AD Robotics Planning & Business Strategy

Job Description:
Our Opportunity:
Humanoid robotics is crossing the line from demos to deployment, and the companies that build the right ecosystem relationships now will shape who wins as robots move into factories, warehouses, and other real-world environments. Market forecasts estimate the opportunity in the tens of billions on the near horizon, with credible paths to trillion-dollar scale as adoption and services compound. The biggest opportunities will go to the teams that build the ecosystem early, earn the trust of the right partners, and turn fast-moving technology progress into practical, scalable advantage. This role is for a strategic partnerships leader who wants to catch that wave early, build something lasting, and help shape how humanoids enter the real world.
Chewy operates at the scale where humanoid robotics will be proven in production, and our fulfillment environment creates a clear proving ground for the category's hardest capabilities. We run high-throughput operations where success is measured by repeatability, recovery from edge cases, and safe operation around people and equipment. Those constraints translate directly into frontier challenges in manipulation, dexterity, and warehouse autonomy, with a direct path to measurable operational value. The sector is also attracting serious capital and commitment, which is accelerating competition and timelines. In this role, you will be trusted to represent Chewy Robotics externally with high autonomy, open and expand relationships with the most relevant humanoid and warehouse robotics companies globally, and translate external progress into durable strategic options for Chewy.
What You'll Do:
Partner strategy, business development, and external representation

• Define and execute the partnerships and business development strategy for robotics and humanoids, aligned to Chewy's Physical AI priorities.
• Identify, qualify, and pursue new strategic relationships globally, expanding Chewy's access to capabilities, roadmaps, and collaboration opportunities.
• Serve as a senior external representative for Chewy Robotics with founders, executives, and technical leaders, communicating our priorities with clarity, credibility, and sound judgment.
• Structure engagement models that can include executive relationship building, technical exchanges, pilots, evaluations, and longer-term agreements, while partnering with legal and leadership on sensitive topics and reputational risk.
• Deliver compelling external narratives through high-impact presentations, panels, and partner-facing briefings at conferences, executive forums, and customer or partner sites.

Internal influence and alignment

• Translate external opportunities and signals into clear internal recommendations, including tradeoffs, sequencing, and decision points.
• Coordinate across research, engineering, product, legal, procurement, and operations to move partner work forward efficiently.
• Establish lightweight mechanisms that keep partner work measurable, predictable, and easy to manage at executive altitude.

Market and technical intelligence

• Maintain an informed view of progress across humanoid robotics, mobile manipulation, bi-manual manipulation of heavy deformable objects, and warehouse robotics.
• Provide concise, high-signal updates to leadership that distinguish hype from real capability and recommend action.

What You'll Need:

• Significant experience leading strategic partnerships and business development in a technical or deep-tech domain, with a track record of opening and expanding senior external relationships and converting them into business outcomes.
• Demonstrated executive presence and ability to represent an organization independently in high-stakes external settings.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate technical topics credibly and align diverse stakeholders.
• Strong public speaking and presentation skills, with a track record of representing an organization at industry events, executive meetings, or customer and partner forums.
• Proven ability to operate autonomously in ambiguous environments, set direction, and close loops without direct supervision.
• Comfort working across time zones and traveling for partner engagement, including international travel as needed.

Preferred:

• Experience in robotics, automation, AI infrastructure, or adjacent deep-tech ecosystems.
• Technical fluency demonstrated through education or professional experience, with the ability to engage meaningfully with engineering and research leaders.
• Experience building partnerships with international companies and navigating cross-cultural business dynamics.
• Mandarin or Cantonese proficiency.
• MBA or equivalent experience demonstrating strong business judgment and strategic thinking.

Success Looks Like:

• Chewy is consistently engaged with the most relevant humanoid and warehouse robotics players, and those partners view Chewy as a serious, high-integrity collaborator.
• New strategic relationships open quickly and progress to substantive technical exchanges, evaluations, or pilot-ready opportunities with clear value and decision points.
• Partner workstreams execute predictably due to strong mechanisms, crisp ownership, and proactive risk management.
• Internal leaders receive timely, high-signal updates that shape strategy and investment decisions.
• Chewy's external posture remains consistent and credible, even as tactics shift between data publication, pilots, integration, and other ecosystem levers.

The base salary range for this role is $149,000 - $245,000.

• The specific salary offered to a candidate may be influenced by a variety of factors including but not limited to the candidate's relevant experience, education, and work location. In addition, this position is eligible for 401k and a new hire and annual equity grant. C08+ positions may also be eligible for annual bonus.

We offer different types of insurance and benefits, such as medical/Rx, vision, dental, life, disability, hospital indemnity, critical illness, and accident. We offer parental leave, family services benefits, backup dependent care, flexible spending accounts, telemedicine, pet adoption reimbursement, employee assistance program, and many discounts including 10% off pet insurance and 20% off at Chewy.com.
Exempt salary team members have unlimited PTO, subject to manager approval. Team members will receive six paid holidays per year. Team members may be eligible for paid sick and family leave in compliance with applicable state and local regulations.
Chewy is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, ancestry, national origin, gender, citizenship, marital status, religion, age, disability, gender identity, results of genetic testing, veteran status, as well as any other legally-protected characteristic. If you have a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act or similar law, and you need an accommodation during the application process or to perform these job requirements, or if you need a religious accommodation, please contact [email protected].
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