Innovation Manager (Physical AI and Semiconductor Innovation)

Location: Hybrid in Austin, Texas, United States or Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom

Company

hirify.global operates Cirrus Venture Labs, a startup-to-business-unit incubation engine developing scalable semiconductor, mixed-signal, embedded systems, and physical-digital innovations.

What you will do

• Own emerging technology ventures as an internal founder, from problem discovery and opportunity definition through prototyping, validation, incubation, and business-unit transition.
• Identify, assess, and prioritize high-impact industry problems and technology opportunities across Physical AI, edge intelligence, sensing, power infrastructure, control systems, and related domains.
• Mobilize engineering teams, startups, customers, experts, and external partners to prototype and validate technologies, architectures, and applications.
• Develop technology and business hypotheses, assess market potential and differentiation, define success criteria, and support evidence-based investment decisions.
• Identify, structure, negotiate, and help close technology partnerships, co-development agreements, licensing arrangements, and strategic collaborations.
• Secure funding and resources, engage customers and the innovation ecosystem, lead multidisciplinary teams, and communicate venture progress and recommendations to senior stakeholders.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
• At least 7 years of experience in technical product leadership, technology development, engineering leadership, or entrepreneurial roles, including experience advancing emerging technologies in semiconductors, software, embedded systems, or related industries.
• Strong technical foundation in hardware and/or software systems and architectures, with depth in at least one relevant domain and the ability to develop working knowledge across unfamiliar technologies.
• Ability to operate autonomously in ambiguous environments, formulate technology and business hypotheses, make decisions under uncertainty, and own outcomes end to end.
• Experience identifying high-impact problems, evaluating nascent technologies, defining technical and commercial success criteria, and advancing concepts through prototyping and validation.
• Ability to assess market opportunities, competitive differentiation, business models, investment requirements, and commercialization pathways.
• Experience developing and negotiating commercial or technical agreements, including technology licensing, joint development, strategic partnerships, or other collaborative arrangements.
• Ability to influence, mobilize, and lead multidisciplinary engineering, research, product, and business teams without relying solely on direct authority.
• Exceptional ability to translate complex technical and business concepts into narratives, investment proposals, and actionable recommendations.

Nice to have

• Master’s or Ph.D. in a relevant technical discipline, or an MBA with a strong technical foundation.
• Deep experience in Physical AI, edge ML algorithms, embedded compute architectures, intelligent sensing, distributed sensor networks, data center power infrastructure, power electronics, robotics, or advanced control and drive systems.
• Experience founding, building, or leading early-stage technology ventures, corporate incubation, venture studios, or new business initiatives.
• Experience structuring and closing technology partnerships, co-development agreements, licensing arrangements, or strategic investments, including knowledge of IP rights, exclusivity, funding milestones, and commercial terms.
• An established network involving startups, venture capital firms, universities, research institutions, or emerging technology ecosystems.
• Experience leading agile, cross-disciplinary teams through rapid prototyping, customer validation, and incubation toward scalable products.
• Experience developing business cases, financial models, investment proposals, and commercialization strategies for new technologies or emerging markets.

Culture & Benefits

• Hybrid work arrangement based in Austin, Texas, or Edinburgh, Scotland.
• High autonomy and ownership in an internal-founder role.
• Access to internal engineering teams, startups, customers, academic institutions, investors, and external technology partners.
• Opportunity to develop new product categories and businesses across semiconductor and physical-digital technology markets.