Shift Lead

Physical Intelligence; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Physical Intelligence is seeking an Onsite Operations Leader to drive daily data collection and production at our San Francisco facility. You will lead and coordinate operators, ensure station readiness, and manage real-time resource allocation to maintain smooth production.

You will supervise and develop a team, coach operators, and relay concerns to management. You will own throughput and data quality, document deviations, and enforce safety practices while collaborating with research,

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a STEM field, Operations, or equivalent practical experience.
• 3–5 years of experience in tech operations, manufacturing, or fast-paced physical environments (robotics, autonomous vehicles, or frontier hardware-AI integration).
• 2+ years of proven experience managing, scheduling, and motivating a team of hourly, shift-based workers.
• Detail-oriented with ability to learn proprietary robotics software interfaces.
• Strong communicator who translates operational gaps into structured feedback for technical teams.

Responsibilities

• Onsite floor operations leadership to drive data collection, verify station availability, staffing, and ensure production continuity; allocate resources in real time based on priorities.
• Supervise, train, and develop operators; provide coaching and ensure adherence to work standards; liaise with management on operator concerns.
• Own factory throughput and data quality; identify deviations, take corrective action, and document/escalate defects.
• Act as on-site point of contact for the team; maintain feedback loop with research, hardware, software; report blockers and bottlenecks; maintain accurate handoff notes.
• Enforce PPE compliance and safe work practices; identify and report unsafe conditions.

Skills

People management

Cross-functional collaboration

Data-driven decision making

Operational dashboards

Problem solving under pressure

Effective communication

Safety compliance

KPI tracking

Education

Bachelor's degree in STEM/Operations or equivalent

Job description

The Team

The Operations team drives the day-to-day execution of robot data collection and production at our San Francisco facility, partnering closely with research, hardware, and software teams to support our mission of bringing general-purpose AI into the physical world.

In This Role You Will

• Onsite Floor Operations: Provide daily boots-on-the-ground leadership to drive data collection, verify availability of stations, props, and staffing, and ensure production continues smoothly during disruptions or staffing gaps. Lead and coordinate operators by assigning work and adjusting resources in real-time based on priorities and constraints.
• Team Leadership & People Development: Supervise, train, and develop operators, ensuring adherence to work standards. Provide ongoing coaching and feedback, treat operators fairly and professionally, and act as a liaison by bringing operator concerns to management’s attention.
• Data Collection and Quality: Own factory throughput and data quality for your team; identify deviations from standard work, take immediate corrective action, and ensure all defects are properly documented and escalated.
• Cross-Functional Communication & Reporting: Act as the primary on-site point of contact for your team, maintaining a tight feedback loop between research, hardware, software, and floor operations. Proactively communicate status, technical blockers, hardware failures, and process bottlenecks. Maintain highly accurate shift handoff notes.
• Safety & Continuous Improvement: Enforce PPE compliance and safe work practices on the floor. Proactively identify, help resolve, and report unsafe conditions.

What We Hope You'll Bring

• Hold a bachelor's degree in a STEM field, Operations, or similar or equivalent practical experience.
• 3-5 years of experience in tech operations, manufacturing, or related fast-paced physical environments - ideally in robotics, autonomous vehicles, or other frontier hardware-AI integration sectors.
• 2+ years of proven experience managing, scheduling, and motivating a team of hourly, shift-based workers.
• Detail-oriented and comfortable using operational dashboards; ability to quickly learn proprietary robotics software interfaces.
• Clear, direct communicator who can translate operational gaps into structured feedback for technical teams; outstanding collaboration skills in cross-functional environments.
• Excellent problem-solving abilities under pressure with a high bias for action and a demonstrated history of removing operational blockers in real-time.
• Comfortable with ambiguity and changing priorities; able to manage multiple competing priorities with limited resources.
• Adept at tracking KPIs and using metrics to inform operator performance management and workflow adjustments.
• Safety-focused, detail-oriented, and quality-driven.

Bonus Points

• Experience in robotics or related fields.

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.