Shift Lead

Physical Intelligence is hiring a Shift Lead in San Francisco, United States. Level rates it ; you can apply on Physical Intelligence.

Level's read on this job

Little AI ●○○○ is how Level rates this role: aI is not part of the work.
Tools and skills the posting cites include operations, team management and robotics.
Level classifies it as a mid-level role.
Level lists 43 other open roles at Physical Intelligence.

AI in this role

Shift lead to manage daily floor operations and data collection for physical AI and robotics development.

operationsteam-managementroboticsmanufacturing

The Team

The Operations team drives the day-to-day execution of robot data collection and production at our San Francisco facility, partnering closely with research, hardware, and software teams to support our mission of bringing general-purpose AI into the physical world.

In This Role You Will

- Onsite Floor Operations: Provide daily boots-on-the-ground leadership to drive data collection, verify availability of stations, props, and staffing, and ensure production continues smoothly during disruptions or staffing gaps. Lead and coordinate operators by assigning work and adjusting resources in real-time based on priorities and constraints.

- Team Leadership & People Development: Supervise, train, and develop operators, ensuring adherence to work standards. Provide ongoing coaching and feedback, treat operators fairly and professionally, and act as a liaison by bringing operator concerns to management’s attention.

- Data Collection and Quality: Own factory throughput and data quality for your team; identify deviations from standard work, take immediate corrective action, and ensure all defects are properly documented and escalated.

- Cross-Functional Communication & Reporting: Act as the primary on-site point of contact for your team, maintaining a tight feedback loop between research, hardware, software, and floor operations. Proactively communicate status, technical blockers, hardware failures, and process bottlenecks. Maintain highly accurate shift handoff notes.

- Safety & Continuous Improvement: Enforce PPE compliance and safe work practices on the floor. Proactively identify, help resolve, and report unsafe conditions.

What We Hope You’ll Bring

- Hold a bachelor’s degree in a STEM field, Operations, or similar or equivalent practical experience.

- 3–5 years of experience in tech operations, manufacturing, or related fast-paced physical environments — ideally in robotics, autonomous vehicles, or other frontier hardware-AI integration sectors.

- 2+ years of proven experience managing, scheduling, and motivating a team of hourly, shift-based workers.

- Detail-oriented and comfortable using operational dashboards; ability to quickly learn proprietary robotics software interfaces.

- Clear, direct communicator who can translate operational gaps into structured feedback for technical teams; outstanding collaboration skills in cross-functional environments.

- Excellent problem-solving abilities under pressure with a high bias for action and a demonstrated history of removing operational blockers in real-time.

- Comfortable with ambiguity and changing priorities; able to manage multiple competing priorities with limited resources.

- Adept at tracking KPIs and using metrics to inform operator performance management and workflow adjustments.

- Safety-focused, detail-oriented, and quality-driven.

Bonus Points

- Experience in robotics or related fields.

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

How we rate this

Shift Lead at Physical Intelligence rates 20 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Little AI (AI Level 1 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.

Classification

Little AI. AI is not part of the work.

●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
●○○○ Little AI0 to 39

Levels come from how often the tools, models and workflows of the role are named in the posting itself. Read the description and count the AI tools, models and workflows it names.

Key facts

Shift Lead is an open job at Physical Intelligence.
Level rates this role AI Level 1 of 4: Little AI.
The role is based in San Francisco.
The job was posted on August 22, 2026.
Seniority: mid.
Applications are handled by Physical Intelligence. Apply on Physical Intelligence

Prepare for this job

Built from this posting and from similar jobs on Level.

Skills and AI tools this role asks for

OperationsTeam ManagementRoboticsManufacturing

Questions you could be asked

Tell me about a project where operations was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where team management was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where robotics was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where manufacturing was part of your work. What did you do?

Adapt your resume

List these exact terms on your resume: Operations, Team Management, Robotics, and Manufacturing. An applicant tracking system matches the wording, not the idea.
Attach one line of real, concrete experience to at least one of them. A tool named with nothing behind it rarely survives a human read.

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