Strategic Projects Lead, Canada

Mecka AI is building the data infrastructure layer for robotics and embodied AI.

We partner with leading AI labs and robotics companies to deliver high-quality, real-world datasets used to train, evaluate, and deploy robotic systems. Our work sits directly between research, data, and real-world execution — where model performance is dictated by data quality.

Robotics will become the largest industry in human history — larger than anything that has come before it. As intelligent machines move into the physical world, they will dramatically expand global GDP, raise the material standard of living for everyone, and ultimately help make humanity a multiplanetary civilization. None of that happens without one thing: enormous amounts of high-quality, real-world data.

Mecka AI builds that foundation. We are the data infrastructure layer for robotics and embodied AI — the substrate that teaches machines to perceive, reason, and act in reality. Get this right, and we accelerate the most important technological transition of our time.

• Excellence as the baseline. We hold an extremely high bar and expect the best work of your career. Mediocrity isn't interesting to us.

• Highly technical. We reason from first principles, not by analogy. The best argument wins — regardless of title or tenure.

• Truth-seeking. We are relentlessly honest with ourselves and each other. We chase reality — measured, not assumed — and kill our own bad ideas fast.

• Maniacal urgency. The work matters and the clock is real. We move fast, ship, measure, and iterate.

• Extreme ownership. You own outcomes end-to-end — no hand-offs, no excuses, no waiting for permission.

• Hardcore. This is a high-intensity environment for people who want to do the defining work of their lives.

We're hiring a Country Operations Lead, Canada to own and grow Mecka's on-the-ground operations in Canada.

Canada is a strategic operating geography for Mecka — home to a deep talent pool across robotics, ML, and hardware, proximity to many of our North American customers and research partners, and a strong base for data capture, annotation, and hardware-enabled programs. We need a senior local operator to build the team, run the site, and turn Canada into one of Mecka's strongest delivery engines.

This role reports to Mecka's Operations Lead. You will be the most senior Mecka leader in Canada — the face of the company locally and the single owner of country-level execution.

Mecka AI works with leading AI labs, foundation model teams, and robotics companies to deliver high-quality, real-world datasets used to train and deploy the next generation of robotic systems. Our data supports visuomotor learning, imitation learning, and real-world robotic control. Quality, trust, and execution are core to our partnerships.

• End-to-End Country Ownership: Own end-to-end operations in Canada: data collection sites, annotation operations, and robotics / hardware deployment programs.

• Country-Level Targets: Hit country-level targets across throughput, quality, cost, and on-time delivery.

• Budget & Margin: Manage the country budget, vendor spend, and operating margin.

• Executive Reporting: Report country performance to the Operations Lead and broader exec team.

• Local Team Building: Hire, develop, and lead the local team: operations managers, project leads, field operators, recruiters, and support staff.

• Org Design: Build the local org structure from the ground up where it doesn't exist, or scale it where it does.

• Manager Development: Coach and grow local managers into stronger operators.

• Execution Culture: Foster a culture of ownership, clarity, and execution.

• Customer Program Delivery: Own delivery of all customer programs running in-country.

• HQ Alignment: Partner with HQ Strategic Project Leads and Deployment teams to align local execution with global customer commitments.

• Local Operating Standards: Stand up local SOPs, playbooks, and quality frameworks that match Mecka's global standards.

• Operating Cadence: Run the daily and weekly cadence that keeps programs on track.

• Workforce Management: Build and manage Mecka's local workforce: contributors, contractors, field operators, and annotators.

• Talent Lifecycle: Own sourcing, vetting, onboarding, training, and performance management.

• Capacity & Quality: Maintain workforce quality and capacity as program demand scales up and down.

• Vendor Relationships: Build and manage local vendor relationships: facilities, logistics, equipment, staffing partners, recruiting agencies, and university / research partners.

• Contracting & Performance: Negotiate contracts and manage performance.

• Operational Bottlenecks: Identify and resolve local supply chain or operational bottlenecks.

• Local Compliance: Ensure full compliance with Canadian employment, tax, data protection (PIPEDA / provincial privacy laws), and operating regulations across relevant provinces.

• HQ Partnership: Partner with HQ Legal, Finance, and HR on local entity setup, contracts, and policy.

• Risk Ownership: Own local risk management: regulatory, fraud, security, and continuity.

• Local Representation: Be the local face of Mecka to customers, partners, regulators, and the community.

• Customer Visits & Events: Host customer visits and represent Mecka at local industry events when relevant.

• Market Intelligence: Surface local market intelligence back to HQ — what's working, what's changing, what's next.

• Team Strength: A strong, stable in-country team led by managers you hired and developed.

• Delivery Metrics: Country-level delivery metrics — throughput, quality, on-time, cost — meeting or beating global standards.

• Program Delivery: All customer programs running in-country delivered to spec.

• Operating System: A documented local operating system: SOPs, playbooks, vendor contracts, compliance posture.

• Trusted Presence: Mecka has a clear, trusted, and well-run presence in Canada.

Required Background:

• Operations Leadership: 3+ years in operations leadership in Canada.

• Local Knowledge: Deep local knowledge of Canada: business culture, talent market, regulatory environment, vendor ecosystem across key provinces.

• Language Fluency: Fluent business English. French fluency is a strong plus.

• Scaled Team Leadership: Proven track record building and leading teams of 50+ in-country.

• P&L Ownership: Owned country-level P&L or operating budget.

• Management Development: Hired, developed, and managed local management teams.

Strong Signals:

• Scale-Up Experience: Experience scaling operations at a fast-growing company in Canada — robotics, hardware, manufacturing, logistics, marketplace, BPO, or data services.

• Ground-Up Builder: Built a Canadian operation from scratch (entity setup, first hires, first SOPs) or scaled an existing site from tens to hundreds of people.

• Relevant Domain Background: Background in data services, AI/ML data operations, robotics, automation, or operationally complex programs.

• Mixed Workforce Leadership: Experience managing both white-collar teams (ops managers, project leads) and field/operational workforce (contributors, technicians, annotators).

• Vendor & Partner Management: Strong vendor and partner management track record locally, including with universities and research partners.

• Global Collaboration: Comfortable working across time zones with a HQ-based exec team.

• Builder Mindset: A builder, not a caretaker.

• Player-Coach: Player-coach — comfortable in the field, in spreadsheets, and in customer rooms.

• Communication Style: Direct, low-ego, high-clarity communicator.

• Data-Driven: Data-driven by reflex.

• Resourcefulness: Resilient and resourceful — you know how to make things work in Canada when the rulebook doesn't apply.

• Trustworthiness: Deeply trustworthy — Mecka's reputation in Canada will rest on you.

• Robotics Excitement: Excited about bringing robotics into the real world at scale.

• Country Leadership: Be the most senior Mecka leader in Canada and own a strategic operating geography end-to-end.

• Build and Scale: Build a country team and operation from the ground up — or scale it dramatically — while operating at the intersection of robotics, AI data, and on-the-ground execution.

• Executive Exposure: Direct line to the Operations Lead and exposure to the broader Mecka executive team.