Head of Workplace Operations
Job description
About the role
The role owns the physical operating environment for an integrated hardware, research, and engineering organization.
Software engineers turn product ideas into working code. Engineers work in small teams, review each other's work, and ship in small batches. Most teams follow agile practices such as sprints and daily standups. Engineers also write tests, fix bugs, and improve performance. The field values clear communication as much as technical skill. Engineers spend part of every week on planning, code review, and debugging, not just writing new code. The ability to explain a technical decision in plain words separates strong engineers from the rest.
Key facts
What you'll do
Reliable daily operation of offices, labs, and hardware development spaces sustains engineering and research.
Early identification and resolution of operational bottlenecks protect engineering and research workflows.
Direct handling of high-priority operational issues prioritizes speed, judgment, and reliability over rigid role boundaries.
Requirements
Running facilities, workplace, lab, or physical operations in a fast-paced company, ideally in hardware, R&D, manufacturing, or robotics.
Strong judgment sets priorities in a dynamic environment with competing demands.
A highly organized, detail-oriented, and reliable working style notices and addresses what is broken, missing, late, or likely to fail.
Hands-on capability allows direct handling of work when necessary.
Managing vendors, contractors, and service providers enforces a high bar for execution and accountability.
An operational and systems-oriented mindset improves underlying processes to prevent recurring issues.
Clear communication emphasizes speed and follow-through.
A high bar for workplace quality multiplies the effectiveness of engineering and research teams.
High integrity and strong professional judgement guide decisions and actions.
Practical notes
The role operates in San Francisco and may require travel within the region. Typical interview steps
Hiring for engineering roles usually starts with a recruiter screen, followed by one or two technical rounds. Candidates often solve a coding problem, discuss past projects, and answer system design questions. Some loops include a take-home task. Final rounds typically cover team fit and give candidates a chance to ask questions. Interviewers look for how you break down an unfamiliar problem, not just whether you reach the answer. Practicing a few problems aloud and reviewing your own past projects are the best preparation.
Good to know
Workplace operations teams coordinate tools, space, and processes so technical teams can focus on building and shipping. Reliability, safety, and clear systems reduce distraction and rework. A bias for action and ownership keeps operations resilient in fast-growth environments.
Questions to ask
Good questions to ask the employer in the interview: what does success look like in the first six months, how is the team structured, what is the current biggest challenge, and how are decisions made. Asking about growth paths and the review process is also well received. Employers expect questions, and good ones show preparation.
Career growth
Engineering careers usually progress from individual contributor to senior, staff, and principal levels. Some engineers move into management and lead teams of five to twenty people. Others stay on the technical track. Growth follows demonstrated impact, not tenure alone. A typical engineering ladder has clear levels with defined expectations for scope, quality, and mentorship. Moving up usually requires owning outcomes end to end rather than completing assigned tickets.
About the company
At Nudge, our mission is to develop the best technology for interfacing with the brain to improve people's lives. We're starting with an approach that we believe can help the most people the fastest, and also allow us to learn as much about the brain as possible: developing a non-invasive, ultrasound-based device that can stimulate and image the brain at high resolution and depth.