Operations Manager (YC-Backed, High-Growth Startup)

Human Archive builds the datasets that teach robots to work with their hands, captured from real people on factory floors, in kitchens and on construction sites across 30+ countries. We're YC-backed with $8.2M raised, and built by researchers from Stanford, Berkeley, NYU GRAIL, UPenn GRASP and JHU Robotics.

The path here moves quickly: Operations Manager, then Regional Manager, then City Head, based on performance rather than time served.

As an Operations Manager, you own the deployment. From the moment equipment leaves our storage point to the moment the day's data is verified, it is yours to run: a team of five to six operators, a live site, and a set of problems nobody can solve for you from a desk.

The stakes are real: robots learn from what we capture. A good deployment produces data that trains machines to work with their hands; a bad one produces footage nobody can use. That call gets made on the floor, by you, in the moment.

It suits someone who is equally comfortable talking to a mechanic mid-shift and holding a strict data protocol when a site is pushing back. Most people can do one. We are looking for the ones who can do both.

• Collect and verify camera inventory, batteries and accessories from the local storage point each morning

• Travel with your team to the deployment site and set up for the day's collection

• Brief and manage five to six field operators through the collection plan

• Meet and coordinate with the site point of contact, typically a Director, Operations Head or owner of a factory, resort or restaurant

• Check data quality through the day, including camera framing, battery levels and storage

• Complete and verify the taxonomy for all footage collected on site

• Reconcile inventory at day end and return it to the dark store manager

• Transfer and upload the day's data, and submit the deployment report

You report to the Zone Head and the Operations Head, and work directly with the founding team. Each Operations Manager runs one deployment team of five to six field operators, with a home city and rotation across active national sites.

Strong performers move fast. Regional Manager comes first, owning multiple deployment teams across a zone. City Head comes next, owning a city's full operations, including site partnerships and vendor relationships. We expect our operations leadership to come from this cohort.

Non-negotiable

• Strong spoken English and Hindi. You are often our first point of contact with Directors, Operations Heads and owners of factories, resorts and restaurants

• Willingness to work on site and travel, not from a desk

• Ability to give clear direction to field teams in Hindi and English

• Ability to make decisions independently when a deployment does not go to plan

We're hiring two kinds of people:

1. Freshers: 2025 and 2026 pass-outs. Startup internship experience strongly preferred. If you've interned at an early-stage company and know what it's like when the process doesn't exist yet and you have to build it, this role will make sense to you.

2. People with 1–3 years of field or operations experience. Prior experience as an Operations Manager, City Ops, Fleet Ops or Field Ops at a startup. Quick commerce, home services, hyperlocal delivery and on-demand backgrounds map directly onto this role: companies like Snabbit, Blinkit, Zepto, Swiggy, Urban Company, Rapido and Porter.

Prior experience is useful but not required. We train on our protocol and taxonomy. What we cannot train is spoken English and ownership.

• You want a fixed desk and a fixed city

• You want predictable 10-to-6 hours

• You are uncomfortable spending your day on factory floors, in kitchens and on shop floors

• You would rather escalate a problem than solve it on the spot

This role requires substantial travel: a typical month may include a week each in Delhi NCR, Bengaluru and Assam. You should be comfortable with this before applying.

Base location is Delhi NCR. All outstation work-related travel, accommodation, meals and commute are paid by the company and are not part of your CTC.

• 6-day work week

• Actual working hours are approximately 9–10 hours. On deployment days, a significant part of the day is spent travelling, over and above working hours.

• Reporting time depends on the deployment and can be early morning.

• Sunday deployments are limited to a maximum of two per month.

• On non-deployment days you handle data transfer and upload, deployment planning, reporting and site coordination. These days run on more regular hours.

• Any graduate degree (BBA, BA, B.Com, BHM, B.Tech or equivalent). Hospitality, hotel management and general management backgrounds do particularly well in this role.

• Batch: 2025 and 2026 pass-outs, or up to 3 years of relevant experience

• No minimum CGPA cutoff. We hire on the interview, not the marksheet

Total CTC: ₹4 to 7 LPA, based on interview performance. 100% fixed. There is no variable or performance-linked component. Comp is revised at each step as you move up.

• Probation: 2 months at full salary, no deduction

• No service bond or training bond of any kind