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Salary: USD 200,000 - 240,000 / annual
Spot AI is building AI coworkers for the physical world, enabling businesses to understand, automate, and act across their environments in real time using vision language models deployed on edge compute hardware. The company is deployed at over 10,000 locations across manufacturing, construction, logistics, and retail, backed by $110M+ in funding from investors including Scale, Redpoint, Qualcomm Ventures, and Bessemer.
In this role, you will lead hardware operations end-to-end, owning the complete journey from factory line through 3PL fulfillment to final customer deployment. You will guide each unit from initial specification through production with enterprise-grade rigor, combining new product introduction (NPI), quality engineering, and supply chain management into a unified mandate.
Key responsibilities include:
**Hardware Specification & Design**: Partner with engineering to design, scope, and benchmark the edge compute platform across x86, GPU, thermal, power, and I/O. Translate workload data into hardware specs across tiers, balancing cost, performance, and manufacturability.
**NPI & Manufacturing**: Own new product introduction end-to-end, including prototyping, validation testing, and volume scaling. Manage contract manufacturers as supplier pass-throughs, overseeing line readiness, first article inspections, and production ramps. Author and maintain manufacturing SOPs, work instructions, and test procedures.
**Quality & Manufacturing Processes**: Establish and enforce contract manufacturer quality plans covering incoming inspection, in-line/functional testing, and outgoing AQL. Drive failure analysis, root cause investigation, and corrective actions. Manage RMA and field return processes.
**Supply Chain & Fulfillment**: Manage BOM and costs via contract manufacturers, negotiate terms, run RFQs, and drive cost reduction. Mitigate part shortages through forecasting and buffer stock. Oversee 3PL operations including receiving, kitting, outbound fulfillment, RMA logistics, and SLAs. Manage inventory, lead times, and demand-to-supply planning.
**Operating System & Automation**: Automate end-to-end order fulfillment in NetSuite, handling intake, allocation, shipping, invoicing, and exceptions. Build dashboards for real-time tracking of inventory, lead times, order aging, and costs. Enforce process discipline across internal teams, contract manufacturers, and 3PLs.
The role operates through a lean, outsourced model with strategic contract manufacturers and a third-party logistics network, allowing rapid scaling without maintaining physical plants or warehouses. You will hold full accountability across the complete hardware journey and serve as the technical bridge between AI software and physical deployment environments.
**Requirements:**
- Background in hardware operations, NPI, supply chain, engineering, or quality
- Proven track record starting hands-on in engineering/NPI/quality and progressing to owning contract manufacturer relationships through NPI and volume scaling
- Demonstrated ability to run lean hardware operations and drive results with small teams and external partners
- Technical proficiency: capable of handling hardware specs, SOPs, yield and root cause analysis, data analysis, and partner accountability
- Skilled in contract manufacturer/supplier negotiations and BOM/cost model management
- Experienced in managing 3PL relationships and high-quality fulfillment
- Fluent in ERPs (NetSuite) with experience automating order workflows
- Clear communicator who can translate complex hardware problems into actionable plans and schedules
- Ability to engage technically with engineers on benchmarks, design-for-manufacturability, testing, thermal, and component tradeoffs
- Willing and able to work in-person from San Francisco and travel to manufacturing partners
- Bonus: server/compute hardware experience, edge/industrial devices, experience transitioning to outsourced contract manufacturers, or qualifying secondary suppliers/partners
