CTO (f/m/d)

ABOUT TACTILIA

At TACTILIA, we are building the industry-ready robotic hand that closes one of the biggest gaps in Physical AI. Spun out of SCHUNK, the global market leader in gripping technology, we combine a decade of robotic-hand expertise and real industrial access with the speed and ambition of a deep-tech startup.

This isn't a research project waiting for its first customer. We already have a product, customers are ready to use it, and we are launching now. Your work will directly shape the product, roadmap, and development process that make that possible.

You will join at the moment when the hard robotics questions become real product decisions: how do we turn customer needs into a highly capable robotic hand that is reliable, manufacturable, and ready to deploy on a real shop floor?

THE ROLE

As a Chief Technology Officer, you will own TACTILIA's technology strategy, product architecture, and engineering execution. You will lead a multidisciplinary organization across project management, systems engineering, mechanics, electronics, sensorics, embedded and robotics software, AI, product management, applications and testing. Your responsibility is to turn a highly capable robotic hand into a reliable, manufacturable, serviceable and scalable industrial product.

This is a leadership role with substantial technical depth. You do not need to be the deepest specialist in every discipline, but you must have first-hand experience with both hardware and software development and the judgment to make sound system-level decisions across both.

WHAT YOU WILL DO:

Set the technology direction. Define TACTILIA’s technology strategy and product roadmap from the current platform to a scalable industrial product.

Lead the whole stack. Lead the teams across project management, systems, mechanics, electronics, sensorics, embedded and robotics software, AI, product, applications and testing.

Make the architecture work. Own the system architecture and the interfaces between hardware, software, AI and applications.

Turn R&D into product. Drive the transition from advanced prototypes to reliable, manufacturable, serviceable and customer-ready products.

Make the right trade-offs. Balance performance, reliability, cost, safety, manufacturability and speed of execution.

Build the organization. Recruit, develop and lead the engineering and product organization across Zurich and Munich.

Create clarity and accountability. Establish effective priorities, processes, decision-making structures and technical standards across the teams.

Own resources and execution. Manage engineering budgets, headcount and priorities in line with the company’s product and business goals.

Stay close to customers. Translate customer requirements and field experience into product decisions and future technology direction.

Represent TACTILIA externally. Act as the technical face of the company with customers, partners, SCHUNK, investors and the robotics community.

Stay close to the hard problems. Remain sufficiently hands-on to challenge important technical decisions and unblock the team when necessary.

WHAT YOU BRING:

You can lead across hardware and software. You have deep practical understanding of both disciplines and the credibility to guide experts across mechanics, electronics, sensors, embedded systems, controls, AI and applications.

You have led complex engineering organizations. You have successfully led multidisciplinary teams, ideally with responsibility for 20 or more people, multiple functions and a significant budget.

You have shipped physical products. You have taken complex robotics, mechatronics, medical or industrial hardware from development or prototype stage into customer use, production or product maturity.

You understand human-like robotic systems. Ideally, you have experience in humanoid or biomedical robotics, particularly with anthropomorphic mechanisms, sensor and actuator systems, robotic hands or tendon-driven devices.

You think in systems. You can connect mechanics, electronics, sensing, control, software, AI and customer applications into a coherent product architecture.

You build teams that execute. You have a track record of recruiting strong people, developing leaders and creating a culture of ownership and high standards.

You know how to scale engineering. You bring experience from a startup, scale-up or industrial technology company and understand how to combine speed with disciplined execution.

You make sound decisions under uncertainty. You are pragmatic, commercially aware and able to distinguish between the perfect solution and the right solution.

You communicate with every audience. You can engage credibly with engineers, customers, executives, investors and industrial partners.

You have a strong technical foundation. A degree in engineering, computer science, robotics, mechatronics or a related field is preferred.

You are ready to build internationally. You are fluent in English and comfortable working across the Zurich and Munich locations. German is an advantage.

BONUS:

• Dexterous manipulation, grasp planning, or robotic hands
• Tactile sensing and contact-rich manipulation

The next chapter of robotics won't be built in a lab. It will be built by people who care about what happens when technology meets the real world.

At TACTILIA, you'll work on one of the hardest open problems in robotics: giving machines the dexterity, reliability and robustness to interact with the physical world at industrial scale.

The technology is taking shape, the team is being built, and the standards around robotic hands and their skills are still open. That means your decisions will have a lasting impact — not just on a product, but on what comes next for Physical AI.

Build the hand. Define the standard. Shape what comes next.

If you're excited by the challenge of building robotic hands that works reliably in the real world, we'd love to hear from you.