Product Lead, Operational Intelligence (Formic Cortex)

Who we are:

Formic is on a mission to reshape American manufacturing by making automation accessible to every factory. As labor constraints rise, costs increase, and global competition intensifies, automation is no longer optional for manufacturers that want to stay competitive.

We deliver automation through a Robotics-as-a-Service model that combines industrial robotics, proprietary software, and full-service support into a single, integrated solution. By removing the traditional barriers of cost, complexity, and risk, we enable manufacturers to deploy automation quickly and realize measurable gains in throughput, safety, and operational efficiency without large upfront capital investment.

Backed by leading investors including Lux Capital, Initialized Capital, Blackhorn Ventures, and Mitsubishi HC Capital North America, Formic is scaling rapidly and building the foundation for a new era of high-performance, Made in America production.

About the team:

Formic Cortex is an initiative focused on helping Formic scale not just technology, but judgment, execution, and operational clarity as the company grows. The goal is leverage: making it easier for teams to make good decisions and execute reliably as the organization expands.

Cortex focuses on how Formic works as a system, how decisions are made, how information flows across teams, and how complex operational work becomes repeatable at scale. The team works across deployment, solutions, production optimization, and adjacent groups to surface patterns that slow the organization down and design mechanisms that improve consistency, clarity, and execution.

Over time, the systems and tooling developed through Formic Cortex are expected to evolve into a cohesive internal platform that supports operational knowledge, decision-making, and coordinated execution across the company.

About the role:

As Product Lead, Operational Intelligence (Formic Cortex), you will focus on how Formic operates as a system. Rather than owning a fixed product surface or predefined roadmap, you will identify areas where complexity, ambiguity, or fragmented workflows slow the organization down and design mechanisms that improve leverage, speed, and consistency.

This is a first-of-its-kind role at Formic. Cortex is an emerging capability rather than an established team, and you will play a central role in shaping both the function and the systems that emerge from it. You will work across deployment, solutions, production optimization, and adjacent teams to identify patterns that are not visible within any single function and translate those insights into durable ways of working.

Success in this role requires strong systems thinking, comfort operating in ambiguous environments, and the ability to turn real-world operational complexity into scalable frameworks, processes, and tools.

In this role you will:

• Observe how work happens across deployment, solutions, production optimization, and adjacent teams to identify patterns that limit speed, clarity, or consistency
• Translate complex, experience-driven decision making into clear structures, frameworks, and mechanisms that scale beyond individual expertise
• Identify where information breaks down, handoffs degrade, or operational knowledge becomes fragmented, and redesign those flows to improve reliability
• Introduce systems such as processes, tooling, automation, or decision frameworks that reduce friction and increase operational leverage
• Partner closely with engineering teams to design and deliver internal capabilities when software or automation is the right solution
• Establish feedback loops that capture learning from deployments, maintenance, and operational outcomes
• Drive initiatives from discovery through execution in environments with limited precedent or definition
• Align stakeholders across teams around priorities, tradeoffs, and shared understanding of how work should operate
• Evaluate new technologies, approaches, and methodologies that could improve how the organization functions
• Help define what Formic Cortex becomes as a capability and contribute to shaping its long-term structure and operating model

What makes you a great fit:

• 4+ years of experience in product management, operations, systems design, technical program management, robotics, automation, or similarly cross-functional roles
• Demonstrated ability to operate in ambiguous environments where problems must be discovered, framed, and shaped before they can be solved
• Strong systems thinking skills with the ability to reason about organizations, workflows, and decision-making as interconnected systems
• Experience working closely with engineers, operators, or technical subject matter experts to translate real-world complexity into scalable solutions
• Comfort moving between observation, synthesis, and execution without a predefined roadmap
• Strong communication skills and the ability to build alignment across teams with different incentives, languages, and constraints
• A track record of owning outcomes rather than simply delivering projects or artifacts
• Willingness to spend time close to operational work, whether in the field, on the factory floor, or embedded with operational teams when needed
• You are located in or willing to relocate to the greater San Francisco area and able to work in a hybrid model, with a minimum of 3 days per week onsite in Oakland, CA

Bonus points if you have:

• Hands-on experience deploying robotics or automation systems in real production or field environments
• Experience building internal tools or platforms that support technicians, field engineers, or operational teams
• Background in controls systems, industrial robotics, PLCs, or hardware-in-the-loop testing
• Experience applying AI or machine learning to physical-world problems such as predictive maintenance or anomaly detection
• Familiarity with simulation frameworks or digital twin environments used for validation or commissioning

What we look for: 

We’re building this company from the ground up, and every person we hire has an outsized impact on our culture, performance, and trajectory. While each team member brings unique strengths and perspectives, we look for people who align with our Operating Principles and embody them in action. If this sounds like you, Formic may be the right place for you!

• Fearless Optimism: You make bold bets and default optimistic. You believe in the mission, aren’t paralyzed by risk, and fear inaction more than failure. You see ambiguity as opportunity and bring energy to building what doesn’t yet exist.
• Create the Magic: You absorb complexity so customers don’t have to. Whether your customer is external or internal, you focus on delivering experiences that are clear, fast, value-added, and outcome-driven. You don’t say “not my job.” You make things work. 
• Today, Not Tomorrow: You have a bias to action. You close the loop. You take extreme ownership. You understand that speed compounds, and you don’t confuse activity with results.
• Seek Truth: You think from first principles. You value data over ego and strong opinions loosely held. You’re willing to challenge assumptions, including your own, in pursuit of the best answer.
• Made of Rubber: You are resolute and adaptable. When things break or priorities shift, you rebound stronger. You treat setbacks as learning moments and move forward with grit.
• One Formic: You operate without silos. You practice radical helpfulness, document clearly, and make clean handoffs. You assume positive intent and prioritize team success over individual credit.

Equal Opportunity Employment:

Formic is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion or religious creed, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, marital status, family or parental status, disability, military or veteran status, or any other basis protected by law. All employment decisions are based on a person’s merit, business needs, and role requirements. If you require further accommodations or have questions regarding accessibility of our roles, please reach out to careers@formic.co.

AI Use:

At Formic, fairness and transparency are at the heart of our hiring process. We use AI-powered tools in some interviews to help our teams evaluate candidate responses, but all final hiring decisions are made by humans. You can learn more about how AI is used in our recruitment process by reviewing our AI Hiring Disclosure linked here.