Head of Operations, India

About Build AI

Build AI is the data hyperscaler for Physical AI. We're vertically integrated across hardware, manufacturing, logistics, collection, and model training to scale the physical labor dataset orders of magnitude faster than anyone in the world.

Job Summary

We collect data from people doing physical work. We’re hiring a Head of Operations to build and run our workforce across India.

If we decide to start operations in a new city tomorrow, you should be able to mobilise 100 people within 24–48 hours — and do it again, repeatedly. You will build the recruiting networks, local teams, and logistics capability that make this possible, hire high-quality city managers, operators, and regional heads, and own logistics and shipping so teams have the equipment they need when operations begin.

The job requires long hours, high agency, and extreme operational rigour. You should know what is happening in each city, identify problems early, and follow them through until they are resolved.

Key Responsibilities

Mobilise 100 people within 24–48 hours in any city where we need to start operations

Build and maintain relationships with local recruiters, staffing partners, and workforce networks across India

Hire, train, and manage high-quality city managers, operators, and regional heads

Own city launches, including workforce readiness, onboarding, training, equipment, and local logistics

Own shipping, tracking, distribution, and recovery of equipment across cities

Make sure workers show up, have the right equipment, and understand what they need to do

Set daily targets and track attendance, productivity, data quality, costs, and equipment utilisation

Hold city managers and regional heads accountable for execution

Resolve workforce shortages, shipment delays, equipment failures, and other problems that stop collection

Build processes that allow teams to maintain operational rigour as we expand

Visit sites to verify execution and fix problems directly

You may be a good fit if you have (Must-have qualifications)

Have personally mobilised large workforces or launched operations under tight deadlines

Have built and managed field operations across multiple cities in India

Have hired and managed city managers, field operators, or regional leaders

Have directly managed logistics, shipping, and equipment or inventory

Can build recruiting networks that deliver reliable workers at short notice

Can manage daily performance across distributed teams with close attention to detail

Willing to work long hours and travel at short notice to get operations running

Strong candidates may also have experience with (Nice-to-have qualifications)

Existing relationships with staffing agencies, local recruiters, and workforce partners across India

Logistics, delivery, warehousing, manufacturing, or other businesses with large field teams

Launching operations in new cities within days

Managing wearable cameras or other equipment deployed in the field

Working at an early-stage company

What we look for

High agency

Extreme operational rigour

Attention to detail

Intense determination

Clear communication

Low ego

Creative, not constrained by how things have been done before

Immediate rejects: inability to change, limiting beliefs, low ambition.

Benefits

Competitive pay

Medical, dental, and vision packages with generous premium coverage

$500 per month credit for waiving medical benefits

Housing subsidy of $2k per month for those living within walking distance of the office

Relocation support for those moving to San Francisco (Financial District) or Shenzhen (Nanshan)

Various wellness benefits covering fitness, mental health, and more

Daily lunch and dinner in our office

Unlimited compute budget subject to ROI justification

Unlimited Codex and Claude credits

Travel

How we're different

Build believes in the Bitter Lesson . By taking a general approach of learning from humans, our addressable market is all physical labor.

We are a fully in-person team in San Francisco (Financial District) and Shenzhen (Nanshan), and greatly value engineering skills. We do not have boundaries between engineering and research, and we expect all of our technical staff to contribute to both and work across disciplines as needed.

Build AI is an equal opportunity employer. We review every application. If you do not meet every bullet, still apply. Questions: [email protected]