Lead Data-Collection Ops for Robotic Research

UMA; Paris; On-site; EUR 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

UMA is seeking a Lead Operator - Data Collection to own the data pipeline feeding our models. You will report to the Chief Science Officer and collaborate with the research and hardware teams daily. You’ll define what a good episode looks like, debug the stack, and turn operators into a reliable on-floor operation.

You’ll translate research needs into weekly plans, manage peak workloads, and build scalable processes while mentoring team members for rapid productivity.

Qualifications

• 3+ years hands-on in lab ops, robotics, hardware test, field ops, or data ops (proven experience over degrees)
• Proficiency with Python, CLI (running/editing scripts), and Git
• Fluency in French and English
• Ability to build scalable processes and lead on the floor

Responsibilities

• Own the collection plan end to end: translate research needs into weekly plans, task definitions, and volume and quality targets, hitting them and reporting transparently.
• Gather data with the team to fully understand the processes, manage peak workload periods effectively, and streamline training and onboarding for new team members.
• Enforce quality standards: define, inspect, validate, and reject or re‑collect task episodes as needed.
• Maintain dataset hygiene, labelling, structure, traceability, and research matrix coverage.
• Provide first‑line technical support for stations, control interfaces, and robots, escalating only complex issues to engineering.
• Shape inspection and correction tools by giving product feedback so workflows get smoother
• Partner with the hardware and software team to resolve recurring technical failures.
• Author scalable SOPs, training materials, and operator documentation.
• Share recurring metrics covering episode counts, acceptance rates, coverage, uptime, and saved researcher hours.
• Ensure operational safety on the floor and keep the workspace clean and organized.

Skills

Python

CLI

Git

Team leadership

Data quality judgement

Troubleshooting

Process scalability

French-English bilingual

Robotics

Tools

LeRobot

Hugging Face

ROS

QA/annotation pipelines

Data pipelines (on-robot/off-robot)

Job description

UMA is seeking a Lead Operator - Data Collection to own the data pipeline feeding our models. You will report to the Chief Science Officer and collaborate with the research and hardware teams daily. You’ll define what a good episode looks like, debug the stack, and turn operators into a reliable on-floor operation.

You’ll translate research needs into weekly plans, manage peak workloads, and build scalable processes while mentoring team members for rapid productivity.