Team Lead - Instawork Robotics Labs

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. About IRL (Instawork Robotics Labs) Researchers at UC Berkeley have identified a “100,000-year data gap” - the gulf between what trained AI language models and what physical robots actually have to learn from. Closing that gap is the defining infrastructure challenge of the physical AI era. IRL is Instawork’s answer to it. We deploy skilled workers into real commercial and residential environments - kitchens, warehouses, hotel floors, homes - to capture the high-fidelity task data that the world’s leading Robotics labs use to train their foundation models. Read more here . About the Role We are looking for a highly driven and hands-on Team Lead – Operations to build, manage, and scale a high-performing operations team supporting AI-powered data capture and workflow execution initiatives. This role combines people leadership, operational excellence, customer management, and process optimization. The ideal candidate has experience working in high-growth B2B SaaS or technology companies, has managed large enterprise accounts, thrives in fast-paced startup environments, and is comfortable rolling up their sleeves to solve operational challenges. Key Responsibilities Team Building & Talent Management Lead end-to-end hiring and onboarding of operations team members. Build, mentor, and manage a high-performing team of operators and team members. Create career development plans and coaching programs to improve team effectiveness. Foster a culture of accountability, ownership, and continuous improvement. Training & Process Excellence Design and implement training programs for new hires and existing team members. Develop, document, and continuously improve SOPs and operational playbooks. Ensure teams are equipped with the right tools, knowledge, and processes to perform efficiently. Drive adoption of AI tools, particularly ChatGPT and other productivity platforms, to improve operational effectiveness. Operations Management Oversee day-to-day execution of task-based physical and data-driven workflows. Monitor operational KPIs, productivity metrics, and quality standards. Identify bottlenecks and implement scalable process improvements. Ensure timely delivery of operational commitments while maintaining high-quality standards. Review completed work regularly and provide corrective feedback where necessary. Customer & Stakeholder Management Act as the primary operational point of contact for customers and internal stakeholders. Manage relationships with large enterprise customers and strategic accounts. Prepare and deliver weekly business reviews, operational updates, presentations, and MIS reports. Communicate project progress, challenges, and recommendations to customers and leadership teams. Drive customer satisfaction through proactive communication and operational excellence. Infrastructure & Operational Readiness Ensure operational infrastructure, hardware, and tools are functioning effectively. Manage inventory, equipment allocation, and operational readiness across teams. Coordinate with internal teams to resolve operational issues quickly and efficiently. Required Qualifications 5+ years of experience in operations, account management, customer success, BPO, shared services, or technology-enabled operations. 2+ years of experience managing teams and leading people. Experience working in high-growth startups and scaling operations. Strong background in managing large enterprise accounts and customer-facing operations. Proven experience driving operational excellence in