Strategic Project Lead, Robotics

WorldEngine AI; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Performance incentives

Equity

Job summary

WorldEngine AI is seeking a hands-on Operations role focused on building and optimizing high-quality data collection for robotics AI labs in Silicon Valley. You will own the throughput, quality, and coverage of partner sites, drive rapid iteration, and maintain strong client relationships to meet demanding forecasts.

The role emphasizes operation excellence, scalable workflows, and a willingness to work in a fast-paced startup environment with incentives and equity growth opportunities.

Qualifications

• Experience in fast-paced, operationally intense environments such as consulting, private equity, startups or similar.
• Strong analytical and communication abilities; proven track record of managing complex projects.
• Mindset oriented toward gritty process optimization and large-scale execution.
• Ability to operate effectively without a playbook in a new organization or startup environment.

Responsibilities

• Design and manage end-to-end data collection pipeline from onboarding to delivery-ready data.
• Diagnose bottlenecks, restructure workflows, and implement solutions to improve quality and throughput.
• Build and maintain deep client relationships with researchers at AI labs and provide regular progress updates.
• Own coverage requirements across environment, tasks, and geographies; close supply gaps with partners.
• Run daily coordination sessions to stay ahead of issues and optimize cost-efficiency.

Job description

About the Role

Silicon Valley’s leading AI companies partner with us to scale high-quality data operations. As an SPL on robotics, you will:

• Realize the data requests of robotics AI lab customers

• Drive the tactical execution of data collection across a growing network of commercial partner businesses.

• Own the throughput, quality, and coverage of what those sites produce, and hit supply targets against a demanding forecast.

• Build deep client relationships with researchers at top AI labs.

• Ensure flawless operational execution under demanding timelines.

This is a hands-on operations role for candidates excited by process optimization, rapid iteration, and high-intensity problem solving. We’re an early-stage startup that operates with intensity. That means occasionally being responsive on weekends and always holding a high bar for output. The upside — performance incentives, career trajectory, and meaningful equity — reflects that.

What You’ll Do

Operational Excellence

• Design and manage the end-to-end collection pipeline, from site onboarding through capture, quality review, and delivery-ready data

• Diagnose bottlenecks, restructure workflows, and implement solutions that improve quality, throughput, and cost-efficiency

• Examples include: creating incentive systems, re-sequencing workflows, refining capture instructions, and scaling review processes

Customer Relationships

• Act as the primary point of contact for research teams at leading AI labs.

• Deliver clear, consistent reporting and proactively anticipate client needs.

• Build long-term trust and identify opportunities for expansion.

Quality Reporting

• Own coverage requirements: environment diversity, tasks, and geographies a dataset needs based on client requests

• Find and close the supply gap between dataset requirements and what the current network actually produces, working with growth on where to add commercial partners

• Run daily internal syncs (“war rooms”) to stay ahead of issues

• Provide regular, transparent progress updates to customer-facing roles

What We’re Looking For

• Experience: Background in consulting, private equity, startups, or other operationally intense environments

• Skills: Strong analytical and communication abilities; proven track record of managing complex projects

• Mindset: Excited by “gritty” process optimization and large-scale execution

• Comfortable operating without a playbook in a new org or startup environment

Nice to Have

• Experience in physical operations, supply chain, logistics, manufacturing planning, or marketplace supply

• Experience managing or supporting a distributed workforce, franchise network, or multi-site business

• Experience with annotation, labeling, or training-data operations

• Marketplace supply-side experience, particularly where supply had physical constraints

• Experience in robotics or physical AI