Strategic Sales Director

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.