Shift Lead

Physical Intelligence; United States; On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Physical Intelligence in San Francisco seeks an Onsite Operations Lead to drive robot data collection and production. You will supervise floor operators, schedule tasks, allocate resources, and ensure continuous production during disruptions.

You will partner with research, hardware, and software teams to maintain high throughput and data quality. You will manage, coach, and develop a team of hourly workers, enforce safety, track KPIs, and communicate blockers and progress to cross-functional

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in STEM or equivalent practical experience.
• 3–5 years in tech ops, manufacturing, or similar fast-paced physical environments (robotics, frontier hardware).
• 2+ years of managing, scheduling, and motivating a team of hourly workers.
• Detail-oriented and able to learn proprietary robotics dashboards/interfaces.
• Clear communicator with ability to translate gaps into feedback for technical teams; strong collaboration skills.
• Excellent problem-solving under pressure with bias for action and removing blockers.
• Comfort with ambiguity and changing priorities; able to juggle multiple priorities with limited resources.
• Adept at tracking KPIs and using metrics for operator performance and workflow adjustments.
• Safety-focused, detail-oriented, and quality-driven.

Responsibilities

• Onsite Floor Operations: lead data collection, verify station availability, and manage staffing to keep production running smoothly during disruptions or gaps.
• Lead and coordinate operators by assigning work and adjusting resources in real time.
• Team Leadership & People Development: supervise, train, and develop operators with coaching and fair treatment.
• Data Collection and Quality: own throughput and data quality; document deviations and escalate defects.
• Cross-Functional Communication & Reporting: be the on-site point of contact; maintain feedback loop with research, hardware, and software; communicate blockers and maintenance of shift notes.
• Safety & Continuous Improvement: enforce PPE and safe practices; identify and report unsafe conditions.

Skills

Team leadership

Communication

Problem solving

Prioritization

Cross-functional

Education

Bachelor’s in STEM

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.