Robot Operations Manager

Job description

WHAT WE DO Gecko Robotics is helping the world’s most important organizations ensure the availability, reliability, and sustainability of critical infrastructure. Gecko's complete and connected solutions combine wall-climbing robots, industry-leading sensors, and an AI-powered data platform to provide customers with a unique window into the current and future health of their physical assets. This enables real-time decision making to increase the efficiency and safety of operations, promote mission readiness, and protect the environment and civilization from the effects of infrastructure failure. Job At A Glance Physical infrastructure — factories, power plants, bridges, etc. — is an important part of our global economy. Given both geopolitical and macroeconomic trends, the importance of investing in that infrastructure has never been higher. But this infrastructure is aging, and building from scratch is massively expensive. The need to maintain and extend the life of these assets, therefore, has never been higher. Gecko Robotics’ Robot Operations team is responsible for ensuring that there is a sufficient fleet of robots to support all departments across the organization. This position drives build events to expand fleet capacity, oversees all maintenance, upgrade, and repair programs, and leads the development of prototype and first-production units. The role has oversight of materials management, inventory control, robot fleet configuration management, and inbound/outbound logistics across multiple facilities in the United States and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This is a highly cross-functional role requiring strong technical acumen, operational discipline, and the ability to coordinate teams across multiple time zones and geographies. Must be able to obtain a US Government security clearance. What You Will Do Fleet Build Events - Plan, schedule, and execute robot fleet build events to increase overall fleet capacity, ensuring alignment with business needs.. - Coordinate cross-functional build teams including engineering, quality, and supply chain to deliver builds on time and within budget. - Develop and maintain standardized build procedures, work instructions, and checklists for consistent, repeatable assembly operations. - Manage tooling, fixtures, and test equipment required for fleet build operations. - Partner with engineering teams to support prototype build activities, providing operational feedback on build complexity, repairability, and serviceability. - Manage the transition from prototype to production fleet builds, establishing processes, documentation, and quality standards. - Work with Test & Reliability to oversee acceptance testing and release of prototype and first-production fleet units prior to deployment. Robot Maintenance, Upgrades and Repairs - Oversee preventive and corrective maintenance programs across the active robot fleet. - Support hardware and software triage, root cause analysis, and resolution of field failures, minimizing fleet downtime and maximizing availability. - Plan and execute firmware, hardware, and software upgrades across units, coordinating scheduling with field operations. - Develop repair depot capabilities at key locations, including staffing, tooling, spare parts provisioning, and documentation. - Maintain comprehensive service, equipment calibration records and maintenance histories for each unit in the fleet. - Oversee the effective implementation of a Fleet Change Order Process, ensuring accurate and up to date records are maintained for active fleet robots. - Enforce configuration management processes to track hardware versions, installed firmware, field modifications, and upgrade status across the fleet. Materials and Logistics Management - Oversee materials planning and inventory control for all inspection equipment and tools, robot components, spare parts, and consumables across U.S. and UAE locations. - Implement and maintain inventory management systems and processes to ensure accurate stock visibility and prevent shortages or overstock situations. - Work with procurement to forecast demand, establish safety stock levels, and manage supplier lead times for critical components. - Analysis of regular cycle counts and reconciliations; drive corrective actions for inventory discrepancies. - Oversee Field Inspection Kit BOMs, ensuring adequacy and accurate inventory of items - Manage Bill of Materials (BOM) accuracy and lifecycle for all fleet variants. - Manage inbound and outbound logistics operations across multiple facilities in the U.S. and UAE, including receiving inspection, staging, packaging, and shipment of robots and components. - Ensure compliance with import/export regulations, including coordination of customs documentation, duty management, and trade compliance requirements for international shipments. - Establish and maintain relationships with freight carriers and customs brokers to ensure reliable, cost-effective logistics services. - Implement and maintain shipping/receiving procedures that ensure product integrity, accurate documentation, and on-time delivery. - Coordinate logistics planning for fleet deployments, returns, and cross-site transfers. Continuous Improvement - Support cross functional projects necessary to improve the efficiency in operational performance. - Identify gaps and opportunities, develop practical resolutions, and drive to completion with minimal oversight. What Gecko Is Looking For - 5+ years of experience in robotics, electromechanical systems, or advanced manufacturing operations. - Demonstrated experience managing hardware build events or production operations. - Proven track record in fleet maintenance program development and execution. - Experience with inventory management systems and materials planning processes. - Strong understanding of logistics operations, including international shipping, customs, and trade compliance. - Experience managing multi-site operations across geographically distributed teams. - Effective verbal and written communication skills, able to condense and successfully deliver complex messages - Experience working in a manufacturing environment with electro-mechanical assemblies Preferred Skills - Robotics / technical background - Engineering Degree - In-factory manufacturing experience - Proficiency with Salesforce or equivalent asset/configuration management platforms. - Familiarity and competence with various project/program related management software tools such as Jira, Confluence, Google Docs, and/or Excel WHO WE ARE At Gecko, our people are our greatest investment. In addition to competitive compensation packages, we offer company equity, 401(k) matching, gender-neutral parental leave, full medical, dental, and vision insurance, mental health, ongoing professional development, family planning assistance, and flexible paid time off. Gecko values collaboration, innovation, and partnership, and we believe we do our best work when we're together in person. We’re an office-first culture but understand that sometimes you may need to work from home. Many people are in the office five days a week, others need a bit more flexibility. Ultimately, we care about the outcomes we achieve - and creating a culture of autonomy and trust that enables that impact. Gecko is committed to creating a culture of inclusion and belonging, and we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We believe it is our collective responsibility to uphold these values and encourage candidates from all backgrounds to join us in our mission to protect today’s infrastructure and give form to tomorrow’s. All qualified applicants will be treated with respect and receive equal consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, uniform service, veteran status, age, or any other protected characteristic per federal, state, or local law. If you are passionate about what you do and want to use your talents to support our critical mission, we’d love to hear from you.