Manager, Hardware Operations

Spot AI • San Francisco, CA

6h • $200,000 - $240,000 • Onsite

About The Position

Spot AI is building the category of AI coworkers for the physical world, enabling businesses to understand, automate, and act across their environments in real time. The company's platform is used at over 10,000 locations by more than 1,000 customers across manufacturing, construction, logistics, and retail. Backed by significant investment, Spot AI is focused on bringing AI out of the digital world and into the real one. The company culture emphasizes moving fast, taking ownership, and focusing on outcomes, attracting individuals who want to solve real problems and have a direct impact.

This role specifically focuses on owning the hardware that powers Spot AI's edge compute platform. This platform runs vision-language models on-site in real operating conditions, requiring high reliability and performance. The hardware must scale and improve with the evolving AI models and increasing deployment locations, becoming better, cheaper, and more reliable with each generation. The position integrates supply chain, New Product Introduction (NPI), and quality management into a single role, overseeing the entire process from specification to delivered, qualified unit. The company utilizes third-party contract manufacturers, allowing a small team to scale efficiently without owning factories. The role requires strong engineering acumen to manage specifications, DFM reviews, manufacturing processes, yield issues, and hold contract manufacturers and internal engineers accountable.

Requirements

• Experience taking a hardware product from design and NPI through to volume production via contract manufacturers/ODMs.
• Experience owning both the supply chain and the NPI/quality aspects of a hardware operation.
• Technical strength to reason about benchmarks and specs, write manufacturing SOPs, run DFM reviews, debug test-yield problems, and hold engineering and CMs accountable.
• Hands-on management of CM/ODM relationships, including build readiness, FAI, yield, and quality escapes.
• Proficiency in component management, sourcing, and securing allocation-constrained parts (including GPU and silicon supply).
• Fluency in operations, fulfillment, and supporting systems (ERP/MRP/PLM, logistics, inventory).
• Ability to build cost models, run RFQs, and drive landed cost reduction.
• Clear communication skills to translate ambiguous hardware problems into specs, test plans, supplier scorecards, and ramp schedules.
• Willingness and ability to work in-person from San Francisco and travel to manufacturing partners.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with compute or server-class hardware (x86, GPU, thermal, power).
• Experience with edge or industrial devices.
• Experience running a hardware function through a transition to an outsourced CM model.
• Experience qualifying a second source or channel partner.

Responsibilities

• Scope and spec the hardware, partnering with engineering on design, scoping, and benchmarking of the edge compute platform (x86, GPU, thermal, power, I/O).
• Translate benchmark and workload data into hardware specifications across deployment tiers, balancing performance, cost, and manufacturability.
• Own new product introduction (NPI) end to end: prototype, validation testing, and ramp to volume.
• Manage contract manufacturers for build readiness, line setup, first article inspection, and ramp to production.
• Author and maintain manufacturing SOPs, work instructions, and test procedures.
• Define the quality plan: incoming inspection, in-line and functional test, and outgoing AQL.
• Drive yield and first-pass test rate, owning the failure analysis loop, root cause, and corrective action for failures on the line and in the field.
• Manage the RMA and field-return process to learn from returned units.
• Own component management, sourcing, and supplier qualification, focusing on long-lead and allocation-constrained parts.
• Secure component supply through forecasting, allocation, buffer strategy, and second-source qualification.
• Drive landed cost down release over release through cost models, RFQs, and negotiation.
• Own inventory, lead times, logistics, fulfillment, and the operational systems (Netsuite) that manage the flow from component to delivered unit.

Benefits

• Annual Base Salary Range: $200,000 - $240,000
• Meaningful early stage equity
• Medical, dental, and vision plan options with little-to-no cost for employees and dependents
• Company-paid short- and long-term disability plans
• Company-paid life insurance
• 401K with employer match

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Education Level: No Education Listed