Pre-Deployment Manager

Job description

About you and this role: Robust AI is a fast-growing, early-stage startup founded in 2019 by an unsurpassed team of veterans in robotics, AI, and business. We are a collaborative group with a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives, seeking talented individuals who are just as excited about robotics and AI as we are! Help us redefine the very foundation of robotics and build robots that are smart, collaborative, robust, safe, flexible, and genuinely autonomous. As a Pre-Deployment Manager at Robust AI, you will play a critical role in planning and executing customer deployments of the next generation of warehouse robotic systems. You will serve as the primary coordinator across customer stakeholders and internal teams during implementation, helping ensure launches are successful, risks are surfaced early, and communication stays clear throughout the deployment lifecycle. This is a high-visibility role reporting to the Director of Deployments and working closely with customer operations teams, Sales, Product, Engineering, Hardware, and Fleet Operations. You will possess a unique combination of customer-facing skills, operational rigor, problem-solving ability, and relationship management through effective communication. You are someone who is comfortable working in an early-stage startup environment, can collaborate across functions, and can pivot effectively as field conditions change. The base pay range for this role is between $120,000 and $150,000, dependent on your skills, qualifications and experience. Main responsibilities: - Own day-to-day planning and coordination for customer deployments and launch readiness - Serve as the primary point of contact for customer deployment execution and communication - Build and manage project plans, milestones, action trackers, risk logs, and deployment status updates - Run kickoff meetings, weekly deployment meetings, readiness reviews, and go-live check-ins with customer and internal teams - Coordinate customer readiness across operations, facilities, IT/networking, training, staffing, and workflow requirements - Partner with Robot Technicians, Engineering, Product, Hardware, Sales, and Customer Success leadership to support successful launches - Escalate risks and blockers quickly and ensure timely follow-up across cross-functional teams - Support onsite launch execution and customer communication during critical deployment periods - Prepare status reports by gathering, analyzing, and summarizing relevant information - Provide deployment metrics readouts and support post-launch reviews and lessons learned - Build trusted customer relationships during deployment and early stabilization, and support expansion coordination over time as needed - Able to travel on short notice up to 80% of the time within the United States for customer launches and onsite support ### What you’ll bring to the table: - BS in Business Administration, Operations, Engineering, or related field and at least 4 years of related work experience - Strong knowledge and understanding of distribution and fulfillment operations - Experience managing implementations, customer deployments, or complex operational projects - Ability to communicate technical/complex information both verbally and in writing - Self-motivated and able to solve problems independently and in customer settings - Strong communication skills to collaborate effectively with internal and external teams - Knowledge of and interest in diverse technical topics, including software, hardware, and robotics - Strong leadership and relationship-building skills - Ability to perform multiple tasks concurrently and respond to pressure situations effectively - Experience building trust with customer stakeholders while driving execution and accountability ### What we offer: - Base salary, depending on your skills, qualifications and experience - Stock options and huge growth potential - Strong startup (and fun) culture - Medical, Dental, and Vision coverage - Flexible vacation and sick leave practices - Paid parental leave