Engineering Operations Lead

Specter•San Francisco, CA

4d•Onsite

About The Position

Specter's mission is to help automate the physical world. Today, we build video sensors with state-of-the-art AI agents that answer any question, anywhere in their environments. Our systems can automatically detect and reason about any physical activity captured on camera, from security incidents (e.g. perimeter intrusion, theft, LPR), to safety monitoring (e.g. PPE detection, injured people), to operational efficiency (e.g. material tracking, congestion monitoring). We offer both long range wireless (1km range) and wired sensor variants to suit any deployment. Our co-founders Xerxes and Philip are passionate about empowering our partners in the fast approaching world of physical AI and robotics. We are a small, fast growing team who hail from Anduril, Tesla, Uber, and the U.S. Special Forces. The Role Engineering Operations connects Specter's engineering teams to the environments where our products are tested and used. We are looking for an Engineering Operations Lead to build and run the systems that support Specter's engineering organization. You will own the operational work closest to the product, including test sites, internal deployments, hardware servicing, field sustainment, test operations, and the IT and lab infrastructure used by engineering and manufacturing. This is a hands-on operating position for someone who can move comfortably between fieldwork, technical troubleshooting, vendor management, and building repeatable processes. You might spend one day installing hardware on a roof or troubleshooting equipment in a lab, and the next writing a test plan, setting up an asset tracking system, or coordinating with a contractor. You should be comfortable learning unfamiliar technical systems quickly and turning messy, manual processes into reliable operations.

Requirements

A technically fluent operator with strong hands-on instincts and sound business judgment.
Experience in engineering operations, test operations, lab or test-site management, field operations, hardware startups, IT operations, or a similar cross-functional technical role.
Comfort working directly with engineers, technicians, contractors, vendors, and site stakeholders.
A strong systems mindset and a bias toward measurable, repeatable processes.
The ability to PM cross-functional issues end to end: clear owners, tight follow-up and closed loops.
Willingness to install, troubleshoot, and service hardware in the field when needed.
Strong written communication and documentation skills.
High ownership, reliable follow-through, and comfort working without much existing structure.
Interest in hardware, AI, security, critical infrastructure, defense, industrial technology, or real-world deployments.

Responsibilities

Own Specter's hardware test sites, including site coverage, installations, maintenance, and uptime.
Run our internal dogfooding program by deploying Specter products across our offices and manufacturing environments.
Lead test operations for new products and use cases, working directly with engineering to develop and iterate on test plans.
Manage and PM sustainment issues from the field, triaging problems surfaced by deployed systems, driving root cause with engineering, coordinating fixes and replacements, and closing the loop with deployment and customers.
Chase down the specific use cases we are building for customers, PMing each one from customer ask to tested, validated capability alongside engineering, deployment, and GTM.
Turn findings from testing, internal deployments, and field sustainment into clear, prioritized feedback for engineering and product.
Support competitive product testing, teardowns, and benchmarking.
Own the reliability of office, lab, and manufacturing IT infrastructure, including the contractors and vendors supporting it.
Build the systems behind the test fleet, including inventory management, asset tracking, spares, calibration, servicing, and unit-level deployment records.
Partner with supply chain and engineering teams on equipment procurement and help prepare testing and deployment processes for higher volumes.
Take ownership of ambiguous, engineering-adjacent operational problems and drive them through to completion.