--- title: 'Director, Manufacturing & Quality Operations at Cobot' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/director-manufacturing-quality-operations-cobot-santa-clara-rm9jc4r1x7qv' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-14' --- # Director, Manufacturing & Quality Operations at Cobot - **Company:** Cobot - **Location:** Santa Clara, CA - **Employment:** full-time - **Work type:** onsite - **Posted:** 2026-07-31 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-14 - **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/cobot/1324d495-cb6f-46c8-9d3e-5776953bbd41 ## Job description Collaborative Robotics is looking for a manufacturing leader to build and scale the in-house production system for our robots. You will take ownership of manufacturing from the production floor up — establishing the build processes, designing the systems needed to measure quality and performance, and scaling up production. This is not a role where you will inherit a mature operation. You will create the processes, tools, operating rhythms, and technical foundation that will shape how we build our products for years to come. You will work closely with engineering, test, supply chain, and build teams to improve product manufacturability, resolve production issues, and make thoughtful decisions about building a scalable in-house production line. You will also build and lead the manufacturing engineering, quality and build technician teams needed to support it. Join us to reimagine the future of human-robot interaction. Collaborative Robotics is a team of innovators and builders redefining the future of human-robot interaction. We are working to realize a world where robots are a trusted extension of your surroundings. They work, adapt, and react around you. Not the other way around. This role is located onsite at our Santa Clara, CA headquarters. Cobot will offer a relocation stipend if you are relocating to join our Santa Clara office and currently live more than 50 miles outside of the office location. Key Responsibilities: - Lead the day-to-day manufacturing function as we build and scale our own in-house production line. - Own the build process end-to-end: process implementation, work instructions, fixtures/tooling, and line performance (cycle time, yield, throughput) for internally built products. - Conduct DFM/A reviews with engineering teams to ensure designs are manufacturable and cost-effective within an in-house build context. - Own pilot builds and early production runs, driving process validation and readiness for volume ramp inside our own facility. - Implement and improve core manufacturing processes, quality systems (inspection, defect tracking, root cause/CAPA), and reporting tools from the ground up. - Build and manage a growing manufacturing engineering and quality team, starting with a small core group and scaling as volume and product maturity increase. - Own the internal build vs. buy tradeoff over time: identify which processes, subassemblies, or capabilities should stay in-house long-term vs. eventually move to external partners, backed by real production data. - Travel occasionally to vendor and supplier facilities to support incoming material quality, sourcing decisions, and supply chain issues affecting the line. Minimum Qualifications: - 10+ years of experience in manufacturing engineering or operations, with at least 3–5 years in a leadership role. - Hands-on experience standing up or scaling an in-house production line, ideally for a low-to-mid volume electromechanical or robotics product. - Strong technical foundation in manufacturing process development, DFM/A, and quality systems. - Proven ability to manage builds, resolve production issues, and lead cross-functional collaboration with design, test, and supply chain. - Demonstrated success building and mentoring technical teams. - Highly motivated teammate with excellent oral and written communication skills. - Enjoy working in a fast-paced, collaborative, and dynamic start-up environment as part of a small team. - Willing to occasionally travel. - Must have and maintain US work authorization. Preferred Qualifications: - Experience with MES, SPC, or similar production tracking systems. - Background in robotics or complex electromechanical hardware. - Familiarity with regulatory requirements and certifications (CE, UL, ISO9001, ISO13485). - Demonstrated ability to drive cost, yield, and quality improvements in a manufacturing environment you built or matured yourself, not just managed. - Experience evaluating or previously working with contract manufacturers, with informed judgment on when in-house vs. outsourced production makes sense. - Advanced degree in engineering, operations, or related field. Cobot is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to legally protected characteristics. We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities in our recruiting process. If you need any assistance or accommodations due to a disability, please let your recruiter know. To all recruitment agencies: Collaborative Robotics does not accept agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to our employees. Collaborative Robotics is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes. The base salary range for this position is $235,000 - $265,000 plus equity and comprehensive benefits. Our salary ranges are determined by role and experience level. The range reflects the minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries for the position in the noted geographic area. Within the range, individual pay is determined by additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Cobot is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to legally protected