--- title: 'Head of Partnerships - Instawork Robotics Labs at Instawork' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-partnerships-instawork-robotics-labs-instawork-bengaluru-t6gcmzkhzzq7' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-16' --- # Head of Partnerships - Instawork Robotics Labs at Instawork - **Company:** Instawork - **Location:** Bengaluru, India - **Posted:** 2026-09-11 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-16 - **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/instawork/jobs/4712601006 ## Job description Instawork is on a mission to create meaningful economic opportunities for skilled hourly professionals in communities around the globe. Our AI-powered labor marketplace helps local businesses scale, and enables global technology companies to push the frontiers of robotics and AI. Backed by world-class investors like Benchmark, Spark Capital, Craft Ventures, Greylock, Y Combinator, and others, we’re looking for exceptional talent to reimagine the way the world works. The Mission Instawork is building the data engine for the future of Physical AI. We are looking for a Head of Partnerships to build and lead our India business partners. You will be responsible for identifying, developing, and onboarding thousands of small, medium and large businesses across India to help build the pipeline for Robotics data collection. The opportunity is to connect Instawork's technology, labor marketplace, and operational scale with the world's leading robotics companies and turn real-world work into the high-quality data required to train and improve the next generation of physical AI. This is a highly entrepreneurial role for a senior partnerships leader who wants to build something from the ground up and work directly with company leadership. ## What You'll Own Build the Partnerships Engine for Small, Medium and Large businesses in India - Own the  partnerships strategy across hospitality, logistics, manufacturing, warehousing, retail, and other labor-intensive industries. - Build and eventually lead the partnerships team, processes, systems, and operating cadence. - Establish clear goals and metrics for pipeline generation and business acquisition - Execute large business partnerships with industrial, co-operative and government bodies that work with multiple businesses - Develop repeatable playbooks for partner identification, outreach, qualification, negotiation, and conversion. Work Directly with Leadership - Partner closely with the CEO and Head of Robotics on the company's partnership strategy. - Bring market intelligence, partner feedback, and new opportunities directly to leadership. - Move quickly from strategy to execution, with a strong bias toward action and measurable outcomes. ## Who You Are - 10+ years of experience in partnerships, business development, strategic alliances, or a similar commercial leadership role. - Proven track record of managing fleet on street and also building and closing large B2B partnerships. - Experience building a partnerships or business development function from the ground up is highly preferred. - Strong network across hospitality, logistics, manufacturing, warehousing, retail, marketplaces, or other labor-intensive industries is a major plus. - Entrepreneurial mindset—you enjoy building rather than inheriting an established playbook. - Extremely strong bias for action and ownership. You see a problem and figure out how to solve it. - Comfortable operating with ambiguity, limited structure, and rapidly changing priorities. - Excellent communication, negotiation, and relationship-building skills. - Commercially sharp, highly driven, and comfortable being measured by outcomes. What Success Looks Like - Build a strong pipeline of businesses across India. - Close and launch high-impact partnerships with multiple industrial, cooperative or government organizations - Establish a repeatable  partnership acquisition playbook. - Create a scalable partnerships organization and operating model. - Help position Instawork as a critical infrastructure partner for companies building the future of Physical AI. ## Our Values - Empathy, Trust & Candor We put ourselves in the shoes of our colleagues and customers and don’t shy away from uncomfortable conversations, instead building trust through honest and direct feedback. - Bias for Action We practice high-velocity decision-making, clear-eyed that we often operate with incomplete information. Growing quickly means it’s OK to be wrong, so long as we learn from our mistakes and course correct! - Always Be Learning We’re a curious bunch, and with AI transforming our workplace we encourage everyone to learn from each other, compounding our knowledge and experience