H

HIVE

Autonomous operation retrofit of industrial equipment

Operations Manager

Full-TimeUpdated on 10/24/2026
$150k - $170k/yr
Mid
Austin, TX, USA
In PersonWillingness to travel when operationally required.
Warehouse & Fulfillment

About the job

Requirements
  • Experience managing industrial, field, logistics, or service operations.
  • Experience leading shift-based operational teams.
  • Demonstrated people leadership, including recruiting, onboarding, coaching, and performance management.
  • Strong operational planning and execution skills.
  • Comfort owning real-world operations where uptime and customer experience matter.
  • A strong safety and quality mindset.
  • Hands-on comfort working directly with equipment, operators, and customer teams.
  • Ability to build structure where processes do not yet exist.
  • Strong customer communication skills.
  • Willingness to travel when operationally required.
  • Professional fluency in English and authorization to work in the United States.
Responsibilities
  • Own operational performance after deployment handover.
  • Ensure safe, reliable, high-quality service across customer sites.
  • Monitor operational KPIs, service quality, incidents, and uptime.
  • Coordinate operational issues and escalations and ensure clear customer communication.
  • Drive root-cause analysis and corrective actions for recurring operational issues.
  • Recruit, onboard, and develop Hive's US operator team.
  • Build a strong pipeline of experienced industrial machine operators.
  • Own operator training and qualification together with relevant Hive teams.
  • Develop shift structures, workforce plans, and schedules.
  • Coach operators and set clear expectations for safety, quality, performance, and professionalism.
  • Follow up individual and team performance.
  • Establish and maintain operational standards and procedures.
  • Ensure consistent execution across shifts and customer sites.
  • Investigate incidents and deviations and implement corrective actions.
  • Build the routines, KPIs, and management systems required to scale.
  • Work closely with Deployment, Engineering, and service teams during launch and hypercare.
  • Recruit and train operators ahead of go-live.
  • Support operational testing, readiness, and transition into steady-state operations.
  • Ensure a structured handover from Deployment into Operations.
  • Support establishment of Hive's initial US operating base and practical local infrastructure.
  • Help establish suppliers, equipment, tools, inventory, and local operating routines.
  • Support recruiting, onboarding, HSE, and other practical requirements of a new operation.
  • Create structure without adding unnecessary bureaucracy.
  • Capture feedback from customers and operators systematically.
  • Translate field experience into actionable improvements for Product, Engineering, and Delivery.
  • Help prioritize improvements that increase safety, reliability, uptime, and operational quality.
Desired Qualifications
  • Experience in heavy equipment operations, warehousing, logistics, material handling, mining, construction, manufacturing, fleet operations, field service, industrial automation, or robotics.
  • Experience recruiting and managing forklift, wheel loader, heavy equipment, or similar operators.

About the company

Hive Autonomy retrofits existing industrial equipment with a machine-agnostic silicon brain so forklifts, excavators, and wheel loaders can operate autonomously or be controlled remotely. Its hardware-software stack lets one operator supervise multiple machines from a single central station, reducing exposure to hazards and boosting productivity in logistics, construction, and mining. Unlike others that build new autonomous machines, Hive Autonomy focuses on retrofitting a wide range of equipment and partners with players like Yara, Toyota Material Handling, Volvo, and Telenor to deploy pilots. The company aims to scale deployments and advance its product to widen adoption of autonomous and remotely controlled industrial operations, supported by its 2026 funding round.

Company Size

11-50

Company Stage

Early VC

Total Funding

$15M

Headquarters

Kristiansand, Norway

Founded

2020

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • July 2026 raised $15 million from SuperSeed, Veriten, Skyfall, and Nysnø.
  • September 2026 hiring shows 68 open roles across engineering, sales, and operations.
  • Live Scandinavian deployments and UK proof-of-concepts create reference customers for 2027 expansion.

What critics are saying

  • Volvo Autonomous Solutions and Toyota Material Handling already sell integrated autonomy directly.
  • US expansion after July 2026 funding risks safety failures, delayed certifications, and customer churn.
  • If OEMs bundle native autonomy into new equipment, Hive becomes a replaceable middleware layer.

What makes HIVE unique

  • Hive retrofits forklifts, excavators, and loaders with one machine-agnostic silicon brain.
  • July 2026 deployments with Yara, Presis Vegdrift, and Volvo Maskin validate cross-site reuse.
  • One operator supervising multiple machines from remote stations cuts exposure in hazardous environments.

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Growth & Insights and Company News

6 month growth

13%

1 year growth

20%

2 year growth

20%
The SaaS News
Jul 8th, 2026
Hive raises $15M Pre-Series A.

Hive raises $15M Pre-Series A. Hive raises $15M in a pre-Series A round led by SuperSeed to expand its Physical AI industrial software platform into the US market. Updated July 08, 2026 Hive, a Physical AI startup based in Kristiansand, Norway, has secured $15 million in a pre-Series A funding round. The company specializes in developing a silicon brain designed to operate and retrofit existing industrial machinery, such as forklifts, wheel loaders, and excavators, with advanced neural networks that function like human operators. Investors. The funding round was led by SuperSeed, a London-based venture capital firm focused on Physical AI. Additional participating investors included Veriten, Skyfall, and Nysnø, as well as angel investors Børge Hald and Jørn Lyse Jørn Lyseggen. Hive use of funds. Hive plans to use the capital to increase its technical staff headcount and to fuel its strategic expansion from Europe into the United States market. About Hive. Founded in 2020 by Christoffer Jørgenvåg, Hive is a Physical AI company that builds trainable software designed to serve as a universal brain for industrial equipment. The company's mission is to move beyond traditional automation by creating intelligent, adaptable systems that improve in value and capability over time through real-world operation. Funding details. Company: Hive Raised: $15M Round: Pre-Series A Funding Date: July 7, 2026 Lead Investor: SuperSeed Additional Investors: Veriten, Skyfall, Nysnø, Børge Hald, Jørn Lyseggen Software Category: AI/Robotics Source: https://techfundingnews.com/hive-raises-15m-silicon-brain-industrial-machines/ Updated July 08, 2026

Sifted
Jul 8th, 2026
Hive raises $15m for ‘silicon brain’ that cuts hourly cost of running machines by 80%

Hive, a physical AI startup building a "silicon brain" to automate industrial machines, has raised a $15m pre-Series A round led by SuperSeed.

EU-Startups
Jul 7th, 2026
London-based HIVE raises €13.1 million to build "silicon brain” for industrial machines | EU-Startups

HIVE, a London-based physical AI company building the intelligence layer for industrial machines, today announced a €13.1 million ($15 million) pre-Series