VP Physical AI

About Toloka

At Toloka AI we create data that powers leading GenAI models and innovations. We work with frontier labs, big tech, renowned AI startups, enterprises and non-profit research organizations worldwide. We use a combination of Experts + Crowd + Tech Platform to teach AI models to reason and evaluate their efficacy and safety. We have experts in more than 50 different domains—from doctors and lawyers to physicists and engineers—and boast one of the most diverse global crowds, representing over 100 countries and speaking 40+ languages . We are a well-funded startup with an enviable portfolio of clients including Anthropic , Amazon , Microsoft , Poolside , Recraft , and Shopify .

Recently, we secured strategic investment led by Bezos Expeditions and Nebius Group with participation from Mikhail Parakhin , CTO of Shopify and board advisor to leading GenAI companies, who now serves as our Chairman of the Board. Our remote-first team is globally distributed around the world: USA , UK , the Netherlands , Israel , Czech Republic , Serbia , and more.

About position

We are looking for talented VP Physical AI to join our fast paced and international team. This is a brand new role and will combine hands-on deep technical expertise in AI/ML with proven leadership abilities to drive the design, development, and deployment of cutting-edge generative AI solutions. You will work closely with cross-functional teams, mentor engineers, and ensure delivery of innovative, scalable, and high-performing AI products.

What you will own / what you will do?

Physical AI data strategy and P&L

• Define and execute the Physical AI data roadmap across egocentric capture, humanoid robotics, industrial/warehouse automation, and autonomous vehicles

• Own the P&L of the emerging Physical AI business

• Anticipate what frontier robotics labs and hardware companies will need 12–18 months before demand becomes mainstream — and build toward it

• Ensure Physical AI methodologies feed back into the core QA platform

Lab leadership

• Own the operational lab: workforce, equipment, safety protocols, data capture workflows, output quality

• Scale lab capacity against commercial commitments — managing a mix of employees and external partners

• Establish QA standards for Physical AI data that integrate with the company's agentic LLM-QA verification system

• Drive continuous improvement in collection efficiency, annotation quality, and simulation environment fidelity

Partnerships and commercial development

• Build and own the partner ecosystem: robotics hardware manufacturers, simulation platform providers, academic institutions, domain experts

• Lead commercial relationships with Physical AI customers from scoping through delivery and expansion

• Identify and close strategic partnerships that extend capabilities — hardware access, proprietary environments, domain datasets

• Represent the company externally at industry forums and research conferences across Europe and the US

Team

• Hire, develop, and retain data engineers, robotics specialists, and project leads

• Structure the function to scale for both bespoke engagements and productized delivery

• Be the internal expert and evangelist for Physical AI — educate the wider org on what Wave 5 demands

What we're looking for

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