Lab Manager

Randstad USA; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 131,000 - 145,000; Part time

Job summary

Randstad USA in Boston is building a Physical AI lab where robotics research meets real hardware. It's a fast-moving environment that requires disciplined, technically fluent people who thrive in ambiguity and want to ship impactful lab readiness daily.

As Lab Manager, you'll coordinate equipment, schedules, and inventory, serve as the onsite point of contact for hardware and software teams, and help scale the lab safely and efficiently.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience managing lab operations in hardware R&D, robotics, or advanced manufacturing.
• Hands-on familiarity with lab equipment common to physical AI or robotics environments.
• Strong organizational instincts and proactive problem-solving.
• Experience with inventory management systems and procurement workflows.

Responsibilities

• Own the daily rhythm of the lab, from opening checks through to end-of-day handoffs.
• Coordinate lab scheduling across multiple engineering workstreams, balancing priorities and flagging conflicts early.
• Manage equipment availability, calibration schedules, and preventive maintenance cycles to keep test infrastructure in peak condition.
• Maintain accurate inventory of components, consumables, and tooling; own replenishment processes and vendor coordination.

Skills

Lab operations

Organizational skills

Written and verbal communication

Inventory management

Procurement processes

Technical fluency

Collaboration with engineering teams

Safety procedures

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Test benches

Oscilloscopes

Power supplies

Soldering and rework stations

3D printers

Job description

Job Summary

We're building a Physical AI lab from the ground up in Boston - the kind of place where cutting-edge robotics research meets real hardware, and where the work you do today shows up in systems that change how machines interact with the physical world. It's a fast-moving, high-ambiguity environment, and we need people who thrive in exactly that kind of setup.

This Lab Manager role is the operational backbone of the team. You'll be the person who makes sure the lab is ready to do great work every single day - coordinating equipment, managing schedules, tracking what's where, and making sure engineering teams have everything they need to move fast. It's a role that requires equal parts organization and technical fluency.

location: Boston, Massachusetts

job type: Contract

salary: $95 - 105 per hour

work hours: 8am to 5pm

education: Bachelors

Responsibilities

Day-to-Day Lab Operations

• Own the daily rhythm of the lab - from opening and readiness checks through to end-of-day handoffs. If something's blocking the team, you're the first to know and the first to fix it.
• Coordinate lab scheduling across multiple engineering workstreams, balancing competing priorities and flagging conflicts early rather than late.
• Manage equipment availability, calibration schedules, and preventive maintenance cycles to keep test infrastructure in peak condition.
• Maintain accurate inventory of components, consumables, and tooling; own replenishment processes and vendor coordination.

Onsite Point of Contact

• Serve as the single point of contact for lab-related questions from hardware, software, and validation engineering teams.
• Build and maintain the onsite lab operations playbook - documenting processes, escalation paths, safety protocols, and lab standards.
• Support onboarding of new team members into the lab environment, including tool training and safety certification tracking.
• Interface with facilities, IT, and procurement teams to resolve infrastructure issues quickly and without disruption to engineering work.

Lab Readiness & Execution

• Own preparation for key lab milestones - prototype build sessions, integration sprints, and testing campaigns - ensuring the lab is configured and ready before engineering teams arrive.
• Track and communicate lab capacity, equipment status, and readiness risks to engineering leads and TPMs on a regular cadence.
• Establish and enforce lab safety procedures, including electrical safety, handling of prototype hardware, and compliance with any relevant regulatory requirements.
• Drive continuous improvement in lab workflows, identifying bottlenecks and proposing operational changes that increase throughput and reduce rework.

Qualifications

Required

• 5+ years of experience managing lab operations in a hardware R&D, robotics, or advanced manufacturing environment.
• Hands-on familiarity with lab equipment common to physical AI or robotics environments - test benches, oscilloscopes, power supplies, soldering and rework stations, 3D printers, and similar.
• Strong organizational instincts - you naturally build systems and processes that keep a fast-moving team from losing things, missing steps, or duplicating work.
• Comfortable working directly with engineers, both taking direction on what the lab needs and pushing back constructively when something isn't feasible.
• Experience with inventory management systems, equipment tracking, and procurement workflows.
• Solid written and verbal communication - you can write a clear ops runbook, elevate a problem succinctly, and hold a room in a scheduling conflict.

Preferred

• Background in electrical engineering, mechatronics, or a related discipline - enough technical depth to understand what engineers are building and why lab configuration matters.
• Experience standing up a new lab or significantly expanding an existing one, including equipment procurement, layout planning, and process design.
• Exposure to EH&S (Environmental Health & Safety) requirements in a research or prototype hardware context.
• Prior experience in a hyperscaler, robotics company, or physical AI startup environment.

Skills

• 3D printers
• AI
• build systems
• inventory management systems
• inventory system
• motion capture
• written and verbal communication
• Coordinate
• Point of Contact
• equipment tracking
• continuous improvement
• calibration
• safety certification
• consumables
• prototype
• documenting processes
• electrical safety
• Environmental Health & Safety
• EH&S
• infrastructure
• TPMs
• campaigns
• electrical engineering
• advanced manufacturing
• lab safety
• mechatronics
• oscilloscopes
• layout planning
• power supplies
• preventive maintenance
• identifying bottlenecks
• process design
• procurement
• equipment procurement
• procurement workflows
• regulatory requirements
• R&D
• robotics
• safety protocols
• schedules
• scheduling
• lab equipment
• soldering
• technical fluency
• technical depth
• workflows

Equal Opportunity Employer: Race, Color, Religion, Sex, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, National Origin, Age, Genetic Information, Disability, Protected Veteran Status, or any other legally protected group status.

If you require a reasonable accommodation to make your application or interview experience a great one, please contact [e-mail].

Pay offered to a successful candidate will be based on several factors including the candidate's education, work experience, work location, specific job duties, certifications, etc. In addition, Randstad Digital offers a comprehensive benefits package, including:

• medical
• prescription
• dental
• vision
• AD&D
• life insurance offerings
• short-term disability
• 401K plan

(all benefits are based on eligibility).

This posting is open for thirty (30) days.

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.