Country Operations Lead, Canada

Mecka•Markham, ON

About The Position

Mecka AI is seeking a Country Operations Lead, Canada to take ownership and drive growth of Mecka's on-the-ground operations within Canada. Canada is a key strategic region for Mecka, offering a rich talent pool in robotics, ML, and hardware, close proximity to North American customers and research partners, and a strong foundation for data capture, annotation, and hardware-enabled programs. This senior role requires an individual to build the team, manage the site, and establish Canada as a leading delivery engine for Mecka. The position reports to Mecka's VP of Operations, and the successful candidate will be the most senior Mecka leader in Canada, serving as the local face of the company and the sole owner of country-level execution. Mecka AI collaborates with premier AI labs, foundation model teams, and robotics companies to produce high-quality, real-world datasets essential for training and deploying next-generation robotic systems. These datasets support advancements in visuomotor learning, imitation learning, and real-world robotic control, with quality, trust, and execution being paramount to our partnerships.

Requirements

7+ years in operations leadership, with at least one tour as Country Operations Lead, Country Manager, GM, or equivalent in Canada.
Deep local knowledge of Canada: business culture, talent market, regulatory environment, vendor ecosystem across key provinces.
Fluent business English.
Proven track record building and leading teams of 50+ in-country.
Owned country-level P&L or operating budget.
Hired, developed, and managed local management teams.

Nice To Haves

French fluency.
Experience scaling operations at a fast-growing company in Canada — robotics, hardware, manufacturing, logistics, marketplace, BPO, or data services.
Experience building a Canadian operation from scratch (entity setup, first hires, first SOPs) or scaling an existing site from tens to hundreds of people.
Background in data services, AI/ML data operations, robotics, automation, or operationally complex programs.
Experience managing both white-collar teams (ops managers, project leads) and field/operational workforce (contributors, technicians, annotators).
Strong vendor and partner management track record locally, including with universities and research partners.
Comfortable working across time zones with a HQ-based exec team.
Builder mindset.
Player-coach — comfortable in the field, in spreadsheets, and in customer rooms.
Direct, low-ego, high-clarity communicator.
Data-driven by reflex.
Resilient and resourceful — ability to make things work in Canada when the rulebook doesn't apply.
Deeply trustworthy.
Excited about bringing robotics into the real world at scale.

Responsibilities

Own end-to-end operations in Canada: data collection sites, annotation operations, and robotics / hardware deployment programs.
Achieve country-level targets for throughput, quality, cost, and on-time delivery.
Manage the country budget, vendor spend, and operating margin.
Report country performance to the VP of Operations and the executive team.
Hire, develop, and lead the local team, including operations managers, project leads, field operators, recruiters, and support staff.
Design and build the local organizational structure.
Coach and develop local managers to become stronger operators.
Foster a culture of ownership, clarity, and execution.
Oversee the delivery of all customer programs operating within the country.
Collaborate with HQ Strategic Project Leads and Deployment teams to align local execution with global customer commitments.
Establish local Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), playbooks, and quality frameworks that align with Mecka's global standards.
Manage the daily and weekly operational cadence to ensure programs remain on track.
Build and manage Mecka's local workforce, including contributors, contractors, field operators, and annotators.
Oversee the entire talent lifecycle: sourcing, vetting, onboarding, training, and performance management.
Maintain workforce quality and capacity to meet fluctuating program demands.
Build and manage local vendor relationships, including those for facilities, logistics, equipment, staffing, recruiting agencies, and university/research partners.
Negotiate contracts and manage vendor performance.
Identify and resolve local supply chain or operational bottlenecks.
Ensure full compliance with Canadian employment, tax, data protection (PIPEDA / provincial privacy laws), and operating regulations across relevant provinces.
Partner with HQ Legal, Finance, and HR on local entity setup, contracts, and policy.
Own local risk management, including regulatory, fraud, security, and business continuity.
Serve as the local representative of Mecka to customers, partners, regulators, and the community.
Host customer visits and represent Mecka at relevant local industry events.
Provide local market intelligence to HQ regarding market trends, changes, and future developments.