Simulation Lead

From the company's job description

OUR MISSION:

At Sunrise Robotics, we are dedicated to augmenting humanity through intelligent robotics. Our mission is to elevate the world of manufacturing by introducing intelligent, flexible robots that enhance human capabilities and existing machinery, ushering in the next era of production at higher quality, with less waste, and lower cost.

OUR VISION:

We see a future where every element of manufacturing, from design to assembly, is optimised with intelligent automation. Our vision is to integrate flexible robotic solutions, based on generic hardware and advanced software/AI capabilities, into manufacturing, particularly in small and medium-sized enterprises, to make automation economically viable and accessible, for all sizes of manufacturers. We are not just building robots; we are creating the strategically crucial components for autonomous, intelligent agents of the future.

THE ROLE:

As Simulation Lead, you'll shape and deliver the simulation foundation that powers our AI training, solution validation and robot behaviour into high-fidelity virtual environments that scale from data collection to manufacturing running 24/7.

This is a hands-on leadership role. You will build and lead a multidisciplinary Simulation team, set the direction for our digital replica, synthetic data generation, and sim-based validation infrastructure. As a mentor and a leader, you will be responsible for hiring and performance management of the simulation team.

Working at the intersection of robotics, physics simulation, computer graphics, AI, and real-world deployment, you'll help shape Sunrise's simulation roadmap and ensure our virtual environments produce data, models, and behaviours that transfer reliably from sim to the customer in the real world.

WHAT YOU'LL DO:

• Build, lead, and mentor a high-performing multidisciplinary Simulation team. Own hiring, performance management, and career development across physics, 3D design, robotics, and software engineering.

• Set and maintain production-level quality standards, ensuring simulations reliably support AI training, robotics behaviour development, and customer production systems running 24/7.

• Partner with Simulation Tech Leads on technical direction for digital replicas, synthetic data generation, and customer solution simulation. Contribute to PRDs and technical design documents with constructive, critical feedback.

• Drive the Simulation team's roadmap - define commitments, uphold accountability, monitor progress, surface risks early, and reduce technical debt.

• Run the day-to-day operational cadence: reviews, standups, retrospectives, and reporting, ensuring work is predictable, visible, and successfully adopted across engineering.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

• A proven track record leading multidisciplinary teams in simulation, robotics, or graphics/games engineering - including hiring, mentoring, and building high-performing, outcome-driven teams.

• Strong people-leadership instincts: you give direct feedback fast, grow your team rather than carry it, and identify underperformance and capability gaps early.

• Technical expertise in robotics and physics-based simulation, with the ability to move between engine internals and production delivery.

• Strong software engineering fundamentals in Python - sufficient to review PRs critically and contribute to high-leverage code when the team needs it.

• Production-level engineering experience: you have architected and delivered robust, scalable systems that operate reliably in real-world environments.

• Hands-on experience with simulation platforms such as NVIDIA Isaac Sim / Isaac Lab, PhysX, MuJoCo, Gazebo, or similar, and with OpenUSD scene building.

• Experience owning team delivery for systems that run in production with real customers.

• A product-oriented mindset: you balance technical ambition with operational reliability and customer impact.

• The ability to communicate complex architectural decisions clearly across multidisciplinary and international teams.

WHAT MAKES YOU STAND OUT:

• Experience designing and operating large-scale GPU compute and rendering infrastructure for synthetic data generation or RL training.

• Hands-on experience modelling robotic systems - kinematics, dynamics, contacts, and sensors (cameras, depth, LiDAR, force/torque) - and integrating them with ROS2.

• Experience with industrial and collaborative robotics.

• Background in reinforcement learning environments or behaviour learning at scale.

• Experience deploying simulation as part of a virtual commissioning, digital twin, or FAT/SAT workflow with real customers.

• Familiarity with Docker, Kubernetes, AWS / GCP, and GPU cluster orchestration (e.g. SLURM, Ray).

WHY US:

We're building a new category of intelligent, flexible robotic automation with real deployments, real customers, and momentum across Europe.

• High exposure: You'll define the simulation foundation the entire company builds on - working at the intersection of AI, robotics, and physics simulation with direct influence over how Sunrise scales.

• Career acceleration: A rare opportunity to build and lead a multidisciplinary simulation function from scratch at a company where sim-to-real is core to the product, not a side project.

• Real impact: The systems you build will determine how our AI trains, how our robots behave, and how customer cells are validated - before a single physical robot is deployed.