Head of Central Robot Operations - Dot

DoorDash · San Francisco

Manufacturing & Operationsposted 3d ago

The Role

As the Head of Central Robot Operations, you will lead the central operations organization that powers autonomous robot delivery at scale. Acting as the operational command center for the business, you will build the capabilities, mechanisms, and teams that enable safe, reliable, and efficient robot operations across every market.

You will own the operating model spanning Remote Assistance, Mapping Operations, Market Expansion, Infrastructure, Strategy & Operations, Policy & Demos, and Program Management etc. This leader will establish the systems, governance, and operational excellence needed to scale autonomous operations from a handful of cities to a global network, partnering closely with Engineering, Product, Safety, Hardware, Autonomy, Legal, Public Policy, and Market Operations.

What You Will Do

Build and Scale Central Robot Operations

Define the long-term operating model, organizational structure, and roadmap for Central Robot Operations.
Build scalable mechanisms, operating standards, and governance that enable reliable robot operations across all markets.
Lead a high-performing organization spanning operations, analytics, expansion, mapping, infrastructure, and program management.

Own Remote Assistance Operations

Lead the 24/7 Remote Assistance organization responsible for supporting autonomous robots requiring human intervention.
Define response-time SLAs, workforce planning, staffing models, scheduling, and escalation protocols.
Develop monitoring, telemetry, and operational dashboards that provide real-time visibility into fleet health.
Partner with Engineering and Product to analyze intervention data, eliminate recurring failure modes, and continuously reduce human intervention rates.

Lead Mapping Operations

Own the operational lifecycle of geospatial assets including HD maps, geofences, routing data, and points of interest.
Establish mapping quality standards, QA mechanisms, refresh cycles, and operational readiness processes for new launches.
Balance mapping accuracy with launch velocity while managing internal and external mapping partners.

Drive Geographic Expansion

Develop the playbook for launching new cities, campuses, and operating zones.
Lead market assessment, regulatory readiness, operational planning, and launch governance.
Build repeatable launch mechanisms that enable rapid, high-quality expansion across multiple geographies.
Coordinate cross-functional readiness reviews prior to every market launch.

Own Market Infrastructure

Lead strategy and execution for hubs, depots, charging infrastructure, parking locations, maintenance facilities, and operational footprint.
Drive capacity planning, infrastructure utilization, vendor management, and cost optimization.
Ensure operational infrastructure scales ahead of demand while maintaining service reliability.

Lead Strategy & Operations

Build the planning, analytics, governance, and reporting engine for Robot Operations.
Define KPIs, operating metrics, executive dashboards, forecasting models, and business review mechanisms.
Lead annual planning, OKRs, operational reviews, and cross-functional governance rhythms.
Translate operation al data into strategic recommendations for executive leadership.

Own Policy, Regulatory Engagement & Demonstrations

Partner with Public Policy and Legal teams to support permits, regulatory engagement, compliance initiatives, and government relationships.
Lead operational readiness for demonstrations involving customers, regulators, investors, media, and strategic partners.
Represent Operations during executive briefings and external engagements.

Lead Program Management

Build and lead the Program Management Office (PMO) for Robot Operations.
Drive execution across multiple cross-functional workstreams through disciplined planning, dependency management, risk mitigation, and governance.
Establish operating cadences including weekly reviews, launch readiness reviews, retrospectives, and executive reporting.

Build Operational Excellence

Develop standardized playbooks, SOPs, operating mechanisms, and continuous improvement programs across all Central Operations functions.
Partner closely with Safety, Engineering, Product, and Market Operations to improve fleet availability, productivity, customer experience, and unit economics.
Foster a culture of operational excellence, ownership, innovation, and customer obsession.

What We're Looking For

15+ years of leadership experience in operations, robotics, autonomous vehicles, logistics, aviation, mobility, or other large-scale operational environments.
Demonstrated success building and leading complex, cross-functional operations organizations.
Experience managing multiple operational domains such as fleet operations, command centers, infrastructure, mapping, analytics, program management, or expansion.
Strong strategic thinking with the ability to translate ambiguity into scalable operating models.
Experience operating 24/7 mission-critical operations with measurable service-level commitments.
Proven ability to build executive operating mechanisms, governance models, and performance management systems.
Strong analytical skills with experience leveraging SQL, BI tools, dashboards, forecasting, and operational metrics to drive decisions.
Exceptional communication and executive presence with experience influencing senior leaders and external stakeholders.
Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Operations, Computer Science, Business, or a related field.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience in autonomous vehicles, robotics, drones, industrial automation, or advanced mobility.
Deep understanding of fleet operations, command center operations, remote assistance, or mission-control environments.
Experience launching operations across multiple geographies and regulatory environments.
Familiarity with GIS, mapping technologies, telemetry systems, and operational monitoring platforms.
Experience building large-scale infrastructure networks, depots, charging operations, or physical logistics assets.
Background in management consulting, corporate strategy, or operations excellence is a plus.
MBA or Master's degree in Engineering, Operations, or Business.