to help us change an entire industry. - Act Like an Owner We work long, hard, and smart, building products that delight our users and drive growth. Your ability to impact Instawork is limited only by your courage and conviction, not your job description. ## About Instawork Founded in 2015, [Instawork](https://www.instawork.com) is the nation’s leading online labor marketplace for food services, hospitality, light industry, and logistics, connecting more than 7M skilled workers with local restaurants, hotels, warehouses, stadiums, and more. Our AI-powered platform serves thousands of businesses across more than 50 major markets in the United States and Canada. We're not just helping fill shifts, we're supporting local economies—and we're just getting started! Instawork has been featured by CBS News, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and the Associated Press. Forbes included us on their Next Billion Dollar Startups list; RetailTech Breakthrough named us Workforce Hiring Solution of the Year for 2025; and Inc. 5000 recognized us as one of the country's top 10% fastest-growing companies two years in a row. But what matters most is our impact. We're solving real problems for real people, and we’re doing it at scale. Join our team to help us build something that matters! We’re looking for superstars who want to help us shape the future of work. With hubs in San Francisco, Bangalore, and Chicago, city offices in New York, Phoenix, and Singapore, we're back to working together in-person five days a week because we believe the best ideas happen when great people collaborate face-to-face. We also value diverse perspectives and encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds. Ready to make an impact? Learn more at [www.instawork.com/about](http://www.instawork.com/about). [Personnel Privacy Policy](https://info.instawork.com/legal/california-personnel-privacy-policy) ## About Instawork ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Instawork is a leading AI-powered labor marketplace that connects businesses with vetted, skilled hourly workers for shifts, temp-to-hire, and full-time roles across North America, and is expanding into humanoid robotics training. - **Entity Type**: Private (pre-IPO; Series D stage) - **Headquarters**: San Francisco, California, United States - **Founded**: 2015 - **Founders**: Sumir Meghani (CEO), Deep Abhani (CTO) ## Core Business - **Primary industry/industries**: Labor marketplace, flexible staffing, temporary staffing, AI-powered workforce management, robotics workforce training - **Target customers**: B2B (businesses in hospitality, warehouse/logistics, manufacturing, retail, and light industrial sectors); also serves B2C (hourly workers seeking flexible shifts) - **Mission or purpose statement**: "To create economic opportunities for local businesses and hourly workers across the globe" — empowering everyone to thrive in their careers. ## Products & Services - **Instawork Platform (Core Marketplace)**: An AI-powered mobile app and web platform where businesses post shifts and workers browse and book them. Features background checks, skills verification, ratings, and automated payroll, taxes, and insurance. Fills 90% of jobs within 24 hours. - **Instawork Robotics**: A new division that pays employees to help train humanoid robots, expanding Instawork’s labor marketplace into AI and robotics data generation and validation. Includes roles like Founding Machine Learning Lead, Field Engineering Technician, and Robotics AI Campus Lead. - **Top Pro Program**: Rewards high-performing workers with access to more shifts and cash bonuses. - **'Captains' Program**: Sends vetted on-site shift leaders to manage large groups of workers for businesses. ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed (pre-IPO private company); last known Series D valuation was not publicly reported. - **Key Metric**: Over 7 million hourly workers in its network (source: [instawork.com/about](https://www.instawork.com/about)); over 40 markets across North America (expanding to 60+ cities); 2+ billion data signals optimizing worker/business connections; 90% of jobs filled within 24 hours. - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Benchmark, Spark Capital, Craft Ventures, Greylock, Y Combinator (source: [Greenhouse jobs page](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/instawork)). - **Growth Signals**: Launch of a dedicated Robotics division (2025-2026); active hiring for robotics, AI, and enterprise sales roles across multiple US and international hubs (San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Pittsburgh, Bengaluru, Vancouver, Monterrey, Austin, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Chapel