Yes to Pittsburgh! Excellent schools and quality of life.
I mean "absolutely must" for the long-term (PhD is a separate discussion). Getting in the door is the critical first step, and definitely possible without a degree (modulo a pay cut, of course).
If OP is +4 SD ability ("Will Hunting" level), and/or the godson of Timothy Leary, who grew up in an academic family with Stanford Ovshinsky as a close family friend, then YMMV :)
Media Lab Director is not a tenure-track position, but there are indeed a handful of tenured professors in the country who do not hold a PhD. Essentially all of them earned tenure 30+ years ago in a much different environment. I've heard of some who skipped undergrad, got a PhD, and tenure - but it's rare, and even more so in today's academic climate. I don't recall hearing of any tenured person with no degree at all.
Joi is an extreme example, sure, but now he's recruiting people for tenure track jobs from outside the traditional academy track. Read their most recent job listings.
Moreover, many top universities have positions called Professors of the Practice. And that's a common enough path that Neuroscience, as an interdisciplinary field, would do well to adopt. Geoff Hinton now works at Google for a reason.
I mean "absolutely must" for the long-term (PhD is a separate discussion). Getting in the door is the critical first step, and definitely possible without a degree (modulo a pay cut, of course).