Full-Time

Head of Software

Confirmed live in the last 24 hours

Chef Robotics

Chef Robotics

51-200 employees

Robotic solutions for food production automation

Compensation Overview

$185k - $300k/yr

Expert

San Francisco, CA, USA

Candidates must work onsite at the office five days a week.

Category
Applied Machine Learning
Robotics & Autonomous Systems
AI & Machine Learning
Required Skills
Machine Learning
Computer Vision
Requirements
  • Degree in Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or equivalent industry experience that demonstrates comparable expertise.
  • Over 10 years of hands-on production engineering experience, including roles as a technical lead, manager, or director with responsibility for software on hardware-based products.
  • Proven experience managing managers and overseeing multi-tiered engineering teams.
  • Demonstrated success in leading and scaling engineering teams at various levels.
  • A track record of successfully launching and scaling at least two products to market.
  • Expertise in developing and deploying production-level software systems.
  • In-depth understanding of key domains in robotics, including but not limited to: Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Perception and Computer Vision, Machine Learning, Robotic Motion Planning and Control, Cloud Infrastructure.
Responsibilities
  • Lead, grow, and scale the Software/Autonomy team, fostering a culture of innovation and excellence.
  • Drive the development and scalability of Chef’s autonomy stack to ensure reliable performance around key metrics like uptime and utilization across hundreds of deployed units.
  • Collaborate cross-functionally with hardware, product, and operations teams to align software initiatives with company goals and deliver results.
  • Set clear and achievable project timelines and ensure consistent execution and on-time delivery.
  • Mentor, coach, and develop engineering talent, creating pathways for team growth and individual success.
  • Ensure Chef robots achieve and maintain high performance and reliability in the field, addressing challenges proactively.
  • Define and execute the technical vision and roadmap for Chef’s software and autonomy stack, aligning it with broader business objectives.
  • Serve as a key member of the leadership team, contributing to the company’s strategy, culture, and overall success.
  • Recruit, onboard, and retain top-tier engineering talent to build a world-class software team.
Desired Qualifications
  • Experience scaling software deployed on hardware devices is preferred.

Chef Robotics develops robotic solutions for the food industry, focusing on addressing labor shortages and high turnover rates faced by food companies. Their robots utilize machine learning to adapt to various tasks and environments, allowing for increased production volume and reduced waste. This flexibility sets Chef Robotics apart from traditional automation methods, which often lack adaptability. The company's goal is to help food companies improve efficiency and potentially prevent food shortages in the U.S. by providing versatile robotic solutions that can be easily integrated into existing production processes.

Company Size

51-200

Company Stage

Debt Financing

Total Funding

$77M

Headquarters

San Francisco, California

Founded

2019

Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Raised $43.1M Series A to scale AI-enabled robot deployments in food industry.
  • Robots have produced over 44 million servings, showcasing proven scalability.
  • Expansion plans to the U.K. in 2025 indicate growth potential.

What critics are saying

  • Increased competition from other AI and robotics companies in the food industry.
  • Rapid technological advancements may render current solutions obsolete without continuous innovation.
  • Potential supply chain issues could delay production and deployment of solutions.

What makes Chef Robotics unique

  • Chef Robotics offers flexible robotics for high-mix food production environments.
  • Their robots use machine learning to adapt to various tasks and environments.
  • Chef Robotics addresses labor shortages with innovative AI-enabled robotic solutions.

Help us improve and share your feedback! Did you find this helpful?

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

-1%

1 year growth

-3%

2 year growth

3%
Chef Robotics
Apr 2nd, 2025
Chef Robotics | Blog | We’ve Raised a $43.1M Series A to Accelerate Our AI-Enabled Robot Deployments

The infusion of funds will enable Chef to further scale customer deployments and build out go-to-market functions

AgFunder News
Mar 31st, 2025
Breaking: Chef Robotics raises $43m Series A to scale AI-enabled robotics in meal assembly

Chef Robotics has found its sweet spot with companies that have a certain level of complexity, but a meaningful level of throughput.

NBC New York
Mar 31st, 2025
Chef Robotics raises $20.6M for AI arms

Chef Robotics raised $20.6 million in a Series A round led by Avataar Ventures, plus $22.5 million in equipment financing debt, to expand its AI robotic arms for food assembly in the U.S. and Canada. Founded in 2019, the San Francisco startup aims to address labor shortages in food processing plants. The robots, designed for repetitive tasks, have produced over 40 million meals. The company plans to enhance imitation learning capabilities to improve robot training.

CNBC
Mar 31st, 2025
Chef Robotics raises $20.6 million to continue building AI robot arms

Chef Robotics has raised $20.6 million in a Series A funding round led by Avataar Ventures, the company told CNBC.

The Robot Report
Mar 31st, 2025
Chef Robotics Brings In $43M To Deploy More Food Assembly Robots

Chef Robotics targets high-volume, high-mix food assembly applications, one of the hardest problems to train AI for. | Source: Chef Robotics. Chef Robotics Inc., which has developed robotic systems for meal assembly, today announced that it has raised $43.1 million in Series A funding. The round includes $20.6 million in equity and $22.5 million in equipment financing debt. The San Francisco-based company said the funding round will allow it to accelerate production deployments of its robotic systems, providing momentum for its “real-world AI data engine flywheel.” Chef Robotics credited this flywheel for the rapid growth in its rate of meal production. Since food is highly variable, the company requires high volumes of data over prolonged periods of time for optimal model performance