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Zoox is seeking a Team Lead for Ground Operations to lead overnight (3rd shift) vehicle maintenance and fleet readiness operations in Dallas. This is a hands-on leadership role combining technical automotive expertise with people management.
You will provide direct leadership, coaching, and mentorship to technical staff and contract personnel during the overnight shift. Key responsibilities include recruiting, hiring, onboarding, and training workshop personnel while fostering a high-performance culture centered on safety and continuous improvement. You'll manage employee and contractor schedules, track KPIs, and provide consistent feedback to drive team performance.
On the technical side, you'll lead vehicle maintenance and rework activities during low-demand periods to maximize daytime availability. You'll serve as the primary escalation point for complex technical issues, ensuring all work meets rigorous quality standards. You'll support fleet data analysis and documentation for root cause analysis, helping prevent future downtime. Safety stewardship is critical—you'll enforce health and safety policies, maintain OSHA compliance, and keep the workshop clean and organized.
You'll also oversee mission readiness activities: directing vehicle ingest, conducting pre-mission checks, ensuring readiness checklists are complete for first shift, and managing software/firmware deployments. You'll manually drive and maneuver autonomous and auxiliary vehicles as needed for yard logistics and readiness workflows. As operations scale, you'll coordinate across multiple sites within the geography, supporting both Mission Readiness and Base Operations locations.
REQUIREMENTS:
- 5+ years of hands-on automotive technician experience combined with 2+ years of people leadership or supervisory experience
- Willingness and ability to lead overnight operations (3rd shift)
- Extensive knowledge of automotive maintenance methods, diagnostic methods, parts, and tools, including high proficiency in CAN/LIN architecture, wiring diagrams, and soldering
- Proven ability to quickly learn technical subjects
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills; must be honest, responsible, and capable of translating technical details for cross-functional stakeholders
- Demonstrated ability to manage time, multitask, and drive priorities effectively in a fast-paced, ambiguous startup environment
- Clean driving record and ability to travel locally and nationally (less than 20%)
BONUS QUALIFICATIONS:
- Bachelor's degree in a technical or business field, or Technical trade school certificate / Associate Degree in automotive repair
- Strong understanding of electric vehicle architecture and high-voltage systems
- Experience in a fast-paced service environment
- Familiarity with Lean, Six Sigma, or other continuous improvement methodologies
