Senior Director, Hardware & Vehicle Development (San Francisco)

About the TeamDoorDash Labs is a team within DoorDash building autonomous delivery robots from the ground up as part of DoorDash's core delivery platform. Our mission is to make autonomous last-mile delivery a reality at city scale — reliably, efficiently, and profitably. With autonomy proven on real sidewalks, we are now focused on scaling our hardware platform from hundreds of deployed robots to thousands and beyond, with a global expansion roadmap through 2030.About the RoleWe are looking for a Senior Director of Hardware and Vehicle Development to own the full hardware lifecycle at DoorDash Labs — from detailed product engineering through volume manufacturing and field service. In your first 90 days, you will get deeply embedded with the engineering and manufacturing teams, lead the selection of a contract manufacturing partner, and develop a lean hiring plan to fill key gaps. A year from now, success looks like a scaled hardware organization, with a clear path to robot profitability and a team that can sustain growth without you being the bottleneck on every decision.You're excited about this opportunity because you will…Own end-to-end hardware: lead engineering, manufacturing, and field service for our autonomous robot platform, with direct accountability for hitting scale milestonesBuild the team: shape the hardware organization from the ground up, with the authority and budget to bring in exceptional talent — including people from your own networkPartner across the company: work closely with autonomy, product, and operations teams to translate system requirements into hardware decisions and manufacturing realityDrive profitability: lead the shift from proving the technology to reducing cost and improving efficiency, with robot-level profitability as a near-term goalOperate with real ownership: this is not a coordination role — you will set the roadmap, make the calls, and be accountable for outcomes in a program that is moving fast and has visible impactWe’re excited about you because…You have 15+ years of experience in hardware, automotive, or a closely related field, with at least 4-5 years leading a hardware organization at the senior director or VP levelYou have taken a hardware program from early development through volume manufacturing — ideally building something from scratch where you had to develop new approaches rather than inherit mature processesYou have a track record of building high-performing teams and bringing exceptional people with you — your former colleagues want to come work for you againYou have selected and managed contract manufacturers and know what a strong CM relationship requires from selection through production rampYou are comfortable operating in a fast-moving environment with aggressive timelines, and you know how to identify which processes add value and which ones to skipCompensationThe successful candidate’s starting pay will fall within the pay range listed below and is determined based on job-related factors including, but not limited to, skills, experience, qualifications, work location, and market conditions. Base salary is localized according to an employee’s work location. Ranges are market-dependent and may be modified in the future.In addition to base salary, the compensation for this role includes opportunities for equity grants. Talk to your recruiter for more information.DoorDash cares about you and your overall well-being. That’s why we offer a comprehensive benefits package to all regular employees, which includes a 401(k) plan with employer matching, 16 weeks of paid parental leave, wellness benefits, commuter benefits match, paid time off and paid sick leave in compliance with applicable laws (e.g. Colorado Healthy Families and Workplaces Act). DoorDash also offers medical, dental, and vision benefits, 11 paid holidays, disability and basic life insurance, family-forming assistance, and a mental health program, among others.To learn more about our benefits, visit our careers page here.See below for paid time off details:For salaried roles: flexible paid time off/vacation, plus 80 hours of paid sick time per year.For hourly roles: vacation accrued at about 1 hour for every 25.97 hours worked (e.g. about 6.7 hours/month if working 40 hours/week; about 3.4 hours/month if working 20 hours/week), and paid sick time accrued at 1 hour for every 30 hours worked (e.g. about 5.8 hours/month if working 40 hours/week; about 2.9 hours/month if working 20 hours/week).The national base pay range for this position within the United States, including Illinois and Colorado.$320,000—$400,000 USDAbout DoorDashAt DoorDash, our mission to empower local economies shapes how our team members move quickly, learn, and reiterate in order to make impactful decisions that display empathy for our range of users—from Dashers to merchant partners to consumers. We are a technology and logistics company that started by enabling door-to-door delivery, and we are looking for team members who can help us go from a company that is known as the place you order food to a company that people turn to for any and all goods.DoorDash is growing rapidly and changing constantly, which gives our team members the opportunity to share their unique perspectives, solve new challenges, and own their careers. We're committed to supporting employees’ happiness, healthiness, and overall well-being by providing comprehensive benefits and perks including premium healthcare, wellness expense reimbursement, paid parental leave and more.Our Commitment to Diversity and InclusionWe’re committed to growing and empowering a more inclusive community within our company, industry, and cities. That’s why we hire and cultivate diverse teams of people from all backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. We believe that true innovation happens when everyone has room at the table and the tools, resources, and opportunity to excel.Statement of Non-Discrimination: In keeping with our beliefs and goals, no employee or applicant will face discrimination or harassment based on: race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, age, gender, marital/domestic partner status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability status, or veteran status. Above and beyond discrimination and harassment based on “protected categories,” we also strive to prevent other subtler forms of inappropriate behavior (i.e., stereotyping) from ever gaining a foothold in our office. Whether blatant or hidden, barriers to success have no place at DoorDash. We value a diverse workforce – people who identify as women, non-binary or gender non-conforming, LGBTQIA+, American Indian or Native Alaskan, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latinx, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, differently-abled, caretakers and parents, and veterans are strongly encouraged to apply. Thank you to the Level Playing Field Institute for this statement of non-discrimination.Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, and any other state or local hiring regulations, we will consider for employment any qualified applicant, including those with arrest and conviction records, in a manner consistent with the applicable regulation.If you need any accommodations, please inform your recruiting contact upon initial connection.Notice to Applicants for Jobs Located in NYC or Remote Jobs Associated With Office in NYC OnlyWe used Covey as part of our hiring and/or promotional process for jobs in NYC and certain features may qualify it as an AEDT in NYC. As part of the hiring and/or promotion process, we provided Covey with job requirements and candidate submitted applications. We began using Covey Scout for Inbound from August 21, 2023, through December 21, 2023. We resumed using Covey Scout for Inbound again on June 29, 2024, and ceased using Covey Scout for Inbound on April 30, 2026.The Covey tool has been reviewed by an independent auditor. Results of the audit may be viewed here:.