{"id":449275,"url":"https://alion.io/job/foundation-chief-designer","title":"Chief Designer","company":{"id":173517,"name":"Foundation","domain":"foundation.bot","url":"https://alion.io/company/foundation-3","size_band":"501-1000","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Rippling","truth_index":{"grade":"A","score":95,"open_postings":24,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":0,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":197,"computed_at":"2026-10-25T05:49:26Z"}},"role":"Design","role_family":"Design","seniority":"head","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["San Francisco, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":240000,"max":400000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":400000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":null,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2025-12-02T20:35:22Z","employer_posted_date":"2025-12-02","last_verified_at":"2026-10-25T20:46:24Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":327,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":0,"flags":["company_stale"],"days_open":326},"description":"About Us\nFoundation is developing the future of general purpose robotics with the goal to address the labor shortage.\nOur mission is to create advanced robots that can operate in complex environments, reducing human risk in conflict zones and enhancing efficiency in labor-intensive industries.\nWe are on the lookout for extraordinary engineers and scientists to join our team.\nYour previous experience in robotics isn't a prerequisite - it's your talent and determination that truly count.\nWe expect that many of our team members will bring diverse perspectives from various industries and fields. We are looking for individuals with a proven record of exceptional ability and a history of creating things that work.\nOur Culture\nWe like to be frank and honest about who we are, so that people can decide for themselves if this is a culture they resonate with. Please read more about our culture here https://foundation.bot/culture.\nWho should join:\nYou like working in person with a team in San Francisco.\nYou deeply believe that this is the most important mission for humanity and needs to happen yesterday.\nYou are highly technical - regardless of the role you are in. We are building technology; you need to understand technology well.\nYou care about aesthetics and design inside out. If it's not the best product ever, it bothers you, and you need to “fix” it.\nYou don't need someone to motivate you; you get things done.\n Why are We Hiring for this Role:\nWe're hiring a Chief Designer to own and orchestrate the end-to-end design vision for our general-purpose robots, treating them as the next wave of computing devices that must be profoundly human-centric. Our robots aren't just machines, they're companions that need to delight users, build emotional connections, and inspire love through every interaction. Current designs often feel cold and utilitarian, but we believe robots can transform lives by being intuitive, empathetic, and seamlessly integrated into human environments, from initial unboxing to ongoing servicing and upgrades.\nThis role is critical because you'll lead the charge in redefining how humans experience robotics, owning everything from brand identity and robot form factors to software interfaces, motion behaviors, user onboarding, environmental integration, and post-deployment servicing. In our lean, fast-moving team, you'll drive this holistically, collaborating across disciplines to ensure every touchpoint evokes joy and trust. If successful, your work will set a new standard for human-robot relationships, making our products irresistible and accelerating adoption in homes, workplaces, and beyond.\nKey responsibilities include:\nDefining and championing a global design philosophy rooted in human-centered principles, guiding humanoid form factors, interactions, and the entire user journey.\nBuilding, mentoring, and leading multidisciplinary teams in industrial design, UX/UI, motion, interaction, brand, and service design.\nPartnering with AI, robotics, hardware, and software teams to co-create intuitive experiences that blend cutting-edge tech with emotional resonance.\nOverseeing cohesive brand storytelling across aesthetics, interfaces, gestures, environments, media, and customer support ecosystems.\nDeveloping scalable design systems for components, interfaces, behaviors, and visual identity that prioritize delight and accessibility.\nEmbedding ethics, inclusivity, safety, and transparency into designs to foster trust in human-robot interactions.\nPushing innovation by exploring emerging materials, paradigms, and trends to make robots feel alive and lovable.\nWhat Kind of Person We Are Looking For:\nProven track record of shipping transformative products that fuse advanced technology with deep human empathy, creating experiences users adore.\nExpertise in industrial design, UX/UI, human-machine interaction, brand strategy, and service design, with a holistic view of the user lifecycle.\nExceptional cross-functional collaboration skills, adept at bridging engineering, product, marketing, and executive teams to align on visionary outcomes.\nOutstanding communication, storytelling, and presentation abilities to inspire teams and stakeholders with compelling narratives.\nExperience designing humanoid or robotic platforms, with a background in motion design, AI embodiment, bio-inspired forms, or consumer-facing hardware.\nA burning passion for building technology that doesn't just function but feels alive, intuitive, and emotionally engaging.\nA portfolio showcasing bold, innovative designs that emphasize emotional detail, user delight, and end-to-end coherence.\nBenefits\nWe provide market standard benefits (health, vision, dental, 401k, etc.). Join us for the culture and the mission, not for the benefits.\nSalary\nThe annual compensation is expected to be between $240,000.00 - $400,000.00. Exact compensation may vary based on skills, experience, and location.","description_format":"text","description_chars":4930,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":null,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":null,"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":["401k plan"],"hiring_locations":[],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Industrial Robotics","Humanoid Robots"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-09-06T08:14:21Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":26,"band":"fade","label":"Fading","p_open":1,"p_active":0.723,"p_room":0.36,"age_days":326,"expected_fill_days":197,"reasons":["conf:0","win:tail","crowd:"],"computed_at":"2026-10-25T05:49:26Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":400000,"is_top_pay":true},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/foundation-chief-designer","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/foundation-chief-designer.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-26T00:09:02Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":81,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-10-27T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":173517},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=173517"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Ffoundation-chief-designer"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Ffoundation-chief-designer"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Ffoundation-chief-designer"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/foundation-chief-designer\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Ffoundation-chief-designer"}]}