Staff Program Manager, Teleoperations at Watney (San Francisco, CA)
Watney· San Francisco, CA· $100k–$200k·
Role details
Equity
Summary
Leads a team of 250+ robot pilots to execute teleoperation tasks for autonomous robotic systems. Defines KPIs, analyzes performance data, and partners with engineering and international teams to optimize hardware, software, and organizational structures.
Job description
Our Mission
Expand human ambition in the physical world.
Critical infrastructure is constrained by labor shortages, hazardous working conditions, and operational complexity. Watney builds and deploys autonomous robotic systems that increase the speed and capacity of buildout, starting with data centers.
About the Role
The Staff Program Manager, Teleoperations owns the robot pilot program at Watney: how new pilots get on the floor, how they get better once they're there, and the KPI framework and feedback loop that connects the two. This program runs today: a 2,000+ pilot floor already supports robots working live customer deployments. You'll partner with our pilots, our Southeast Asia leadership team, and our ML researchers to keep the program moving as fast as the robots need it to. We're looking for someone with strong critical thinking, clear communication, and experience running a large distributed center of excellence program from the ground up - comfortable with messy real-world data, short-notice global travel, and late-night performance analysis when the program calls for it.
What You'll Do
- Own the pilot program: tryouts, training cohorts, and the performance work that turns a new pilot into a great one, across a 2,000+ pilot operation
- Define KPIs and measure performance (telemetry, task times, etc.), and close the loop from data to action
- Partner with Fleet Operations to solve robot allocation for training and live deployments
- Partner with our Southeast Asia leadership team on organizational structure and shift-operations improvements
- Translate performance findings into concrete changes with our hardware and software engineering teams
What You'll Bring
- 4+ years running a distributed or offshore workforce program at scale (recruiting, training, performance management), at a consulting firm or technology company
- Experience writing SOPs and owning quality/process for an operations team
- Strong data-analysis skills and comfort with messy real-world data
- Clear written and verbal communication skills
- Willingness to work hard in a scrappy environment
We’re committed to building a diverse, inclusive team. At Watney Robotics, we welcome people of all backgrounds and identities, and we make hiring decisions based on skills, experience, and potential. If you’re passionate about robotics but don’t meet every requirement, we still encourage you to apply!
Why work at Watney
- In-Office culture: All roles are based in San Francisco (HQ); the company emphasizes in-person collaboration.
- Ground-floor opportunity: With outsized ownership and visibility, employees shape the “rollout playbook” for a category-defining robotics company.
- Technical challenge: Work on real systems that combine robotics, AI, hardware, and infrastructure at scale.
- Notable peers: Colleagues include alumni from Scale AI, Amazon Web Services, Tools for Humanity, Warburg Pincus, and the US Army Corps of Engineers.
- Growth trajectory: A very young company (founded 2024) with rapid hiring and clear product-market fit, ideal for early-stage career builders.