Robotics Program Manager, Product Data Operations

Meta•Burlingame, CA

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Meta is seeking a Program Manager to lead our teleoperation and robotics data collection operations in Burlingame. This role is at the epicenter of our data operations. You will be boots on the ground with the operators at the collection site. You ensure the velocity and quality of data & a tight cross-functional feedback loop between AI researchers, hardware and software.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in a directly related field, or equivalent practical experience
10+ years of experience of project management or operations management experience
5+ years of experience in technical project management, specifically within robotics, autonomous vehicles, or hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) environments
Direct Robotics Ops Experience: Proven track record of managing teleoperation and/or collections with complex hardware. You will be working around active robotic cells and specialized sensors
Technical Depth: proficiency in Unix/Linux environments and the ability to write/debug scripts (Python, Bash) to automate tasks or troubleshoot data pipelines
Stakeholder Management: Experience navigating the tension between "perfect" research data and "high-volume" operational reality, and can influence research and engineering leaders
Onsite Leadership: Commitment to being onsite daily in Burlingame to drive physical operations and manage the local environment

Nice To Haves

Scaling Teleoperation: Experience in running and scaling large-scale teleoperation programs (e.g., ALOHA, UMI, or VR-based interfaces) for imitation learning or reinforcement learning
Embodied AI Knowledge: Familiarity with the data requirements for large-scale robot learning, including perception, motion planning, and data curation
Crisis Management: Lead through hardware/software failures in high-stakes, time-sensitive environments without losing operational momentum

Responsibilities

Floor Operations and Oversight: on-site leadership for Burlingame based data collection. Responsible for providing floor oversight, creating SOPs / ensure adherence, defining and implementing processes to scale throughput and maintain data quality to meet increasing data demands
Collection Ownership: Serve as the single point of truth for data quality and platform health for the site from a collections perspective. You will define the KPIs for "success" and ensure the embodiment is always optimized for collection
Researcher Partnership & Feedback Loops: Act as the primary on-site interface for AI researchers. You will translate research goals into operational protocols and provide high-signal "closed-loop" feedback to improve broad data and model performance
Strategic Communication & Visibility: Proactively surface technical blockers, hardware failures, and process bottlenecks to leadership. You will manage expectations across engineering and research stakeholders, ensuring the roadmap remains on track
Technical Debugging: You are expected to dive into the logs to understand root causes to any regression in throughput or data quality (leveraging Unix/Linux expertise and scripting (Python/Bash)) and recommending / implementing quick fixes or process changes