Chief Operating Officer

Vice President, Operations

Series-A Robotics Company

Open to Remote with Heavy Travel (50-70%)

250-325k base bonus & equity

Position Overview

The Vice President, Operations will serve as the operational engine, responsible for translating our technology and commercial commitments into flawlessly executed deployments. This is a hands-on leadership role for a seasoned operator who thrives in complex, multi-party, urban construction and technology environments. The VP will inherit an immediate mandate: leading the commissioning of 4 awarded automated garage projects across New York City and Nashville, all targeted for the second half of 2027. The VP will work closely with the Chief Technology Officer on all technical components of installation, system operations, and cloud-based service delivery, ensuring seamless alignment between technology development and field execution. The VP will own the full operational lifecycle — from supply chain and installation to customer service and long-term system uptime — and will build the field operations team required to scale the business.

Key Responsibilities:

Deployment & Installation Management

• Lead end-to-end planning and execution of automated parking system deployments in urban markets, coordinating with general contractors, specialty subcontractors, and union and direct labor workforces
• Develop and manage project schedules, budgets, and risk mitigation plans across concurrent installation sites
• Establish and enforce construction and commissioning standards to ensure system readiness and rapid handoff to operations
• Build and leverage a network of qualified urban market contractors capable of executing complex industrial installations in constrained environments

Supply Chain & Global Sourcing

• Manage the end-to-end supply chain for AGV robotics, VRC elevator systems(in partnership with Otis Elevators), kiosk hardware, and related components, with primary sourcing relationships in Asia.
• Partner with HITO Robotics and other manufacturing partners to ensure production schedules align with deployment timelines
• Establish inventory, logistics, and customs protocols that support a growing deployment pipeline
• Drive cost optimization and supplier performance management across the supply base

Field Operations & Uptime

• Recruit, train, and lead 2–3 Field Operations Specialists as company scales system deployments, ensuring 24/7 operational coverage and support capacity
• Develop preventive and reactive maintenance programs for AGV robots, VRC car elevators, customer kiosks, and mobile applications
• Establish response time SLAs and escalation protocols for all system disruption types
• Own uptime KPIs and continuously improve operational reliability across the deployed fleet

Customer Service & Cloud-Based Service Management

• Design and implement a cloud-based service and maintenance platform that monitors system health in real time and triggers proactive service responses to disruptions
• Build customer-facing service processes that deliver a premium experience consistent with company brand and contractual commitments
• Develop service agreement structures and reporting cadences for real estate developer clients

Team Building & Cross-Functional Leadership

• Partner closely with the CTO on all technical dimensions of installation, system operations, and cloud-based service delivery, ensuring engineering roadmap and field execution remain tightly aligned
• Partner with the CEO, technical team, and commercial leadership to align operational capacity with sales commitments and revenue milestones
• Develop operational policies, procedures, and safety standards appropriate for an industrial robotics deployment environment
• Company is well advanced in its Series A fundraising process; the COO will play a critical role in reinforcing investor confidence through demonstrated operational excellence, and will serve as a key influence and contributor to future Series B and Series C fundraising efforts as the company scales

Required Qualifications

• 10 years of progressive operations leadership experience in robotics, industrial installations, warehouse automation or similar fields.
• Demonstrated experience managing large-scale industrial installations in urban markets using both 3rd party and direct or union labor
• Proven global supply chain management experience, including sourcing from Asian manufacturing partners
• Experience building and leading field operations teams in a deployment-intensive environment
• Track record of designing and operating cloud-based service monitoring and customer support functions for hardware or technology systems
• Strong contractor network in urban construction markets
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, early-stage company environment with high accountability and limited infrastructure

Highly Preferred

• Direct experience deploying, installing, commissioning, and operating automated parking garage systems (AGV-based or similar robotics)
• Experience integrating automated systems into building management systems (BMS), including coordination with building operators, property managers, and relevant trades to ensure seamless system interoperability
• Experience working with or within commercial real estate development organizations
• Prior COO or VP Operations experience at a growth-stage technology or industrial company