Team Lead, Ground Operations (3rd Shift)

As the Team Lead for Ground Operations (3rd Shift), you will drive operational excellence by leading overnight fleet maintenance, rework, and mission readiness activities. Service efficiency and comprehensive fleet preparedness are key drivers of our success, making this role critical to ensuring that vehicle maintenance, reworks, and fleet readiness activities are optimized overnight during low-demand periods. You will be responsible for the holistic readiness of our vehicle fleet, ensuring maximum fleet uptime and vehicle availability for daytime operations.

Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Team Culture; Overnight Shift Leadership: Provide direct leadership, coaching, and mentorship to technical staff and contract personnel during the 3rd shift; Team Development: Engage in recruiting, hiring, onboarding, and training of workshop personnel; Resource Management: Assist in creating and managing employee and contractor schedules, including time-off; Performance Tracking: Support tracking of KPIs to measure individual and team performance; Continuous Process Improvement: Identify bottlenecks in overnight workflows and implement lean methodologies; Technical Execution & Maintenance; Overnight Maintenance Optimization: Lead vehicle maintenance and rework activities during low-demand periods; Technical Escalation: Serve as primary escalation point for complex technical issues; Data-Driven Operations: Support analysis, documentation, and reporting of fleet data; Safety Stewardship: Enforce all health and safety policies; Mission Readiness & Logistics; Software Deployment: Ensure correct software and firmware are deployed; Pre-Mission Checks & Ingest: Direct ingest of vehicles, conduct pre-mission checks; Logistical Support: Oversee logistical movement and storage of vehicles; Vehicle Operations: Manually drive and maneuver autonomous and auxiliary vehicles; Multi-Site Support: Support team and vehicle fleet operations across multiple sites

Requirements

5+ years of hands-on automotive technician experience combined with 2+ years of people leadership or supervisory experience; Willingness and ability to lead overnight operations (3rd shift); Extensive knowledge of automotive maintenance methods, diagnostic methods, parts, and tools, including high proficiency in CAN/LIN architecture, wiring diagrams, and soldering; Proven ability to quickly learn technical subjects; Excellent written and verbal communication skills; must be honest, responsible, and capable of translating technical details for cross-functional stakeholders; Demonstrated ability to manage time, multitask, and drive priorities effectively in a fast-paced, ambiguous startup environment; Clean driving record and the ability to travel locally and nationally (less than 20%)

Nice to have

Bachelor's degree in a technical or business field, or a Technical trade school certificate / Associate Degree in automotive repair; Strong understanding of electric vehicle architecture and high-voltage systems; Experience in a fast-paced service environment; Familiarity with Lean, Six Sigma, or other continuous improvement methodologies