Senior Director, Robotics & Computer Vision (Global Operations Technology)

Company Introduction 

We exist to wow our customers. We know we’re doing the right thing when we hear our customers say, “How did we ever live without Coupang?” Born out of an obsession to make shopping, eating, and living easier than ever, we’re collectively disrupting the multi-billion-dollar e-commerce industry from the ground up. We are one of the fastest-growing ecommerce companies that established an unparalleled reputation for being a dominant and reliable force in South Korean commerce.

We are proud to have the best of both worlds — a startup culture with the resources of a large global public company. This fuels us to continue our growth and launch new services at the speed we have been since our inception. We are all entrepreneurial surrounded by opportunities to drive new initiatives and innovations. At our core, we are bold and ambitious people that like to get our hands dirty and make a hands-on impact. At Coupang, you will see yourself, your colleagues, your team, and the company grow every day. 

Our mission to build the future of commerce is real. We push the boundaries of what’s possible to solve problems and break traditional tradeoffs. Join Coupang now to create an epic experience in this always-on, high-tech, and hyper-connected world.

Job Overview

Global Operations Automation and Robotics Technology (GO ART) is the Zero-One organization within Coupang chartered to design, build, and deploy the most advanced fulfillment and transportation automation and robotics solutions in the industry. We are transforming Coupang's logistics network through in-house robotics, computer vision, and AI — at a scale and speed unmatched in Asian e-commerce. The team is based in Mountain View, Seattle, and Seoul.

We are looking for a Senior Director of Robotics & Computer Vision to lead the technical strategy, organization, and delivery of GO ART's robotic perception and manipulation programs end-to-end. This executive is the single technical owner for how Coupang's fulfillment centers see, reason about, and physically interact with the world.

The right candidate is a player-coach technology leader who has personally built and shipped robotic perception or manipulation systems at production scale, and who has subsequently grown and led multi-team organizations (engineers, applied scientists, and hardware/integration partners) that deliver against aggressive operational milestones. They are equally comfortable presenting a research roadmap to executives, debugging a 6-DoF pose-estimation pipeline on the floor of an FC, and recruiting world-class talent into a fast-moving Zero-One environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the technical vision and multi-year roadmap for robotic perception, manipulation, and CV-driven automation across Coupang's global fulfillment and logistics network.
• Build and lead the org — multiple teams of CV engineers, robotics engineers, applied scientists, and ML engineers across the U.S. and Korea. Hire, mentor, and develop senior IC and management talent.
• Set the bar for technical excellence in real-time perception (2D/2.5D/3D sensing, DNN-based detection/tracking/recognition, pose estimation, 3D reconstruction, sensor calibration) and robotic manipulation (grasping, picking, packing, induction, sortation).
• Drive cross-functional execution with hardware, controls, simulation, MLOps, fleet software, and operations teams to deliver integrated systems from prototype to production deployment at scale.
• Translate operational requirements into engineering programs — partner with FC operations, industrial engineering, and supply-chain leaders (largely KST-based) to identify the highest-ROI automation opportunities and ship against them.
• Represent Coupang externally as a technical thought leader in robotics and CV: conferences, publications, partnerships with academia, and senior-level vendor/partner engagements.
• Operate with a startup mindset — comfortable under ambiguity, hands-on when the problem demands it, and relentless about converting research into deployed, reliable, cost-effective systems.

Basic Qualifications

• PhD in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, Computer Vision, AI/ML, or a closely related discipline (or MS with equivalent industry depth).
• 12+ years of experience developing and shipping production robotics, computer vision, or robotic perception systems — including hands-on technical contribution earlier in career.
• 6+ years leading engineering organizations, with demonstrated experience managing managers and scaling teams of 30+ across multiple locations.
• Track record of delivering at least one large-scale robotics or CV automation program from concept to wide production deployment (warehouse automation, autonomous systems, manufacturing robotics, or comparable).
• Deep expertise in modern computer vision and deep learning: real-time DNN architectures, 2D/3D object detection, tracking, recognition, 6-DoF pose estimation, 3D data processing, automated sensor calibration.
• Demonstrated ability to set technical direction, make architectural calls, and resolve ambiguity in fast-moving, resource-constrained environments.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience leading robotics/CV organizations at hyperscale e-commerce, logistics, or robotics companies (e.g., Amazon Robotics, JD.com, Alibaba, Symbotic, Nimble, Covariant, Berkshire Grey, or comparable).
• Direct experience building and deploying robotic manipulation systems (pick/place, induction, palletizing, kitting) using robotic arms in production fulfillment environments.
• Experience defining and operationalizing the full robotic perception stack: 2D/2.5D/3D sensors, real-time CV processing platforms, calibration, simulation, data pipelines, and on-robot deployment.
• Strong publication record or external research presence in CV/robotics/ML (CVPR, ICCV, ECCV, ICRA, IROS, RSS, NeurIPS, etc.).
• Proven ability to recruit and retain senior IC and management talent from top-tier robotics, CV, and ML programs.
• Comfort working closely with KST-based engineering and operations partners; willingness to travel internationally as needed.
• Excellent executive communication: able to present complex technical strategy clearly to engineers, executives, and operational stakeholders.

Recruitment Process and Others 

Recruitment Process  

• Application Review - Phone Interview - Onsite (or Virtual Onsite) Interview – Offer 
• The exact nature of the recruitment process may vary according to the specific job and may be changed due to scheduling or other circumstances.
• Interview schedules and the results will be informed to the applicant via the e-mail address submitted at the application stage. 

Details to Consider  

• This job posting may be closed prior to the stated end date for application if all openings are filled.
• Coupang has the right to rescind an offer of employment if a candidate is found to have submitted false information as part of the application process.
• Coupang does not discriminate against disabled applicants or those with veteran status. We are proud to offer equal opportunities for all applicants.
• Job titles and responsibilities may be subject to change depending on the candidate’s overall experience, etc. This will be communicated to the candidate at the appropriate time before the offer.

Privacy Notice  

• Your personal information will be collected and managed by Coupang as stated in the Application Privacy Notice located below. 
• https://www.coupang.jobs/en/privacy-policy/

Document Return Policy

• This notification is given pursuant to Article 11 (6) of the Fair Hiring Procedure Act.
• A job applicant, who has applied but not been finally selected for a position at Coupang (the “Company”), may request the Company to return his/her hiring documents submitted pursuant to the Fair Hiring Procedure Act.  However, this will not apply where the hiring documents were submitted via the website of the Company or e-mail, or where the job applicant submitted those documents voluntarily without a request from the Company.  In addition, if the hiring documents were destroyed due to a natural disaster or any other reasons not attributable to the Company, such documents will be deemed to have been returned to the job applicant.
• A job applicant who wishes to request the return of his/her hiring documents pursuant to the main sentence of paragraph 2 above should fill out a “Request for Return of Hiring Documents” [Annex Form No. 3 in the Enforcement Rule of the Fair Hiring Procedure Act] and submit the request to the Company (Coupang Recruiting Team, Tower 730, 570 Songpa-daero, Songpa-gu, Seoul). In such case, within fourteen (14) days from the date of identifying the receipt of the request, the Company will send the hiring documents to the job applicant’s designated address via registered mail.  Please be informed that the job applicant is required to pay the postage on the registered mail.
• In preparation for a job applicant’s request for the return of hiring documents pursuant to the main sentence of paragraph 2 above, the Company shall retain the original hiring documents submitted by the job applicant for 180 days from the completion of the recruiting process.  If no request is made until the end of this period, all of his/her hiring documents will be destroyed immediately in accordance with the Personal Information Protection Act.