Daniel Leidner

CTO and Co-Founder | Robotics & AI Scientist | MIT Innovator under 35

Greater Munich Metropolitan Area

About

As a research group leader at the German Aerospace Center (DLR), I am working on the service robots of tomorrow. My group is pioneering in the robotic exploration of our solar system but also in initiatives for terrestrial service robotics, where we aim to apply the same methods to support care personnel in retirement homes. With this, I pursue the vision that future robots should no longer be mere tools but in fact intelligent colleagues and assistants for space and society.

Experience

  • Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer at SEAL Robotics
    Sep 2025 - Present · 11 mos

  • Collaboration Professor at Universität Bremen
    Oct 2024 - Dec 2025 · 1 yr 3 mos

  • Deutsches Zentrum für Luft-und Raumfahrt e.V. (14 yrs 9 mos)
    • Head of Department for Autonomy and Teleoperationen
      Oct 2024 - Dec 2025 · 1 yr 3 mos

    • Head of Fault-Tolerant Autonomy Architectures Group
      Oct 2019 - Dec 2025 · 6 yrs 3 mos

    • Head of FUTURO Young Investigator Group
      Mar 2020 - Dec 2023 · 3 yrs 10 mos

  • Consultant for the AI-enabled Robotics Strategy of the German Government at Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz
    Oct 2023 - Jul 2024 · 10 mos