Autonomous Operations Director People & Admin · Salt Lake City

Autonomous Operations Director

Location: Salt Lake City, UT, USA | Company: PassiveLogic | Posted: Mar 13, 2026

Customers gain confidence in autonomous system deployments.

About The Role

Lead the global deployment and operational scaling of autonomous building systems. This is a career-defining opportunity to play a crucial role in a hyper‑scale AI company transforming the future of autonomous systems, energy, and the built environment. The role serves as the operational bridge between AI systems and physical infrastructure. We seek an autonomous‑buildings deployment and operations leader who treats deployments as a structured learning system, tracks autonomy capabilities, validates performance in the field, and continuously improves operations through disciplined metrics and feedback loops.

This Is An Operations Director Role Responsible For

• Application engineering: Digital‑twin project deployment
• Deployments: Site deployments, contractor coordination, and construction execution and life cycle
• Operations: 24/7 incident and change management of autonomous operations, primarily in the EU managing buildings in constant use

You will lead teams across a project pipeline that includes site surveys, digital‑twin development, project engineering, and contractor coordination. Your goal is to ensure deployments run smoothly, timelines are met, customers succeed, and performance of autonomous buildings deployed continuously improves.

What You’ll Do

Deployment Strategy & Operational Leadership

• Lead global deployment operations for autonomous HVAC and building systems.
• Lead both Application Engineering and Deployment teams, including oversight of external deployment contractors.
• Establish structured rollout plans, deployment phases, and operational playbooks.
• Ensure deployments meet schedule, quality, and performance targets.
• Identify operational risks early and coordinate cross‑team mitigation.

Deployment Planning & Construction Coordination

• Plan phased deployments across customer sites.
• Coordinate deployment and commissioning sequencing with the Applied Engineering team while interfacing with customers and driving contractors.
• Think in terms of autonomy skill rollouts, validation loops, and structured field learning, shifting away from traditional control installs.
• Identify, vet, hire, and manage local installers and contractors globally.

Application Engineering (Digital Twin Project Deployment)

• Digital Twin Modeling: Create the building’s digital twin by modeling spaces, equipment, and system relationships using PassiveLogic’s ontology framework.
• System Integration: Connect the digital twin to building infrastructure including HVAC systems, sensors, and meters.
• Autonomous Control Deployment: Configure and deploy PassiveLogic control models to optimize building performance, energy use, and occupant comfort.
• Commissioning & Optimization: Validate, calibrate, and continuously refine the digital twin to ensure accurate building behavior and improved operational efficiency.

Field Integration & Technical Oversight

• Ensure clean technical coordination between field teams, contractors, and engineering.
• Translate field constraints into actionable feedback for AI and product engineering teams.
• Guide commissioning efforts and system performance validation.

Customer Interface & 24/7 Life Cycle Operations

• Help customers understand how autonomy operates in practice and build trust in the system.
• Coordinate issue triage and ensure problems are resolved systematically, not reactively.
• Track and improve performance, operational metrics, and service reliability.

Systems Feedback & Continuous Improvement

• Close the loop between field operations and product engineering.
• Identify recurring issues and deployment friction.
• Build repeatable deployment playbooks that improve with each rollout.
• Help shape the long‑term managed services operating model as the product scales.

You Bring

You understand buildings, building science, HVAC, or controls deeply enough to operate confidently in the field, yet you plan like a project manager and lead like a supervisor of an intelligent, autonomous space. You speak fluently with field technicians, commissioning agents, and facility operators, and collaborate productively with AI engineers, autonomy researchers, and software architects. You may have previously led teams at a Manufacturing Execution System (MES), managed robotic or autonomous system deployments, directed project management at a scaled MSI, or served as an applied technology director within an engineering consulting firm. You are tech‑forward, future‑oriented, and organize complex deployments for reliable, timely delivery.

• Comfortable in mechanical rooms and in deep technical discussions.
• Motivated by autonomy, robotics, and the future of intelligent infrastructure.
• Calmly lead teams under field pressure and bring structure to complex deployments.

You Must Have

• 7+ years of experience leading complex technology deployments, robotics systems (particularly those close to humans), autonomous systems, or large‑scale operational rollouts.
• Hands‑on experience in robotics systems, mechanical engineering, building automation, retro‑commissioning, HVAC systems, or building science.
• Leadership experience managing technical field teams or deployment organizations.
• Field deployment or commissioning experience in commercial or industrial environments.
• Ability to read mechanical drawings and control schematics.
• Comfort working directly with customers, contractors, and technical stakeholders.
• Strong operational leadership and coordination skills.
• Comfort operating in fast‑moving, early‑stage environments.

You Should Have

• A bachelor’s or master’s degree, or equivalent experience, in engineering and management.
• Experience deploying complex hardware/software systems.
• Experience in managed services, field engineering, or technical operations.
• Experience coordinating cross‑disciplinary teams (engineering, construction, operations).
• A structured, research‑minded approach to field rollout.

It’s Helpful To Have

• Knowledge of performance contracting or energy optimization programs.
• Energy or sustainability certifications (AEE, LEED, BREEAM, WELL, CEM, CBCP, BEAP, CCP, or NABERS).
• Experience scaling field playbooks across multiple sites.
• Interest in climate tech and decarbonization.
• Experience in robotics, autonomous systems, or advanced industrial deployments.
• Bias toward building the future rather than maintaining the past.
• Familiarity with BAS protocols (BACnet, Modbus, wireless, analog control systems).

What Success Looks Like (3–6 Months)

• Deployment programs are structured, predictable, and on schedule.
• Application Engineering and Deployment Services teams operate as a coordinated unit.
• Field integrations are clean, with minimal reactive firefighting.
• Engineering receives clear, structured feedback from the field.
• Customers gain confidence in autonomous system deployments.
• Services operations become repeatable and scalable with performance metrics continuously improving.

Compensation, Benefits & Perks

• Competitive compensation
• Generous equity share package
• Medical, dental and vision coverage
• Disability and life insurance options
• Flex PTO
• Team‑building events
• Free catered lunch in the office Monday–Friday
• Free ski pass (we are at the base of Big Cottonwood Canyon)
• Free National Park pass
• Onsite gym

A Note On Working Onsite

This role is based in our Salt Lake City headquarters. We believe that creativity and cohesion flow best when we are all together. We expect all teams to work from one of our office locations, five days a week.

When Applying, Include

• A cover letter telling us why you’re the perfect candidate for PassiveLogic.
• A résumé.
• A description of a project you personally created, devised, built, managed, organized, or designed that was of your own self‑initiative.

Diversity and Inclusion

We welcome all—come as you are and bring your whole self. We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity every day by maintaining a safe and inclusive environment for our employees at every stage of their careers.

Department

People & Admin | Location: Salt Lake City | Employment type: Full‑time

About PassiveLogic

PassiveLogic enables autonomy for controlled systems... (company description shortened for brevity).

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