Vice President of Operations

Title: Vice President of Operations

Location: Bay Area, Detroit

Travel Required: 25-50%

Duration: Full-time

Relocation Paid

About Recogni:

Recogni’s mission is to design an artificial intelligence system for autonomous vehicles from the ground up. The system will deliver unprecedented inference performance through novel edge processing, allowing vehicles to see farther and make driving decisions faster than humans while consuming minimal amounts of energy. We’re looking for self-motivated team members who crave a challenge and feel energized to roll up their sleeves and help realize Recogni’s enormous potential. 

Backed by Celesta Capital, Continental, Robert Bosch, GreatPoint Ventures, Toyota AI Ventures, BMW i Ventures, The Mayfield Fund, and other leading VC partners, the company is headquartered in San Jose, California with additional operations in Munich, Germany.  We value having diverse teams and want you to grow as we grow - whether you’re just starting out in your career or managing a large team, you’ll be amazed at the magnitude of your impact

About the role:

We are looking for a Vice President of Operations to lead and manage the Operations team for Recogni.  Reporting to the Chief Executive Office, the Vice President of Operations will oversee the Recogni teams that manage both direct and indirect procurement, device production, logistics and planning, strategic vendor management, telecommunication vendor management functions, operations quality, and facilities management. This role will be responsible for a broad range of related operations and supply chain activities from procurement and production through inventory management, logistics and warranty support.

This role will require a strong understanding of Recogni’s mission as well as business priorities across customer and product segments. You will partner closely with leaders to help create the vision, strategies and priorities for our team and the company overall. You will grow, lead and empower a team of seasoned Business Operations professionals, and work across the broader Business Operations, Program Management, Finance and Technology communities to help deliver Recogni’s strategic and financial goals. 

Recogni is a fast paced, high-growth, team oriented company with a focus on continuous improvement and outstanding customer experience. If this sounds like you, we encourage you to apply!

You’ll Get To:

• Serve as senior member of LeadershipTeam to set strategy, influence direction, and facilitate execution of goals and objectives.

• Define the vision for the Operations and Supply Chain organization and develop strategy for creating best practice processes and a scalable supply chain infrastructure.

• Work cross-functionally with operations and engineering leadership to develop systems and processes to enable continued business growth.

• Work cross-functionally with Engineering Leadership to ensure we achieve cost, quality, and availability of supply metrics.

• Oversee device manufacturing, driving production improvements including quality, productivity, pricing, capacity and time to market.

• Drive process improvements, innovation and product related cost reductions by managing total landed material costs to optimize gross margin.

• Oversee global supplier sourcing, supplier and product quality, purchase orders, delivery schedules, and processes.

• Manage global planning and logistics (forward and reverse), including inventory management, demand forecasting, import-export and supporting systems.

• Evaluate manufacturing processes and operational work-flow, establish performance metrics, and lead manufacturing efforts to maximize efficiency, quality and capacity utilization.

• Supervise lead supplier selection and qualification, maintain relationships, and monitor supplier performance including quality, pricing and capacity to reduce market risks.

What You’ll Need to Succeed:

• Minimum of 15+ years’ experience in operations, supply chain and/or manufacturing management roles

• Experience developing diverse vendor relationships and managing global networks

• Demonstrated knowledge of sourcing/supply management including excellent negotiation skills and experience with strategic sourcing methodologies

• Articulate verbal communication, professional business writing and presentation skills.

• Demonstrated high ethics and integrity standards

• Ability to travel frequently to domestic and international locations

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Manufacturing Engineer, Supply Chain or related field

• MBA and/or equivalent experience required

Reasons to consider joining Recogni:

• Ground floor opportunity with the team; be part of shaping one of the most exciting new companies.

• Learning and development opportunities from a highly diverse and talented peer group, including experts in a wide range of fields, from Artificial Intelligence & Computer Vision to Systems & Device Engineering.

• Competitive benefits package including 401k, Medical+Dental+Vision+Life insurance, and Short+Long Term Disability coverage

• Perks including meals, snacks, drinks and us!

• Sharp, motivated co-workers in a fun office environment

• Employee Stock Plan

• Flexible work hours & generous PTO policy

Recogni's culture was built on the following values that are equally important to us as business:

• One Team

• Innovate with Passion

• Think like an Owner

• Act with Integrity

• Mission Focused

Recogni is an equal opportunity employer. We believe that a diverse team is better at tackling complex problems and coming up with innovative solutions. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, gender identity or expression, marital status, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, race, religion, pregnancy, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances.

A note to Recruitment Agencies: Please don’t reach out to Recogni employees or leaders about our roles -- we’ve got it covered. We don’t accept unsolicited agency resumes and we are not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes. Thank you for your understanding.