Strategic Projects Lead, Robotics

Scale AI; California (MO); On-site; USD 152,000 - 228,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental and vision coverage

Retirement benefits

Learning and development stipend

Generous PTO

Commuter stipend

Job summary

Scale AI is seeking a seasoned Senior Program Manager to own high-impact egocentric data collection initiatives. You will steer data quality, efficiency, and revenue, translating complex ML needs into scalable field specs for model improvements.

You’ll build PMO rigor, lead cross-functional governance, and mentor a global team of PMs and collectors, while driving analytics that feedback into operations with executive visibility.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, CS, or a related technical field.
• 5+ years leading complex, multi-faceted projects with PMO frameworks.
• Experience in robotics, AI data collection, or hardware-in-the-loop environments.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and execution capability.
• Willingness to travel internationally (10–20%).

Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end program for egocentric data collection initiatives affecting data quality, efficiency, and revenue.
• Translate ML requirements into scalable physical data collection specs for model performance gains.
• Build and scale PMO timelines, milestones, and risk frameworks.
• Partner with Engineering, Product, Finance, and GTM to align execution with Scale's robotics strategy.
• Lead and mentor a global team of PMs, define tasks, and establish KPIs.
• Train and manage global collectors, troubleshoot hardware/software in field setups.
• Develop analytics, dashboards, and reporting to feed continuous improvement.

Skills

PMO leadership

Cross-functional leadership

Agile/Scrum

Global operations

Data analytics

Stakeholder management

Travel readiness

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering/CS or related field

Tools

SQL

Tableau/Looker

Job description

You will:

• Own the Mission: Serve as the end-to-end program business owner for our most visible, high-impact egocentric data collection initiatives, directly steering data quality, operational efficiency, P&L margins, and revenue delivery.

• Bridge the Physical & Digital Worlds: Translate complex customer machine learning requirements into highly structured, scalable physical data collection specifications that directly improve VLM/VLA model performance.

• Establish PMO Rigor: Build, optimize, and scale project timelines, milestone tracking, and critical-path infrastructure. Implement risk-mitigation frameworks to anticipate and bypass real-world operational bottlenecks.

• Lead Cross-Functional Governance: Partner seamlessly with executive stakeholders across Engineering, Product, Finance, and Go-to-Market to align operational execution with the cutting-edge requirements of the world's largest Robotics models.

• Command Global Operations: Functionally lead, mentor, and scale a high-performing matrixed team of Operations Program Managers and Associates, defining task architecture and establishing operational KPIs.

• Deploy Smart Infrastructure: Train and manage dynamic, global teams of collectors, implementing hardware/software troubleshooting protocols for egocentric collection devices (e.g., smart glasses, sensors, rig setups).

• Drive Data-Centric Decisions: Build advanced analytics, tracking dashboards, and reporting mechanisms to inject continuous feedback loops into the operational lifecycle.

• Executive Presence: Deliver high-signal, strategic progress updates and risk assessments directly to Scale’s executive leadership team.

Ideally, you’d have:

• Technical & Strategic Hybrid: A bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field, combined with a proven track record of driving massive commercial/business outcomes.

• 5+ Years of Elite Project/Program Management: Experience leading complex, multi-faceted project lifecycles, establishing PMO frameworks, and managing cross-functional technical teams (PMP, Agile/Scrum, or equivalent operational experience is a strong plus).

• Physical AI & Robotics Exposure: Prior experience or deep familiarity working alongside robotics systems, autonomous vehicles, computer vision pipelines, or hardware-in-the-loop environments. You understand the unique challenges of capturing data from the physical world.

• First-Principles Problem Solving: Exceptional analytical capability with a knack for deconstructing complex, ambiguous, and unpredictable operational challenges into execution-ready strategies.

• Operational Resilience: An entrepreneurial, founder-level mindset. You are energized by building systems from 0 to 1, navigating physical constraints, and executing with extreme velocity.

• Global Mobility: Readiness to travel internationally (10-20%) to audit, launch, and optimize localized collection infrastructure.

Nice to haves:

• Hands-on experience with spatial computing, egocentric vision systems, sensor fusion (LiDAR/IMU/Camera), or AI data curation.

• Experience managing distributed global operations across multiple time zones.

• Background in high-growth startups or elite technology consulting firms.

• Proficiency in SQL and data visualization tools (Tableau, Looker, etc.) to independently audit program health.

Compensation packages at Scale for eligible roles include base salary, equity, and benefits. The range displayed on each job posting reflects the minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries for the position and may be inclusive of several career levels at Scale; it will be determined during the interview process based on work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, qualifications, interview performance, and relevant education or training. Scale employees in eligible roles are also granted equity based compensation, subject to Board of Director approval. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your preferred location during the hiring process, and confirm whether the hired role will be eligible for equity grant.

You’ll also receive benefits including, but not limited to:

• comprehensive health, dental and vision coverage
• retirement benefits
• a learning and development stipend
• generous PTO
• additional benefits such as a commuter stipend

Please reference the job posting’s subtitle for where this position will be located. For pay transparency purposes, the base salary range for this full-time position in the locations of San Francisco, New York, Seattle is:

$152,000—$228,000 USD

PLEASE NOTE: Our policy requires a 90-day waiting period before reconsidering candidates for the same role. This allows us to ensure a fair and thorough evaluation of all applicants.

About Us:

At Scale, our mission is to develop reliable AI systems for the world's most important decisions. Our products provide the high-quality data and full-stack technologies that power the world's leading models, and help enterprises and governments build, deploy, and oversee AI applications that deliver real impact. We work closely with industry leaders like Meta, Ernst & Young, Mayo Clinic, Time Inc., the Government of Qatar, and U.S. government agencies including the Army and Air Force. We are expanding our team to accelerate the development of AI applications.

We believe that everyone should be able to bring their whole selves to work, which is why we are proud to be an inclusive and equal opportunity workplace. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability status, gender identity or Veteran status.

We are committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with physical and mental disabilities. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation in the application or recruiting process due to a disability, please contact us at [e-mail]. Please see the United States Department of Labor's Know Your Rights poster for additional information.

We comply with the United States Department of Labor's Pay Transparency provision.

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