The Opportunity

EY is scaling Physical AI capabilities in California (Palo Alto) to serve as a premier engagement hub for clients, industry leaders, startup founders, alliance partners, investors, and the broader innovation ecosystem.

We are seeking a highly entrepreneurial and externally focused Associate Director, who will shape and operate the Palo Alto based Physical AI capabilities as a destination for executive dialogue, immersive demonstrations, ecosystem community collaboration, and industry engagement.

In this role, you will engage regularly with CXOs, innovation leaders, venture-backed startups, alliance partners, academics, investors, EY account teams, and internal leadership. You will curate executive experiences, facilitate meaningful conversations, build a thriving Physical AI community, and help position EY as a leading voice in this rapidly emerging space.

The ideal candidate combines strong business acumen, executive presence, ecosystem connectivity, storytelling skills, and relevant experience in leading and driving day-to-day operations of the hub.

Key Responsibilities

In this role, you will be responsible for the activation, positioning, and success of the Palo Alto Physical AI center. Your key responsibilities will include:

• Serve as a Physical AI subject matter leader, helping clients understand and explore the intersection of AI, robotics, simulation, digital twins, and autonomous systems.
• Lead technical demonstrations and solution showcases involving robotics platforms, embodied AI agents, digital twins, simulation environments, and AI-enabled industrial systems.
• Collaborate with EY Physical AI engineering teams to identify, develop, and continuously enhance demonstration assets, reference architectures, prototypes, and industry-specific use cases.
• Establish the EY's Palo Alto based Physical AI capabilities as a premier destination for innovation, collaboration, and industry dialogue in Physical AI.
• Lead client visits, executive briefings, demonstrations, and showcase experiences.
• Build and nurture a thriving Physical AI ecosystem across startups, venture capital firms, academia, alliance partners, and industry leaders in Silicon Valley and the broader Bay Area.
• Curate and host sessions such as executive roundtables, founder sessions, meetups, workshops, and be a part of industry events that help position EY at the center of Physical AI conversations.
• Design and deliver immersive client experiences that demonstrate the business value and industry applications of Physical AI technologies as well as continuously evolve the lab experience and engagement strategy, in close partnership with other Physical AI teams in EY.
• Partner with account teams and sector leaders in supporting innovation sessions, and executive discussions around strategic business priorities.
• Capture market insights, client feedback, and ecosystem trends to inform commercialization priorities and future Physical AI offerings.

Skills and Attributes for Success

To excel in this role, you will need a blend of strategic thinking, executive presence and ecosystem leadership, business storytelling and innovation mindset, as well as strong interpersonal skills. Key attributes include:

• Strong understanding of Physical AI technology stacks, including robotics systems, AI agents, perception systems, simulation platforms, digital twins, and autonomous decision-making frameworks.
• Exceptional executive communication, facilitation and stakeholder management skills across global, regional, and local teams.
• Strong storytelling capabilities with the ability to translate frontier technologies such as Physical AI into compelling business narratives.
• Natural relationship builder with credibility across executives, founders, investors, and technology leaders.
• High level understanding of disruptive/emerging technologies: AI, robotics, automation, autonomous systems, industrial technologies, or adjacent domains.
• Experience creating and delivering executive briefing experiences, innovation showcases, or client engagement programs.
• Entrepreneurial mindset with the ability to build new programs, communities, and partnerships from the ground up.
• High energy, curiosity, and comfort operating in a rapidly evolving technology landscape.
• Ability to influence without authority and work effectively across multidisciplinary teams.

Preferred Skillsets:

• Hands-on experience with Physical AI technologies, including robotics, autonomous systems, embodied AI, simulation platforms, digital twins, industrial automation, or intelligent machine operations.
• Experience with NVIDIA Physical AI ecosystem technologies, including Omniverse, Isaac Sim, Cosmos, Metropolis, and AI-enabled simulation workflows.
• Familiarity with robotics software frameworks such as ROS/ROS2, robot fleet management systems, machine vision platforms, and industrial control environments.
• Understanding of synthetic data generation, simulation-to-real (Sim2Real) workflows, reinforcement learning, robot foundation models, and AI model deployment for physical environments.
• MBA or advanced degree in Business, Engineering, Technology, Innovation Management, Marketing, Communications, or a related field.
• Experience working within a Big Four, Tier 1 consulting firm, technology company, innovation lab, venture ecosystem, accelerator, or startup environment.
• Existing network across Silicon Valley, Bay Area innovation communities, startups, venture capital firms, and technology ecosystems.
• Good experience leading executive briefing centers, customer experience centers, innovation hubs, or demonstration facilities.
• Proven experience supporting commercialization, go-to-market programs, or innovation-led growth initiatives.

What we offer you
The compensation ranges below are provided in order to comply with United States pay transparency laws. Other geographies will follow their local salary guidelines, which may not be a direct conversion of published US salary ranges. At EY, we'll develop you with future-focused skills and equip you with world-class experiences. We'll empower you in a flexible environment, and fuel you and your extraordinary talents in a diverse and inclusive culture of globally connected teams. Learn more.

• We offer a comprehensive compensation and benefits package where you'll be rewarded based on your performance and recognized for the value you bring to the business. The base salary range for this job in all geographic locations in the US is $157,100 to $311,100. The base salary range for New York City Metro Area, Washington State and California (excluding Sacramento) is $188,600 to $353,600. Individual salaries within those ranges are determined through a wide variety of factors including but not limited to education, experience, knowledge, skills and geography. In addition, our Total Rewards package includes medical and dental coverage, pension and 401(k) plans, and a wide range of paid time off options.
• Join us in our team-led and leader-enabled hybrid model. Our expectation is for most people in external, client serving roles to work together in person 40-60% of the time over the course of an engagement, project or year.
• Under our flexible vacation policy, you'll decide how much vacation time you need based on your own personal circumstances. You'll also be granted time off for designated EY Paid Holidays, Winter/Summer breaks, Personal/Family Care, and other leaves of absence when needed to support your physical, financial, and emotional well-being.

Are you ready to shape your future with confidence? Apply today.
EY accepts applications for this position on an on-going basis.

For those living in California, please click here for additional information.

EY focuses on high-ethical standards and integrity among its employees and expects all candidates to demonstrate these qualities.