scientific record at top venues and a network of researchers
Experience making research, data, and compute investment decisions and stopping unsuccessful work
Ability to explain science to engineers, customers, and investors
PhD in machine learning, robotics, or a related field, or an equivalent track record
Nice to have: large-scale pretraining of foundation models, fleet learning or data engines, industrial manipulation, and experience in both academia and industry

Benefits

Comp & perks

Meaningful equity
Large-scale compute
Freedom to build the research organisation
Relocation support
Teams in Stuttgart, Zurich and Boston
Robots in live production and access to real-world deployment data