Robotics Assembly Lead

Persona AI is developing and commercializing rugged, multi-purpose humanoid robots that perform real work. Our founding team has decades of experience in humanoid robotics, bionics, and product development, delivering robust hardware for space, deep-sea, and entertainment applications. Our mission is to ship beautiful, reliable products at massive scale while building a customer-focused team.

Why Join Persona AI

• Competitive compensation and performance-based bonus
• 99% employer-covered medical benefits
• Early-stage equity
• Competitive PTO
• Company-wide paid winter break (December 24th – January 2nd)
• Opportunity to shape technology redefining robotics and human interaction
• Work alongside passionate teammates who value creativity and continuous learning

About The Role

You will run the floor and still build robots. Persona AI's humanoids weld, grind, and inspect in shipyards and heavy fabrication shops. Two cells build them — one assembles the hands and end effectors under magnification, the other the torsos, limbs, and load-bearing joints — and you will lead both. This is a working lead role, not a desk job. Roughly two-thirds of your week is hands-on build and verification; the rest is sequencing work, qualifying assemblers, buying off first pieces, and keeping the Production Manager ahead of problems instead of behind them.

The two cells could not be more different. One works in newton-centimeters under a stereo microscope; the other works in foot-pounds with torque multipliers and an overhead crane. We do not expect you to arrive expert in both. We expect you to be genuinely strong in one, competent enough in the other to check work and spot trouble, and willing to become qualified in both. We will get you there. Familiarity with electronics and delicate cable assemblies is required.

If you have run a crew before — as a lead, a foreman, a shop supervisor, or a military maintenance NCO — and you still like building things yourself, this is that job. We are building machines that take on the worst jobs in heavy industry, directed by the crews who know that work best.

Responsibilities

• Build: Carry a station when the line needs it and stay current on the work you are checking
• Assign and sequence work across both cells against the build schedule, and flag discrepancies early
• Perform first-piece and first-article verification and buy off finished assemblies against acceptance criteria (joint backlash, running torque, runout, alignment, tendon pre-tension, and range of motion)
• Maintain torque tools and gauges in calibration
• Train, qualify, and re-qualify assemblers on stations and tooling; own the training records
• Ensure work instruction accuracy across both cells; correct documentation with manufacturing engineering rather than working around issues, including on prototype and pilot builds
• Control matched-set and serialization discipline — the highest-consequence documentation step in the build
• Serve as first escalation for damaged, nonconforming, or missing parts, including material review and kit readiness
• Own floor safety for both cells, including rigging and crane practice on the structural side
• Report daily build status, constraints, and quality escapes to the Production Manager
• Recommend hiring, leveling, and promotion decisions based on hands-on assessment

Requirements

• High school diploma or GED
• Five or more years of hands-on mechanical assembly, machine build, or industrial maintenance in tolerance-critical work
• Demonstrated depth in either fine-motor precision assembly or heavy precision mechanical assembly, with working competence in the other and willingness to become qualified in both
• Experience directing other people's work (e.g., lead, foreman, crew chief, shop supervisor, trainer, or military maintenance NCO), including checking work and providing corrective feedback
• Fluency with mechanical drawings, work instructions, bills of materials, and precision measuring tools, with ability to teach these skills
• Judgment about when to stop work; avoiding both constant and infrequent line stops
• Clear communication (interface between floor and engineering) and basic computer skills for build and training records
• Availability for overtime and weekend work during production pushes (paid at 1.5x) and willingness to flex across shifts as needed

Skills

• Experience standing up a new assembly line or cell, or bringing a new product into production
• Both fine-motor and heavy precision assembly experience in the same career
• Material review board, nonconformance, or root cause analysis experience
• Ownership of a torque tool and gauge calibration program
• Overhead crane, hoist, forklift, or rigging certification, with ability to train others
• Military maintenance supervision (e.g., machinist's mate, hull technician, maintenance NCO, avionics or ordnance chief)

Physical Requirements

• Handling components and assemblies weighing up to 50 lbs, occasionally throughout a shift (hoists, lift assists, and team lifts available for heavier assemblies)
• Moving between bench stations and the structural line for the duration of a shift, accessing assembly points at varying heights and orientations (frequent bending, reaching, and kneeling)
• Sustained fine motor manipulation of small components and precision hand tools, including work under magnification, while wearing required PPE and ESD equipment

All physical requirements can be performed with or without reasonable accommodation.