Director NPI & Industrialization

Sereact is hiring a Director NPI & Industrialization for a remote role open to applicants in Germany. Level rates it ; you can apply on Sereact.

Level's read on this job

On Level's scale, this role is Works on AI ●●●○: the daily work is on AI products, without building the model.
This is listed as a remote role.
The posting mentions Cortex, Plm and CAD among its tools and skills.
Sereact has 42 other open roles on Level.
Posted within the past week.

AI in this role

Lead new product introduction and industrialization for AI-driven robotic hardware systems from prototype to volume manufacturing.

cortexplmcadrobotics

npiindustrializationhardware-architecturedesign-for-manufacture

Who We Are:

We build the intelligence that lets robots sense, reason, and act in the real world, moving beyond the lab and into everyday industrial settings like warehouses and factories. Our technology closes the automation gaps that traditional systems can't solve. We are on a mission to redefine how physical work gets done, and we're looking for curious, bold thinkers to help shape the future of robotics with us.

Overview:

Our AI-driven pick-and-place and returns-handling cells combine robot arms, adaptive force-controlled grippers, AI vision and a safety cabinet, all driven by Cortex, our vision-language-action model. They already run in live warehouse operations across the EU and US. After our Series B, we are scaling from around 50 units a year to several hundred, built by external contract manufacturers. We're looking for a Director of NPI & Industrialization to own the hardware product from architecture to a frozen, documented design that a contract manufacturer can build to spec and our customers can rely on. You will report to the CEO and CTO and work closely with our Director of Supply Chain & Hardware Operations, who takes your released designs into volume production.

Your Responsibilities:

Product Architecture & Development

Own the system design of the robotic cell across mechanical, electrical and controls integration, including robot arm integration, vision and sensor integration, cabinet, wiring and machine safety
Lead development of our adaptive force-controlled gripper and end-effectors, which are core IP for Sereact
Take each product from working prototype through DVT and qualification to a frozen, released design
Work with the Cortex software team on hardware and software interfaces and trade-offs

Industrialization & Design Transfer

Build design for manufacture, assembly, service and cost into every product from the start
Set up and run a Design-Transfer Gate with Supply Chain, so every product handed to a contract manufacturer arrives as a complete, buildable package
Design critical parts to be standardized and second-sourceable

Reliability, Quality & Documentation

Install reliability engineering practice, including DVT, HALT, FMEA and tolerance and worst-case analysis
Run a root-cause loop on field failures with Technical Support and drive design-related returns down
Set up PLM, BOMs, drawings, specifications, configuration management and ECN/ECO discipline so every revision is documented and reproducible

Roadmap, Cost & Team

Own the hardware roadmap, including the next-generation cell and the split between bespoke builds and a standardized product line
Run design-to-cost programs and bring BOM cost per unit down over time
Hire and lead the hardware and mechatronics engineering team and set its working cadence and accountability

Qualifications:

Education and Experience

10+ years in hardware, mechatronics or electromechanical product engineering, including several years leading engineering teams
A track record of personally taking a complex electromechanical product from prototype through design freeze into series production at hundreds of units per year
Experience building a hardware engineering or industrialization function from scratch in a scaleup or growth-stage company
Degree in mechanical, electrical or mechatronics engineering or a related field, or equivalent practical experience

Skills

Hands-on depth across mechanical, electrical and controls integration
Strong command of DfX (DfM, DfA, design for service and cost)
Reliability engineering experience with DVT, HALT and FMEA
Experience setting up PLM, configuration management and change control
Direct experience handing a released design to a contract manufacturer or EMS partner and supporting the first builds
Fluent English and willingness to travel to suppliers and customer sites

Additional Skills / Nice to Have

Robotics or manipulation experience, such as grippers, end-effectors, force control, robot arm integration or machine vision
Machine safety experience, including CE marking, the Machinery Directive and functional safety
Experience integrating hardware with an AI or software stack
Experience turning demos and pilots into repeatable production products
German fluency

What We Offer:

Competitive salary and equity in a fast-growing Series B robotics company
Flexible PTO and a collaborative, high-ownership culture
Ownership of the hardware product and the team that builds it as we scale to hundreds of units a year

How we rate this

Director NPI & Industrialization at Sereact rates 60 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Works on AI (AI Level 3 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.

Classification

Works on AI. The daily work is on AI products, without building the model.

●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
●○○○ Little AI0 to 39

Levels come from how often the tools, models and workflows of the role are named in the posting itself. Read the description and count the AI tools, models and workflows it names.

Key facts

Director NPI & Industrialization is an open job at Sereact.
Level rates this role AI Level 3 of 4: Works on AI.
The role is based in Stuttgart Schockenriedstr. 17 and is marked remote.
The job was posted on October 20, 2026.
Seniority: lead.
Applications are handled by Sereact. Apply on Sereact

Prepare for this job

Built from this posting and from similar jobs on Level.

Skills and AI tools this role asks for

NpiIndustrializationHardware ArchitectureDesign For ManufactureCortexPlmCADRobotics

Questions you could be asked

Tell me about a project where npi was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where industrialization was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where hardware architecture was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where design for manufacture was part of your work. What did you do?
Walk me through how you've used Cortex in your day-to-day work.

Adapt your resume

List these exact terms on your resume: Npi, Industrialization, Hardware Architecture, Design For Manufacture, and Cortex. An applicant tracking system matches the wording, not the idea.
Attach one line of real, concrete experience to at least one of them. A tool named with nothing behind it rarely survives a human read.
Show where AI is part of your daily process, not a one-off project. This role expects it to be a running habit.

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