Studio Lead, Robotics Operations
Encord
Operations
San Francisco, CA, USA
Posted on Jan 7, 2026
About us:
At Encord, we're building the AI infrastructure of the future. The biggest challenge AI companies face today is not nearly as glamorous as the outside world may think: it's all about data quality. In fact, the success of any AI application today relies on the quality of a model's training data. For 95% of teams, this essential step is both the most costly, and the most time-consuming in getting their product to market.
As ex-computer scientists, physicists, and quants, we felt first-hand how the lack of tools to prepare quality training data was impeding the progress of building AI. AI today is what the early days of computing or the internet were like, where the potential of the technology is clear, but the tools and processes surrounding it are still primitive, preventing the next generation of applications. This is why we started Encord.
We are a team of 100+, working at the cutting edge of multimodal and visual AI. Encord is backed by top investors, including CRV, Y Combinator, and Next47, leading industry executives like Luc Vincent, former VP of AI at Meta, and other Bay Area AI leaders. We are one the fastest growing companies in our space, and consistently rated as the best product in the market by our customers.
The role:
You'll run our robotics operations facility end-to-end. That means owning the P&L, building and leading the team, hitting service targets for clients, and creating the processes that will scale as we grow. You'll have a team of Shift Managers reporting to you, and through them, a floor of Operators who remotely control robots for our customers. This is a builder role. We're not handing you a playbook—you'll write it. If you've ever wanted to run your own operation with real ownership and accountability, this is that job.
Responsibilities:
-Own facility performance
-SLAs, quality metrics, client satisfaction
-Build and refine SOPs, escalation paths, and quality standards
-Manage the facility budget
-Find ways to improve margins without sacrificing quality
-Ensure 7-day coverage through smart workforce planning
-Build the Team
-Hire, develop, and retain Shift Managers—they're your leadership bench
-Own the full talent pipeline: recruiting partnerships, hiring, onboarding, training
-Create a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and ownership
-Document everything—your processes will be the blueprint for future facilities
-Forecast staffing as client demand and robot autonomy evolve
-Partner with engineering and product teams to improve systems
About you:
-Operations Leadership: 5+ years in operations, including 3+ years managing managers
(not just ICs). You've owned a P&L or budget and know how to balance cost, quality, and
speed.
-Builder Mentality: You've created processes from scratch—SOPs, training programs,
performance systems. You don't need a template to get started.
-Data-Driven: Comfortable with dashboards, KPIs, and root cause analysis. You make
decisions with data, not gut feel.
-Executive Presence: Clear communicator who can present to leadership, handle tough
client conversations, and rally a team.
-International Mobility: Willing to travel internationally and relocate to launch future facilities.
-Want real ownership—not a cog-in-the-machine corporate role
-Get energy from building teams and watching people grow
-Are comfortable with ambiguity and figuring things out as you go
-See this as a step toward senior operations or GM leadership
Bonus points: Robotics, autonomous systems, or tech operations experience. Contact center or
NOC background. Experience launching new sites. Lean/Six Sigma. Bilingual English/Spanish.
What we offer:
- Competitive salary and equity in a hyper growth business.
- Strong in-person culture: most of our team is in the office 3+ days a week in our loft office in North Beach.
- 18 days annual leave a year + public holidays.
- Annual learning and development budget.
- Paid trips to visit prospects, attend conferences, host events across UK, Europe and US.
- Company lunches twice a week.
- Monthly socials & bi-annual off-sites.