Head of Lab Operations, Frontier AI & Robotics

DESCRIPTION:

Join Amazon's Frontier AI & Robotics team and lead the laboratory operations that enable breakthrough research in embodied intelligence. As Head of Lab Operations, you'll lead the on-the-ground teams that power our AI research programs-directing a large contractor workforce, managing our robot fleet, overseeing data collection campaigns, and ensuring our test environments give researchers and engineers the high-quality operational foundation they need to move fast. Your leadership directly shapes the velocity and quality of our AI research by keeping robots healthy, data pipelines flowing, and test environments ready to support the next wave of innovation.

Key job responsibilities
•Lead, develop, and retain a 40-50 person contractor workforce spanning robot fleet operations, AI data collection, and test environment construction; establish clear performance expectations, career development pathways, and a culture of ownership, safety, and continuous improvement
•Own robot fleet management end-to-end-maintain robot health and readiness, drive preventive and corrective maintenance programs, track fleet utilization and uptime KPIs, and ensure robots are mission-ready to support research and data collection operations at all times
•Direct data collection operations that feed AI research pipelines; coordinate with AI researchers and data engineering teams to plan, execute, and quality-assure data collection campaigns, ensuring operational fidelity and data integrity at scale
•Develop, build out, and sustain test environments and experimental infrastructure that enable researchers and engineers to evaluate robotic systems efficiently; manage test cell configuration, instrumentation readiness, and environment lifecycle from initial buildout through ongoing operations
•Define, track, and report operational KPIs-including robot fleet uptime, data collection throughput, test environment availability, safety performance, and cost efficiency-using metrics to drive decisions and communicate operational health to senior leadership
•Scale operational processes, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and workforce capabilities as research programs grow; build infrastructure and playbooks that maintain quality and speed as scope expands

A day in the life
As the Head of Lab Operations for FAR, you set strategic direction for the operational capabilities that drive research velocity: shaping how the organization manages its robot fleet, structures its data collection programs, and builds the infrastructure that gives researchers the freedom to innovate without friction. You are a key voice in senior leadership forums, translating operational performance into strategic insights, championing investments that build long-term organizational capability, and ensuring that lab operations function as a genuine competitive advantage. You invest in your team's growth, forge deep partnerships with research and engineering leadership, and make the resource allocation decisions that keep FAR's operational foundation ahead of an ambitious and fast-moving research roadmap. You define, develop, and drive improvement on key lab performance indicators to ensure we are operating at maximum velocity and efficiency.

About the team
At Frontier AI & Robotics, we're not just advancing robotics - we're reimagining it from the ground up. Our team is building the future of intelligent robotics through frontier foundation models and end-to-end learned systems. We tackle some of the most challenging problems in AI and robotics, from developing sophisticated perception systems to creating adaptive manipulation strategies that work in complex, real-world scenarios.

What sets us apart is our unique combination of ambitious research vision and practical impact. We leverage Amazon's computational infrastructure and rich real-world datasets to train and deploy state-of-the-art foundation models. Our work spans the full spectrum of robotics intelligence - from multimodal perception using images, videos, and sensor data, to sophisticated manipulation strategies that can handle diverse real-world scenarios. We're building systems that don't just work in the lab, but scale to meet the demands of Amazon's global operations.

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

- Bachelor's degree or equivalent
- 10+ years of progressive experience in an operations, technical or research / AI environment where human operators are working with complex technology platforms
- 7+ years of people leadership experience managing large teams (40+ people), including contractor or contingent workforces
- Ability to build, monitor, and continuously improve operational processes
- Knowledge of hardware asset and maintenance management systems and continuous improvement methodologies

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

- Experience overseeing data collection or data production operations, including coordinating campaigns, ensuring data quality, and partnering with research or data engineering stakeholders
- Experience managing robot fleet operations or complex equipment fleets, including maintenance programs, uptime tracking, and fleet readiness in a research or operational environment
- Experience managing lab equipment, tooling, and facilities
- Experience collaborating with cross-functional research and engineering teams in product development
- Experience reporting out on team performance to senior leadership

Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.

Los Angeles County applicants: Job duties for this position include: work safely and cooperatively with other employees, supervisors, and staff; adhere to standards of excellence despite stressful conditions; communicate effectively and respectfully with employees, supervisors, and staff to ensure exceptional customer service; and follow all federal, state, and local laws and Company policies. Criminal history may have a direct, adverse, and negative relationship with some of the material job duties of this position. These include the duties and responsibilities listed above, as well as the abilities to adhere to company policies, exercise sound judgment, effectively manage stress and work safely and respectfully with others, exhibit trustworthiness and professionalism, and safeguard business operations and the Company's reputation. Pursuant to the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you're applying in isn't listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.

The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage), 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits.

USA, CA, San Francisco - 152,200.00 - 205,900.00 USD annually