Business Development Manager – Physical AI at Altera Corporation – San Jose | Jobyssey

Job Details:

Job Description:

We are seeking a Business Development Manager to drive growth in FPGA-based solutions across the Physical AI domain – spanning robotics, autonomous systems, industrial and factory automation, and edge AI. This role focuses on expanding design wins across intelligent machines that sense, decide, and act in the physical world, from collaborative robots and autonomous platforms to factory-automation controllers and edge AI appliances. You will act as the bridge between customers, product management, engineering, and ecosystem partners to position FPGA solutions against competing architectures including ASSPs/SoCs, GPUs, and microcontroller-based platforms.

Physical AI is converging perception, decision, and actuation onto real-time machines while pushing more intelligence to the edge, and industrial automation is moving toward connected, software-defined, and AI-enabled factories. FPGAs are uniquely positioned to unify deterministic control, sensor fusion, real-time networking, and edge AI inference on a single adaptable platform. As several of these markets are fast-emerging, the role includes helping establish and scale the market motion – which requires strong technical business leadership at the system level.

Key Responsibilities

1. Market Development & Strategy

Identify and prioritize target segments including:

Robotics: industrial and collaborative robots (cobots), autonomous mobile robots (AMR/AGV), humanoids, end-of-arm tooling

Autonomous systems: drones / UAVs, autonomous ground and off-road vehicles, autonomous material handling

Industrial and factory automation: PLC / PAC controllers, motion and servo-drive control, machine control, IIoT / edge gateways

Edge AI: edge AI appliances and gateways, smart cameras and sensors, on-premise inference platforms

Track and interpret trends in:

Edge AI and on-device inference (model deployment, quantization, AI acceleration)

Multi-sensor fusion (camera, LiDAR, IMU, force / torque)

Real-time deterministic control, multi-axis motion, and industrial networking convergence (fieldbus → TSN)

Industry 4.0 / IIoT, predictive maintenance, and the software-defined factory

Robotics and autonomy software stacks (ROS / ROS2) and AI frameworks

Identify opportunities where customers require:

Deterministic, low-latency control and motion loops

High-throughput, low-power edge AI inference

Multi-sensor aggregation and time synchronization

Functional safety for human-machine collaboration

Reconfigurability across evolving platforms and long industrial lifecycles

2. Customer Engagement & Design Wins

Build relationships with robotics OEMs, industrial-automation vendors (controls, drives, machine builders), autonomous-system developers, edge AI platform vendors, module / subsystem suppliers, and system integrators

Drive early-stage engagement with Sales to:

Influence system and safety architecture decisions

Position FPGA-based solutions across control, sensing, networking, and edge AI systems

Secure design-ins across platforms, machines, and derivatives

Support technical sales discussions spanning:

Motor / motion control (field-oriented control, multi-axis servo, encoder interfacing)

Industrial control and real-time networking (PLC / PAC, EtherCAT, PROFINET, EtherNet/IP, TSN)

Sensor fusion and perception pipelines

Edge AI / ML inference (CNN- and transformer-based workloads)

Functional-safety implementation (safe motion, redundancy, diagnostics)

Engage in system-level discussions involving:

Perception → planning → actuation pipelines

Centralized vs distributed control architectures (robot, machine, and factory cell)

Deterministic vs GPU-based processing trade-offs

3. Ecosystem & Partnerships

Build and manage relationships with:

Sensor, encoder, and actuator / drive vendors

Industrial networking, controls, and automation-software vendors

IP providers and software / AI stack vendors (ROS ecosystem, vision / AI frameworks)

Robotics and automation module makers, ODMs, and system integrators

Enable joint solutions and reference designs to accelerate customer adoption

4. Sales Enablement & Execution

Develop high-impact sales collateral including solution briefs, reference architectures (motion control, industrial networking, sensor fusion, edge AI), competitive positioning vs FPGA / SoC / ASSP / GPU / MCU alternatives, and ROI / TCO analyses

Support Sales teams with:

Use-case driven messaging for robotics, autonomous systems, industrial automation, and edge AI applications

Customer presentations and technical positioning

Opportunity qualification and deal progression

Deliver presentations at customer meetings, industry events, and trade shows

5. Internal Collaboration

Provide structured market feedback to product management and engineering

Influence product direction based on customer needs related to:

Real-time I/O and deterministic networking

Motion-control and safety features

Edge AI capabilities and AI fabric

Power, thermal, and form-factor for embedded, mobile, and industrial deployment

Support pricing discussions and business case development

The pay range below is for Bay Area California only. Actual salary may vary based on a number of factors including job location, job-related knowledge, skills, experiences, trainings, etc. We also offer incentive opportunities that reward employees based on individual and company performance.

$166.9K - $241.6K USD

We use artificial intelligence to screen, assess, or select applicants for the position. Applicants must be eligible for any required U.S. export authorizations.

Qualifications:

Required Qualifications

Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field (Master's preferred)

7+ years of experience in:

Robotics, industrial / factory automation, autonomous systems, or edge AI / embedded systems
Semiconductor, module, controls, or OEM environments

Strong understanding of:

Motion / motor control and real-time systems
Industrial control and networking concepts
Sensor technologies and fusion (camera, LiDAR, IMU, force / torque)

AI / ML fundamentals (edge inference pipelines)

Familiarity with key interfaces and networks:

EtherCAT, PROFINET, EtherNet/IP, TSN, real-time Ethernet

Encoder interfaces (BiSS, EnDat, SSI), MIPI CSI-2

Experience engaging global customers and managing long design cycles

Preferred Qualifications

Experience with FPGA-based systems or FPGA solution selling

Understanding of high-speed I/O and memory subsystems, multi-axis motion control, and edge AI deployment constraints (latency, power, form factor)

Familiarity with ROS / ROS2, AI frameworks, and edge AI toolchains

Awareness of functional-safety and industrial standards (ISO 10218, ISO/TS 15066, IEC 61508 / SIL, IEC 61131-3, IEC 62443)

Prior experience with:

Robotics OEMs or integrators

Industrial automation / controls / drive companies

Autonomous-system, drone, or AMR/AGV developers

Edge AI platform or appliance vendors

MBA or business training is a plus

Critical Success Factors

Design-in mindset: Ability to engage early and secure long lifecycle platform wins

System-level thinking: Understanding the complete signal chain from sensing through processing to actuation

Execution focus: Ability to convert opportunities into pipeline and revenue

Customer-centric approach: Strong listening skills and ability to translate requirements into solutions

Ecosystem leverage: Driving wins through partnerships, not just silicon features

KPIs / Success Metrics

Design wins and revenue growth across robotics, autonomous systems, industrial automation, and edge AI segments

Number of qualified opportunities identified in motion control, industrial networking, sensor fusion, and edge AI systems

Pipeline growth and forecast accuracy

Engagements with OEMs, automation vendors, module vendors, and system integrators

Contribution to sales enablement and deal progression

Job Type:

Regular

Shift:

Shift 1 (United States of America)

Primary Location:

San Jose, California, United States

Additional Locations:

Austin, Texas, United States, Oregon Hillsboro

Posting Statement:

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, religious creed, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, military and veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, gender, gender expression, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by local law, regulation, or ordinance.

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