Senior Data Operations Engineer

Field AI is transforming how robots interact with the real world. Our R&D team, the FieldAI Research Institute (FAIRI), is based in Cambridge, MA, where we build risk-aware, field-ready AI systems that unlock general purpose intelligence for robotics.

FAIRI is looking for a Senior Data Operations Engineer to run the day-to-day of our data operations function: building the tooling the pipeline runs on, staying hands-on enough to dogfood and stress-test that tooling yourself, and managing the interns and contractors who carry out the bulk of day-to-day collection and annotation. You’ll work directly with the Research Operations Partner to scale FAIRI’s in-house data function, and you’ll set the technical and operational bar the rest of the Data Operations Engineering team is built around.

Build and maintain hardware sensor suites — sensor harnesses, camera arrays, mounting fixtures, wearable sensor stacks (including soldering and cable assembly).

Write and maintain QA scripts for in-house and vendor data drops.

Build and maintain annotation software and other internal data tooling.

Run motion capture, teleoperation, and human-subjects data collection sessions yourself — the fastest way to dogfood and stress-test tooling and protocols before handing them to the team.

Annotate robotics/AV datasets (object interaction, contact state, multi-agent) against FAIRI’s evaluation framework.

Use hands-on collection and annotation work to surface tooling gaps and drive the tooling roadmap above.

Manage and schedule data collection interns and contractors; own day-to-day throughput and quality.

Onboard and train interns/contractors on equipment, SOPs, and the informed-consent process.

Write and maintain SOPs and other supporting documentation for data collection, annotation, and lab operations.

Own first-level QC and escalation for intern/contractor output; flag protocol or safety issues.

Learn the product stack and operate various robotic platforms to demonstrate FieldAI FFM (Field Foundation Model) capabilities.

Support demo planning and execution, coordinating with the Research Operations Partner

Help produce content showcasing FieldAI’s ability to deploy robots on dull, dirty,

and dangerous jobs.

Troubleshoot hardware and software issues live during demos with important stakeholders.

You don’t need every skill below, but you should bring real, hands-on depth in several of them:

Soldering and cable assembly

Motion capture systems (e.g., Vicon, OptiTrack, markerless/IMU)

Data annotation for robotics or autonomous vehicles

QA for hardware and/or software

3D scanning and 3D printing

Data collection and human subjects research (IRB/consent familiarity a plus)

AR/VR development or production

Python, Java, or equivalent scripting

LIDAR

Robotics (platforms, sensors, or control)

Linux command line

Blender or Unity

Film/TV production

Beyond the toolkit:

Comfortable moving between hardware and software in the same day: genuinely hands-on, not hands-off.

High ownership: you can take an open-ended ask (“troubleshoot why this data had issues ”) and run with it without much hand-holding.

Strong documentation habits: you leave SOPs and processes better than you found them.

Background in film/TV production, game development, data operations, or another field where wearing every hat is normal

Interest in humanoid robotics and how machines learn from human movement

This role sits inside FAIRI’s Research Operations function, supporting the Humanoid Program. It’s built to grow: the Data Operations Engineering track is expected to scale from one person today to a small team over the next 12–18 months, and this hire is a leading candidate for Data Operations Engineering Lead as that team stands up.