Why This Role

This is a rare opportunity to build the operational backbone of one of the world's most advanced autonomous robotics businesses. As Head of Central Robot Operations, you will define how autonomous robot operations scale—from launching new markets and building operational infrastructure to running mission-critical command centers and driving executive decision-making.

Your organization will serve as the central nervous system of Robot Operations, ensuring every robot, every market, and every launch operates with precision, reliability, and efficiency. The systems, mechanisms, and teams you build will directly shape the future of autonomous delivery and establish the operational blueprint for scaling robotics globally.

Compensation

The successful candidate’s starting pay will fall within the pay range listed below and is determined based on job-related factors including, but not limited to, skills, experience, qualifications, work location, and market conditions. Base salary is localized according to an employee’s work location. Ranges are market-dependent and may be modified in the future.

In addition to base salary, the compensation for this role includes opportunities for equity grants. Talk to your recruiter for more information.

DoorDash cares about you and your overall well-being. That’s why we offer a comprehensive benefits package to all regular employees, which includes a 401(k) plan with employer matching, 16 weeks of paid parental leave, wellness benefits, commuter benefits match, paid time off and paid sick leave in compliance with applicable laws (e.g. Colorado Healthy Families and Workplaces Act). DoorDash also offers medical, dental, and vision benefits, 11 paid holidays, disability and basic life insurance, family-forming assistance, and a mental health program, among others.

To learn more about our benefits, visit our careers page here.

See below for paid time off details:

For salaried roles: flexible paid time off/vacation, plus 80 hours of paid sick time per year.
For hourly roles: vacation accrued at about 1 hour for every 25.97 hours worked (e.g. about 6.7 hours/month if working 40 hours/week; about 3.4 hours/month if working 20 hours/week), and paid sick time accrued at 1 hour for every 30 hours worked (e.g. about 5.8 hours/month if working 40 hours/week; about 2.9 hours/month if working 20 hours/week).

The national base pay range for this position within the United States, including Illinois and Colorado.

$173,400—$255,000 USD

About DoorDash

At DoorDash, our mission to empower local economies shapes how our team members move quickly, learn, and reiterate in order to make impactful decisions that display empathy for our range of users—from Dashers to merchant partners to consumers. We are a technology and logistics company that started by enabling door-to-door delivery, and we are looking for team members who can help us go from a company that is known as the place you order food to a company that people turn to for any and all goods.

DoorDash is growing rapidly and changing constantly, which gives our team members the opportunity to share their unique perspectives, solve new challenges, and own their careers. We're committed to supporting employees’ happiness, healthiness, and overall well-being by providing comprehensive benefits and perks including premium healthcare, wellness expense reimbursement, paid parental leave and more.

Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

We’re committed to growing and empowering a more inclusive community within our company, industry, and cities. That’s why we hire and cultivate diverse teams of people from all backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. We believe that true innovation happens when everyone has room at the table and the tools, resources, and opportunity to excel.

Statement of Non-Discrimination: In keeping with our beliefs and goals, no employee or applicant will face discrimination or harassment based on: race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, age, gender, marital/domestic partner status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability status, or veteran status. Above and beyond discrimination and harassment based on “protected categories,” we also strive to prevent other subtler forms of inappropriate behavior (i.e., stereotyping) from ever gaining a foothold in our office. Whether blatant or hidden, barriers to success have no place at DoorDash. We value a diverse workforce – people who identify as women, non-binary or gender non-conforming, LGBTQIA+, American Indian or Native Alaskan, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latinx, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, differently-abled, caretakers and parents, and veterans are strongly encouraged to apply. Thank you to the Level Playing Field Institute for this statement of non-discrimination.

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, and any other state or local hiring regulations, we will consider for employment any qualified applicant, including those with arrest and conviction records, in a manner consistent with the applicable regulation.

If you need any accommodations, please inform your recruiting contact upon initial connection.

Notice to Applicants for Jobs Located in NYC or Remote Jobs Associated With Office in NYC Only

We used Covey as part of our hiring and/or promotional process for jobs in NYC and certain features may qualify it as an AEDT in NYC. As part of the hiring and/or promotion process, we provided Covey with job requirements and candidate submitted applications. We began using Covey Scout for Inbound from August 21, 2023, through December 21, 2023. We resumed using Covey Scout for Inbound again on June 29, 2024, and ceased using Covey Scout for Inbound on April 30, 2026.

The Covey tool has been reviewed by an independent auditor. Results of the audit may be viewed here: https://getcovey.com/nyc-local-law-144.

Beware of recruitment scams: DASH Brands will never ask you to pay money or share sensitive financial information during hiring — learn more about DASH Brands' legitimate recruiting process at careersatdoordash.com/recruitment-scam-awareness.