Robotics Field Engineering Lead

Kelly; Fremont (CA); On-site; USD 175,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401k matching

Flexible schedule

Meals provided

Job summary

Third Wave Automation is a rapidly growing startup applying machine learning to warehouse robotics. The role leads a high-performing Field Engineering team, oversees deployments, and ensures customer success through data-driven ops and continuous improvement.

The position is based in Fremont, CA, full-time, with travel to customer sites for deployments and escalation handling. You will coordinate cross-functional efforts with software and hardware teams to deliver reliable field results.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in field engineering, technical operations, or deployment in robotics/industrial automation.
• 2+ years of direct people management experience, with hiring and scaling technical teams.
• Strong fluency in robotics systems and terminology; read logs, understand architecture, and discuss with senior engineers.
• Experience managing L1/L2 customer support structures and on-call rotations.
• Demonstrated ability to manage cross-functional projects across deployment, customer success, and fleet operations.
• Willingness to travel to customer sites for deployments, surveys, or escalations.

Responsibilities

• Lead, recruit, and mentor a team of Field Engineers; own capacity planning and on-call scheduling for L1/L2 support.
• Oversee site assessments, pre-deployment prep, hardware/software deployment, and operator training.
• Manage fleet maintenance schedules and PoCs; drive customer success initiatives to increase daily utilization.
• Collaborate with software/hardware engineers to review field data and prioritize bug fixes.
• Be the operations contact for day-to-day customer communications and production issues.
• Run Field Performance Testing for new hardware/software releases to ensure stability.

Skills

Field engineering

Team management

Robotics familiarity

L1/L2 support

Project management

Travel readiness

Job description

Third Wave Automation is a rapidly growing startup applying machine learning to warehouse robotics. The role leads a high-performing Field Engineering team, oversees deployments, and ensures customer success through data-driven ops and continuous improvement.

The position is based in Fremont, CA, full-time, with travel to customer sites for deployments and escalation handling. You will coordinate cross-functional efforts with software and hardware teams to deliver reliable field results.