Physical AI Lab Manager

Inabia-Software-; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Inabia Solutions & Consulting, Inc. seeks an experienced Physical AI Lab Manager to launch and run a new Physical AI lab in Boston. You will oversee daily lab operations, safety, and readiness for prototype builds, coordinating across engineering teams to meet milestones.

The role requires five+ years managing hardware robotics labs, hands-on equipment familiarity, and strong communication. Onsite work five days a week in Boston with a focus on safety, procedures, and efficiency.

Qualifications

• Five+ years of experience managing lab operations in hardware robotics environments.
• Hands-on familiarity with lab equipment such as test benches, oscilloscopes, power supplies, soldering/rework stations, 3D printers, and prototype-dev equipment.
• Experience coordinating equipment maintenance, calibration, and repair activities.
• Experience with inventory systems, equipment-tracking tools, and procurement workflows.
• Strong organizational and process-management skills.
• Ability to work with engineers and understand lab/equipment/testing requirements.
• Willingness to raise concerns and push back when schedules or lab configurations are not feasible or safe.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Manage daily lab operations, including opening procedures, readiness checks, issue resolution, and end-of-day handoffs.
• Coordinate lab schedules across multiple engineering workstreams while balancing priorities.
• Identify scheduling conflicts and recommend practical alternatives.
• Manage equipment availability, calibration schedules, and preventive-maintenance cycles.
• Maintain inventories of components, consumables, tools, and lab equipment.
• Coordinate replenishments, vendor coordination, and procurement requests.
• Serve as onsite contact for hardware, software, validation, and program-management teams.
• Develop and maintain lab operations playbook, SOPs, escalation paths, and safety protocols.
• Support onboarding of new team members with lab orientation and tool training.
• Prepare lab for prototype builds, integration sprints, testing campaigns, and major milestones.
• Review workflows, identify bottlenecks, and propose improvements to throughput and reduce delays.

Skills

Lab operations management

Equipment calibration

Inventory management

Coordination across workstreams

Onsite collaboration

Safety documentation

Education

Electrical engineering

Mechatronics

Robotics

Engineering degree

Job description

Employer: Inabia Solutions & Consulting, Inc.
Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Work Arrangement: Onsite, five days per week
Employment Type: Contract, W-2
Compensation: Competitive compensation
Work Authorization: U.S.Citizen or Green Card

About Inabia

Inabia Solutions & Consulting, Inc. is seeking an experienced Physical AI Lab Manager to support the launch and ongoing operation of a new Physical AI lab in Boston. This environment brings together robotics research, advanced hardware, and engineering teams working to improve how intelligent machines interact with the physical world.

The Lab Manager will serve as the operational backbone of the facility. This person will keep the lab organized, safe, properly equipped, and ready for daily engineering activities. The position requires strong operational discipline, technical familiarity, and the ability to work effectively in a fast-moving environment where priorities may change quickly.

Responsibilities

Daily Lab Operations

• Manage daily lab operations, including opening procedures, readiness checks, issue resolution, and end-of-day handoffs.
• Identify and resolve issues that could delay engineering, testing, or prototype-development activities.
• Coordinate lab schedules across multiple engineering workstreams while balancing competing priorities.
• Identify scheduling conflicts early and recommend practical alternatives.
• Manage equipment availability, calibration schedules, and preventive-maintenance cycles.
• Maintain accurate inventories of components, consumables, tools, and lab equipment.
• Manage replenishment activities, component deliveries, vendor coordination, and procurement requests.

Onsite Coordination

• Serve as the primary onsite contact for hardware, software, validation, and program-management teams.
• Develop and maintain the lab operations playbook, including operating procedures, escalation paths, safety protocols, and lab standards.
• Support the onboarding of new team members, including lab orientation, tool training, access coordination, and safety-certification tracking.
• Work with facilities, IT, procurement, and engineering teams to resolve infrastructure and equipment issues with minimal disruption.
• Communicate lab constraints, equipment concerns, and operational risks clearly to the appropriate stakeholders.

Lab Readiness and Execution

• Prepare the lab for prototype builds, integration sprints, testing campaigns, and other major engineering milestones.
• Confirm that required equipment, tooling, components, software, and workspace configurations are ready before scheduled engineering activities.
• Track and communicate lab capacity, equipment status, scheduling conflicts, and readiness risks to engineering leaders and technical program managers.
• Establish, document, and enforce lab safety procedures.
• Support electrical-safety practices, prototype-hardware handling, equipment operation, and applicable regulatory requirements.
• Review lab workflows, identify bottlenecks, and recommend changes that improve throughput and reduce delays or rework.
• Maintain accurate operational records, equipment logs, calibration records, and safety documentation.

Required Qualifications

• Five or more years of experience managing lab operations in a hardware research and development, robotics, or advanced-manufacturing environment.
• Hands-on familiarity with equipment commonly used in physical AI, robotics, or hardware-development labs, including:
  • Test benches
  • Oscilloscopes
  • Power supplies
  • Soldering and rework stations
  • 3D printers
  • Prototype-development and testing equipment
• Experience coordinating equipment maintenance, calibration, and repair activities.
• Experience using inventory-management systems, equipment-tracking tools, and procurement workflows.
• Strong organizational and process-management skills.
• Ability to manage multiple workstreams, schedules, priorities, and operational dependencies.
• Ability to work directly with engineers and understand their lab, equipment, and testing requirements.
• Willingness to raise concerns and push back constructively when schedules, requests, or lab configurations are not feasible or safe.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to write clear operating procedures, runbooks, safety documentation, and escalation summaries.
• Ability to work onsite in Boston five days per week.

Preferred Qualifications

• Educational or professional background in electrical engineering, mechatronics, robotics, mechanical engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• Experience establishing a new lab or significantly expanding an existing facility.
• Experience with equipment procurement, lab-layout planning, infrastructure coordination, and operational-process design.
• Familiarity with Environmental Health and Safety requirements in a research, robotics, or prototype-hardware environment.
• Previous experience working for a large technology company, robotics organization, advanced research team, or Physical AI startup.
• Experience supporting prototype builds, hardware integration, validation testing, or engineering test campaigns.

What a Typical Day May Include

You may begin the morning by completing the lab-readiness checklist before the first engineering sprint. If a test bench reports an overnight error, you will review the logs, determine whether the issue involves calibration or equipment failure, and coordinate a resolution before the hardware team needs the station.

Later, you may work with a technical program manager to schedule an integration session, identify a conflict involving the motion-capture system, and recommend alternative testing windows. Your afternoon could include processing a component delivery, updating the inventory system, coordinating with a vendor, and revising a safety procedure with the Environmental Health and Safety team.

Before leaving, you will complete a final lab walkthrough, confirm that equipment has been properly powered down, and document any issues requiring attention the following morning.

Work Environment

This is a hands-on, onsite role in a fast-moving Physical AI and robotics environment. The Lab Manager must be comfortable working around prototype hardware, electrical equipment, engineering tools, and changing project requirements.

The position may require standing, walking throughout the lab, moving equipment or components, and responding quickly to operational issues.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Inabia Solutions & Consulting, Inc. is an equal-opportunity employer. Employment decisions are based on job-related qualifications, experience, and business requirements without unlawful discrimination.