Director of Operations – Mexico

THE COMPANY

Our client is one of the world’s most innovative and well-funded Artificial Intelligence and Robotics companies. Headquartered in San Francisco, California and backed by leading investors including Jeff Bezos, OpenAI, and many more high-profile venture capital companies. The company has raised over $1 billion to pursue a bold vision: building the foundational intelligence layer for the next generation of robotics.
This innovative company is developing advanced AI foundation models that enable robots to learn, reason, adapt, and perform complex physical tasks across a wide range of environments. Often described as building the equivalent of “ChatGPT for Robots,” the company is at the forefront of a new era where artificial intelligence moves beyond the digital world into the physical one. As part of its global growth strategy, the company is rapidly expanding its Mexico operation in Tijuana, which serves as a critical hub for large-scale robotics data operations supporting the development of next-generation AI systems.
This is a unique opportunity to join a high-growth technology company that is helping shape the future of robotics and artificial intelligence. 

THE POSITION

The Director of Mexico Operations will serve as the senior-most operations leader for this companies’ Tijuana site and will play a pivotal role in scaling the organization from approximately 100 employees today to more than 1,000 employees over time.
Reporting to senior leadership at corporate, this executive will be responsible for building and leading a world-class, 24/7 operation that combines elements of advanced manufacturing, robotics operations, workforce management, technical execution, and operational excellence.
This is not a traditional manufacturing or distribution environment. The operation supports advanced robotics systems through highly structured workflows that generate the training data used to develop some of the world’s most sophisticated AI models.
Key Responsibilities

• Scale operations from a successful pilot to a large-scale production environment supporting thousands of operator hours per week.
• Lead all site operations including workforce management, production performance, staffing, utilization, quality, training, and operational execution.
• Build the organizational structure required to support rapid growth, including managers, supervisors, workforce planning, quality, training, maintenance, and technical support teams.
• Establish rigorous operational disciplines including KPI management, production reviews, accountability systems, escalation processes, incident management, and root-cause analysis.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives focused on productivity, quality, efficiency, throughput, uptime, and operational consistency.
• Develop scalable operating procedures, training systems, controls, and governance structures.
• Partner closely with engineering, robotics, AI, and research teams located in the United States.
• Build a culture of accountability, execution excellence, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Serve as a key member of the leadership team helping shape the long-term growth and scalability of the Mexico operation.

THE CANDIDATE

The ideal candidate is a highly driven operations executive with a proven record of accomplishment of building, scaling, and leading large operational organizations in complex, fast-paced environments.

Required Experience

• Strong operations leadership experience managing large scale operations such as Director of Operations, Plant Manager, General Manager, Site Leader, Operations Director, Manufacturing Director, or similar leadership experience.
• Experience leading organizations of 350+ employees, preferably within high-growth environments.
• Strong background in advanced manufacturing, preferably in environments like automation, robotics, mechatronics, aerospace, electronics, logistics, fulfillment, industrial operations, BPO, or other high-throughput environments.
• Demonstrated success building scalable operational systems, processes, and leadership structures.
• Prior experience leading start-ups or ramp-ups is very desirable.
• Experience managing large shift-based operations operating 24/7.
• Strong expertise in workforce planning, staffing, operational metrics, productivity improvement, quality systems, and operational excellence.
• Proven ability to drive transformation, scalability, and continuous improvement.
• Experience working with U.S.-based organizations and highly matrixed environments.
• Bachelor’s degree required; Engineering degree strongly preferred.
• Fully bilingual English and Spanish.

Leadership Profile

The successful candidate will be:

• Highly process-oriented and metrics-driven.
• A builder who thrives in high-growth, entrepreneurial environments.
• A strong operator capable of balancing strategic growth with day-to-day execution.
• A disciplined leader who creates structure, accountability, and operational rigor.
• An effective communicator capable of earning trust across all organizational levels.
• Passionate about innovation, technology, and building organizations from the ground up.
• Comfortable operating in dynamic environments where speed, adaptability, and execution excellence are essential to success.

Why Consider This Opportunity?

This role offers the rare opportunity to build and scale one of the most strategic operations within a company that many industry observers consider a future leader in robotics and artificial intelligence. The Director of Mexico Operations will have a direct impact on the development of next-generation AI systems while helping create a world-class operation at the intersection of robotics, automation, and advanced technology.
This position is open to both Mexico Payroll or U.S. Payroll depending on your legal work status.  If on Mexican payroll, the position is indexed to the USD. Reasonable relocation assistance is provided for candidates that require this support.