Hill). ## Competitive Advantages - **Network effects**: The largest platform connecting businesses to hourly workers (7M+ workers) creates a deep, defensible moat — more workers attract more businesses, and vice versa. - **AI & data moat**: Billions of proprietary data signals (worker performance, fit, reliability) power a machine-learning engine that optimizes worker matching, increasing return rates and reducing churn. - **Full-stack trust & safety**: Background checks, skills verification, worker ratings, on-shift insurance, and a dedicated Trust & Safety team lower risk for businesses. - **50-state+ coverage**: Presence in 60+ metro areas across the US and Canada allows rapid scaling for multi-location enterprise clients. - **New robotics pivot**: Leveraging its massive workforce to train humanoid robots creates a unique competitive position at the intersection of labor and AI infrastructure. ## Strategic Focus - **Scaling the core marketplace**: Expanding into new geographies (60+ cities) and verticals (e.g., light industrial, retail). - **Enterprise growth**: Building out enterprise account management and strategic account teams for large clients in logistics, manufacturing, and retail. - **Robotics & AI expansion**: Developing a new business line around training humanoid robots, positioning Instawork as a key partner for robotics companies needing real-world data and validation. - **Product innovation**: Using AI to improve worker fit, reliability, and return rates; investing in automation and operational efficiency. ## Why Work Here - **Mission-driven impact**: "Your work at Instawork directly benefits thousands of businesses and millions of workers." The company emphasizes creating economic opportunities. - **Rapid growth and strong investors**: Pre-IPO company backed by top-tier VCs (Benchmark, Spark, Greylock, Y Combinator) — offers potential for career growth and equity upside. - **Rewarding problems**: Tackle challenging, high-velocity problems in AI, robotics, marketplace dynamics, and trust & safety. - **Culture values** (from careers page): Bias for Action, Act Like an Owner, Always Be Learning, Empathy/Trust/Candor. - **Benefits**: Medical/Dental/Vision insurance, 401K/PF contribution, FSA & Commuter Benefits, Flexible Time Off, Parental & Family Leave, Office & Phone Plan Reimbursement, Employee Referral Bonus, Catered Lunches, Pet Friendly Offices, Mental Health Benefits, Team Offsites. - **Work model**: Hybrid / in-office hub locations in San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Pittsburgh, and Bengaluru; also remote-friendly for certain roles. ## Sources 1. [Instawork Careers Page](https://www.instawork.com/careers) 2. [Instawork Greenhouse Jobs Board](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/instawork) 3. [Instawork About Page](https://www.instawork.com/about) 4. [Instawork Homepage](https://www.instawork.com/) 5. [Instawork How It Works](https://www.instawork.com/how-it-works) ## Other roles at Instawork - [Video Platform Engineer - E3](https://feeny.ai/job/video-platform-engineer-e3-instawork-bengaluru-b0azs0sn0mmb) — Bengaluru, India - [Platform Engineer - E3](https://feeny.ai/job/platform-engineer-e3-instawork-bengaluru-28pdcv0djnfz) — Bengaluru, India - [People Ops Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/people-ops-manager-instawork-san-francisco-california-c4bx8as1cwn9) — San Francisco California, United States - [Quality Check Intern - Hardware](https://feeny.ai/job/quality-check-intern-hardware-instawork-bengaluru-akrbqyks0nd3) — Bengaluru, India - [Enterprise Account Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/enterprise-account-manager-instawork-dallas-texas-x3pbrmw6nrt0) — Dallas Texas, United States / Houston Texas, United States - [Head of Operations - Instawork Robotics Labs](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-operations-instawork-robotics-labs-instawork-bengaluru-5193f95fz9sd) — Bengaluru, India - [Associate Director - Operations - Instawork Robotics Labs](https://feeny.ai/job/associate-director-operations-instawork-robotics-labs-instawork-bengaluru-9dyj0ehgt1h6) — Bengaluru, India - [Head of Quality Assurance - Instawork Robotics Labs](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-quality-assurance-instawork-robotics-labs-instawork-bengaluru-5vjp58hdrz00) — Bengaluru, India - [Growth Marketing Manager, Discoverability](https://feeny.ai/job/growth-marketing-manager-discoverability-instawork-san-francisco-california-x5ry5wbztpe3) — San Francisco California, United States - [Senior Mechanical Engineer - Robotics Hardware](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-mechanical-engineer-robotics-hardware-instawork-bengaluru-1y8fycnnt400) — Bengaluru, India