Senior Data Operations Engineer

Medium; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

FieldAI, based in Cambridge, MA, is building risk-aware, field-ready AI for robotics through FAIRI. This role sits in the Data Operations Engineering track and partners with the Research Operations Lead to scale data capabilities and ensure high-quality data pipelines.

As Senior Data Operations Engineer you will lead data tooling, automate collection and annotation, manage interns and contractors, and support demos of FieldAI's Field Foundation Model across robotic platforms.

Qualifications

• Hands-on data collection and lab operations.
• Experience with robotics datasets and evaluation frameworks.
• Familiarity with hardware QA and safety procedures.
• Knowledge of motion capture and sensor hardware is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead data tooling and infrastructure development for data pipelines.
• Manage interns/contractors; ensure throughput and quality of data collection.
• Create and maintain SOPs for data collection, annotation, and lab operations.
• Provide first-level QC and escalate protocol or safety issues.

Skills

Soldering & wiring

Motion capture systems

Data annotation for robotics

QA for hardware/software

3D scanning/printing

IRB/consent familiarity

AR/VR development

Python/Java scripting

LIDAR

Robotics platforms/sensors

Linux CLI

Blender/Unity

Film/TV production

Job description

FieldAI is transforming how robots interact with the real world. Our growing R&D team is based in Boston, where we develop risk-aware, reliable, field-ready AI systems that tackle the hardest problems in robotics and unlock the potential of embodied intelligence. We take a pragmatic approach that goes beyond off-the-shelf, purely data-driven methods or transformer-only architectures, combining cutting-edge research with real-world deployment. Our solutions are already deployed globally, and we continuously improve model performance through rapid iteration driven by real field use.

About the Role

Field AI is transforming how robots interact with the real world. Our R&D team, the FieldAI Research Institute (FAIRI), is based in Cambridge, MA, where we build risk-aware, field-ready AI systems that unlock general purpose intelligence for robotics.

FAIRI is looking for a Senior Data Operations Engineer to run the day-to-day of our data operations function: building the tooling the pipeline runs on, staying hands-on enough to dogfood and stress-test that tooling yourself, and managing the interns and contractors who carry out the bulk of day-to-day collection and annotation. You’ll work directly with the Research Operations Partner to scale FAIRI’s in-house data function, and you’ll set the technical and operational bar the rest of the Data Operations Engineering team is built around.

What You’ll Do

Data Tooling & Infrastructure — 25%

• Build and maintain hardware sensor suites — sensor harnesses, camera arrays, mounting fixtures, wearable sensor stacks (including soldering and cable assembly).

• Write and maintain QA scripts for in-house and vendor data drops.

• Build and maintain annotation software and other internal data tooling.

Data Collection & Annotation — 25%

• Run motion capture, teleoperation, and human-subjects data collection sessions yourself — the fastest way to dogfood and stress-test tooling and protocols before handing them to the team.

• Annotate robotics/AV datasets (object interaction, contact state, multi-agent) against FAIRI’s evaluation framework.

• Use hands-on collection and annotation work to surface tooling gaps and drive the tooling roadmap above.

Team Management & Documentation — 25%

• Manage and schedule data collection interns and contractors; own day-to-day throughput and quality.

• Onboard and train interns/contractors on equipment, SOPs, and the informed-consent process.

• Write and maintain SOPs and other supporting documentation for data collection, annotation, and lab operations.

• Own first-level QC and escalation for intern/contractor output; flag protocol or safety issues.

Technical Demo Support — 25%

• Learn the product stack and operate various robotic platforms to demonstrate FieldAI FFM (Field Foundation Model) capabilities.

• Support demo planning and execution, coordinating with the Research Operations Partner

• Help produce content showcasing FieldAI’s ability to deploy robots on dull, dirty,

and dangerous jobs.

• Troubleshoot hardware and software issues live during demos with important stakeholder

What You Bring

You don’t need every skill below, but you should bring real, hands-on depth in several of them:

• Soldering and cable assembly

• Motion capture systems (e.g., Vicon, OptiTrack, markerless/IMU)

• Data annotation for robotics or autonomous vehicles

• QA for hardware and/or software

• 3D scanning and 3D printing

• Data collection and human subjects research (IRB/consent familiarity a plus)

• AR/VR development or production

• Python, Java, or equivalent scripting

• LIDAR

• Robotics (platforms, sensors, or control)

• Linux command line

• Blender or Unity

• Film/TV production

Beyond the toolkit

• Comfortable moving between hardware and software in the same day: genuinely hands-on, not hands-off.

• High ownership: you can take an open-ended ask (“troubleshoot why this data had issues ”) and run with it without much hand-holding.

• Strong documentation habits: you leave SOPs and processes better than you found them.

What Sets You Apart

• Background in film/TV production, game development, data operations, or another field where wearing every hat is normal

• Interest in humanoid robotics and how machines learn from human movement

Why FAIRI

This role sits inside FAIRI’s Research Operations function, supporting the Humanoid Program. It’s built to grow: the Data Operations Engineering track is expected to scale from one person today to a small team over the next 12–18 months, and this hire is a leading candidate for Data Operations Engineering Lead as that team stands up.

$110,000 - $140,000 a year

Why Join Field AI?

FieldAI is tackling one of robotics’ hardest problems: deploying robots in unstructured, previously unknown environments. Our Field Foundational Models advance perception, planning, localization, and manipulation with an emphasis on explainability and safety, so our systems can be trusted where it matters most.

You will work alongside a world-class team that values creativity, resilience, and bold thinking. We are looking for people who push beyond conventional approaches, enjoy tackling tough and ambiguous questions, and bring interdisciplinary perspective. Our success depends on exceptional AI researchers and engineers, as well as strong software developers, product designers, field deployment experts, and communicators who can turn breakthroughs into real capability.

We are headquartered in Mission Viejo (Irvine adjacent), Southern California, with teammates across the US and around the world. Join us to shape the future of embodied intelligence as part of a fun, close-knit team building systems that work in the real world.

Equal Opportunity

FieldAI celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Candidates and employees are evaluated based on merit, qualifications, and performance. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, gender, national origin, ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, or any other legally protected status.