$18M Salary: UBTech Robotics Wants to Hire a Humanoid AI Mastermind

Shenzhen-based humanoid robot company UBTech Robotics is putting serious money on the table, up to 124 million yuan ($18 million) a year to land a top-tier chief scientist for embodied intelligence. That’s according to a global recruitment notice the Hong Kong-listed company shared this week.

The headline-making salary range starts at 15 million yuan ($2.18 million) and climbs to 124 million yuan, a number the company confirmed to Global Times on Friday. The offer is structured as a mix of cash, benefits, and equity, a spokesperson said.

UBTech’s WeChat recruitment post pulls no punches. The company says it doesn’t care about passports, age, or gender. “Just look at one thing: Can you define the future?” the company wrote.

A high-stakes bet on embodied intelligence talent

The role comes with a bold title: Chief Scientist of Embodied Intelligence. The company describes this person as “the helmsman of UBTECH’s technical path” and “a game-breaker in the humanoid robot industry.”

In plain terms, this scientist will map out UBTECH’s technology roadmap for humanoid robots and embodied intelligence. That includes leading research on vision-language-action models, foundational robot models, and dexterous skill learning, according to the company’s statement.

UBTech wants more than just research papers. The company says the new chief scientist will push cutting-edge technology “from the laboratory to real scenes” and speed up the use of humanoid robots in smart manufacturing, commercial services, and even family companionship.

“This position – as a leader in technological exploration and a driving force in turning vision into reality – will define UBTECH’s technology roadmap in the fields of humanoid intelligence and embodied intelligence,” a company spokesperson told Global Times.

While UBTech is making the biggest headlines, they aren’t the only ones hiring. The humanoid robot sector has exploded in 2026, fueled by major appearances at the CES tech showcase and China’s Spring Festival Gala.

Tesla is also in the mix, having recently posted a notice seeking over 80 specialists for its Optimus robot project. However, UBTech’s offer is particularly aggressive. Bloomberg reports that this level of pay is unusual even for China’s AI sector, which has historically “eschewed the mega pay packages that the likes of Meta Platforms Inc. have put together for elite scientists and engineers.”

Coffee, robots, and billions in revenue

UBTech’s recruitment pitch reads less like a corporate flyer and more like a manifesto. They are calling the offer the moment where “The workers’ ceiling is coming!” Beyond the $18 million scientist, the company is hiring for other roles, including Rust development engineers, mechanical engineers, and reinforcement learning algorithm engineers.

The perks for these aspirants include quarterly paid sick leave, flexible working hours, public rental housing, and unlimited coffee.

The company also has the data to back up its bravado. In 2025, UBTech’s total revenue hit 2.001 billion yuan. Even more impressive is their lead in the humanoid market; they sold 1,079 units of their full-size intelligent humanoid robots last year. With roughly 4.92 billion RMB in cash reserves, they clearly have the dry powder to fund this expensive talent search.Related reading: Unitree is also heading toward a $610 million IPO after achieving rare profitability in humanoid robots, a potential turning point for the industry.