Launch Manager (European Launch Team)

RIVR is a Swiss robotics company pioneering Physical AI and robotic solutions to revolutionize last-mile delivery, giving 1 human the power of 1000. Through the combination of artificial neural networks and innovative robot designs with wheels and legs, RIVR aims to enhance efficiency, sustainability, and scalability in last-mile delivery. Founded as Swiss-Mile, the company rebranded to RIVR in 2025 to better reflect its mission of driving the future of intelligent robotics. Join our innovative team, renowned for pioneering robotic design and neural network applications in robotics that improve environmental understanding and decision-making. With a robust research foundation and notable contributions from ETH Zurich, we are leaders in translating artificial intelligence and robotics into practical, real-world applications.

RIVR is committed to building a diverse and inclusive team that values every perspective. If you’re passionate about driving innovation in robotics and creating meaningful impact, we encourage you to apply and bring your unique self to our team.

Job Description

As the Launch Manager, you will be tasked to oversee our RIVR’s launch operations in Europe. This role is based out of our Zurich site, but requires significant and continuous travel (approximately 50% of the time) to new launch locations to lead the setup of local operations.

Our ideal candidate will be a strong leader with excellent problem-solving skills, a background in autonomous logistics (ideally with a focus on the last mile problem), a deep understanding of business processes, and a commitment to driving continuous improvement. In terms of approach, we are looking for someone who wants to be hands on and work in a dynamic agile way to meet our ambitious goals for deployments and scaling.

Finally, this role is crucial for optimizing our operational workflows, managing resources, and ensuring we meet our goals and satisfy the needs of our partners. This role also offers the opportunity to support our deployments in Switzerland when not travelling.

What you’ll be doing:
• Launch Management: Prepare and manage new deployments across locations, including planning operations, preparing equipment and resources, project management, and testing to support ongoing launches (phase from 0–6 months).
• Operational Process Optimisation: Design, implement, and monitor operational procedures to maximize efficiency, safety, quality, and throughput, identifying and addressing bottlenecks in both field and remote operations.
• Resource Allocation: Manage and allocate all deployment resources, including personnel, shifts/schedules, equipment, and materials, ensuring projects are completed on time and within budget.
• Budget & Financial Oversight: Assist in creating and managing the site operations budget, tracking hours, overtime, and OPEX spends, and identifying cost-saving opportunities to build lean, scalable operations.
• Partner Management: Build and maintain strong relationships with partners, ensuring satisfaction, achieving throughput targets, and meeting all service level agreements (SLAs).
• Logistics: Manage the flow of robots and spare parts to the launch site from RIVR sites and third-party suppliers.
• Data Analysis & Reporting: Collect and analyse operational data to create reports for internal stakeholders, providing insights and recommendations for strategic decisions.
• Safety & Compliance: Ensure all operational activities strictly comply with company policies, industry regulations, and safety standards.
• Transition to steady-state operations: Once the launch is stable and KPIs are met, lead the structured handover to the local Operations Manager, ensuring full knowledge transfer and a smooth transition (phase from 3–6 months).

What you must have:
• Experience: Operations Manager experience in the logistics field and/or autonomous vehicles/fleet management (bonus points for experience in the last mile area).
• Education: Bachelor's Degree or higher.
• Language: Knowledge of basic German and working proficiency in English.
• Driving: Driving license that permits you to drive in Switzerland and Europe.
• Travel: Willingness and ability to travel approximately 50% of the time to global launch sites.

Get some bonus points :
• Experience as a launch manager for robots or autonomous vehicles.
• Experience with operations and autonomous vehicles, specifically in the area of last mile deliveries.

RIVR is committed to building a diverse and inclusive team that values every perspective. If you’re passionate about driving innovation in robotics and creating meaningful impact, we encourage you to apply and bring your unique self to our team.

We believe the best work is done when collaborating and therefore require in-person presence in our office locations.