characteristics. We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities in our recruiting process. If you need any assistance or accommodations due to a disability, please let your recruiter know. To all recruitment agencies: Collaborative Robotics does not accept agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to our employees. Collaborative Robotics is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes. ## About Cobot ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Cobot (Collaborative Robotics) builds practical collaborative robots (cobots) designed to work safely alongside people in real-world environments, starting with its flagship robot, Proxie. - **Entity Type**: Private (Series B) - **Headquarters**: Santa Clara, California, United States (secondary office in Seattle, WA) - **Founded**: 2022 - **Founders**: Brad Porter (CEO) ## Core Business - **Primary industry/industries**: Automation Machinery Manufacturing, Robotics, Healthcare logistics - **Target customers**: B2B – Enterprise and mid-market customers in healthcare, logistics, and facility management - **Mission or purpose statement**: "To build a new robotic future. A future where robots are a trusted extension of your surroundings. They work, adapt, and react around you. Not the other way around." ## Products & Services - **[Proxie](https://www.co.bot/)**: A mobile collaborative robot designed for material handling, asset tracking, and facility management in complex, human-centric spaces. Hardware with embedded AI and predictable behaviors. ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed - **Key Metrics**: - **Total Funding**: $140M (Seed: $10M, June 2022; Series A: $30M, July 2023; Series B: $100M, April 2024) - **Annual Revenue**: ~$250K (early-stage, pre-revenue at scale) - **Employees**: ~132 (as of mid-2026), growing +103% YoY - **Notable Investors/Partners**: - Neo (Seed lead) - Sequoia Capital (Series A lead) - General Catalyst (Series B lead) - Bison Ventures, Industry Ventures, Lux Capital (Series B participants) - Advisor: Teresa Carlson (former AWS executive) - **Growth Signals**: - Public launch of Proxie in November 2024 - Rapid headcount growth (+103% YoY) - Talent sourced from Amazon Robotics, Meta, Tesla, Apple - Featured in AWS CEO keynote (2024) ## Competitive Advantages - **Founding team with deep robotics expertise** – Founded by Brad Porter, who helped scale Amazon Robotics to over 500,000 robots. - **Empathy-first design philosophy** – Robots that react to people, not vice versa, enabling safe deployment in crowded, dynamic environments without cages. - **Full-stack ownership** – In-house hardware, AI, safety systems, and software platform. ## Strategic Focus - **Healthcare and logistics** – Targeting high-value use cases like hospital material transport and warehouse collaboration. - **Scaling field deployment** – Building professional services and strategic account teams to support enterprise customers. - **Safety certification** – Actively hiring Staff Certification Lead and Staff Software Engineer, Safety to meet rigorous industry standards. ## Why Work Here - **Culture**: "One without egos. Driven by empathy. With collaboration at its core." Emphasis on mission-driven work and cross-functional teamwork. - **Work policy**: In-office (Seattle and Santa Clara offices). No remote or hybrid options listed for most roles. - **Notable perks/engineering culture**: - Cutting-edge tech stack: Python, TypeScript, PyTorch, TensorFlow, ROS, Docker, Kubernetes, etc. - Strong safety engineering focus – unique opportunity to shape the safety paradigm in collaborative robotics. - Small but rapidly growing team (132 people) with high ownership and impact. - Alumni have gone to Google, Meta, Apple, Stack AV, Zipline – signaling a pedigree robotics talent pool. ## Sources 1. [co.bot (Official Website)](https://www.co.bot/) 2. [Cobot LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/co-bot) 3. [Built In – Cobot Profile](https://builtin.com/company/cobot) 4. [LeadIQ – Cobot Company Overview](https://leadiq.com/c/cobot---collaborative-robotics-inc/6398f5ce99142b48fd4f4cd7) 5. [Ashby – Cobot Careers Page](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/cobot) ## Other roles at Cobot - [Robot Data Collection Lead](https://feeny.ai/job/robot-data-collection-lead-cobot-seattle-qbrt4z66t51r) — Seattle, WA - [Wire Harness Mechanical Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/wire-harness-mechanical-engineer-cobot-santa-clara-v3n8m1w2tqca) — Santa Clara, CA - [Staff Embedded Software Engineer, Robotics](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-embedded-software-engineer-robotics-cobot-santa-clara-zz1x3yxdnrye) — Santa Clara, CA - [Director Technical Program Manager, Software](https://feeny.ai/job/director-technical-program-manager-software-cobot-santa-clara-knwmx55q8ge7) — Santa Clara, CA - [Staff Technical Program Manager, Software](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-technical-program-manager-software-cobot-santa-clara-cjt9v6hr8rnd) — Santa Clara, CA - [Senior Technical Program Manager, Software](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-technical-program-manager-software-cobot-santa-clara-c0mqx1xrqm5t) — Santa Clara, CA - [Robotics Assistant](https://feeny.ai/job/robotics-assistant-cobot-santa-clara-cwjs21yx4pta) — Santa Clara, CA - [Staff Manufacturing Engineer, Production Systems](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-manufacturing-engineer-production-systems-cobot-santa-clara-jxgaz3jthgae) — Santa Clara, CA - [Robotics Assistant](https://feeny.ai/job/robotics-assistant-cobot-seattle-9bv7mjb6k1pp) — Seattle, WA - [AI Research Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/ai-research-engineer-cobot-seattle-c1697hs4yqqg) — Seattle, WA