Hardware Operations Manager

About AirGarage

AirGarage is on a mission to bring real estate online, starting with parking.

We replace broken parking machines, fragmented software, and manual, labor-intensive operations with a unified, data-rich operating system for parking real estate. We handle everything it takes to run and optimize a parking asset: payments, dynamic pricing, enforcement, license plate recognition, analytics, and more.

By building all of our technology in-house, we are able to deliver a magical experience for drivers while providing real-time visibility and revenue increases of 20-50% or more for real estate owners. That’s why national real‑estate leaders like Hines and Greystar, as well as technology companies like Meta, partner with AirGarage to optimize their parking facilities.

AirGarage uses datapoints like real-time occupancy, local events, weather, driver behavior, competitor pricing, and more to bring true intelligence to real estate owners’ assets for the first time.

We’re investing aggressively to make the physical world legible to a digital system: cameras, sensors, and software that generate a firehose of real-time data about the world around us. That data fuels models and algorithms that allow us to optimize performance at each property while giving owners the clarity and control they’ve never had before.

Before you can optimize an asset, you need to observe it. Before you can observe it, you need to bring it online.

We are starting with the $131 billion US parking real estate market because it is one of the most offline and mismanaged commercial real estate asset types. 26% of the land area in the median American urban core is dedicated to parking.

We are backed by top tier investors including Headline Growth, Andreessen Horowitz, Floodgate, Founders Fund, Abstract Ventures, and angel investors who have founded or worked at companies like Uber, Opendoor, Flexport, and more.
Want to learn more about AirGarage and the problem we're tackling?
Check out these podcasts:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AU0NkDK51E4
https://youtu.be/_8aM6NQHYiE?si=p5WIujBWUA1sG-b7

THE ROLE 👋

The Hardware Ops Manager will be the air traffic controller for every physical touchpoint of AirGarage’s hardware programs.

You’ll coordinate the deployment and maintenance of our hardware systems (including license plate recognition units, occupancy tracking camera systems, digital access solutions, and more) by partnering with vendors, field engineers, and internal teams for each new facility we launch.

This will involve managing stakeholder expectations when there is a backlog of issues across dozens of sites nationwide.

Think of it as being the general manager for field hardware: one moment you’re reserving a boom lift in Boston, the next you’re getting posts installed in a surface lot in Vegas. If turning complex moving parts into a crisp, repeatable playbook gets you fired up, you’ll thrive here.

This role sits at the intersection of hardware deployment, field operations, vendor management, and partner success. It demands meticulous planning, lightning-fast problem solving, and clear, confident communication so our partners experience flawless, data-rich parking operations from day one.

HOW YOU’LL MAKE AN IMPACT 🧠

1. Deploy & Sustain License Plate Recognition Systems Nationwide

   • Own the master schedule of all Tripwire (our made-in-house LPR system) installs, repairs, and upgrades ensuring every site is scoped and staffed with the right gear and people.

   • Manage budgets, purchase orders, and on-the-fly logistics (flights, rental equipment, supply runs) to keep costs down and timelines tight.

2. Launch Third-Party Occupancy Cameras

   • Coordinate vendors through site surveys, camera-position planning, and infrastructure prep so every device captures accurate occupancy data day and night.

   • Build vendor relationships that turn one-off installers into trusted long term partners.

3. Close the Hardware Feedback Loop

   • Funnel field insights back to our Hardware R&D team in order to suggest improvements.

   • Champion continuous improvement so every new hardware iteration is more reliable, easier to install, and more cost-effective than the last.

4. Implement Digital Access Solutions

   • Lead the rollout of our facility access hardware to provide seamless digital entry and exit at AirGarage facilities.

   • Coordinate gate repairs and new hardware installs, and establish a preventive maintenance cadence to keep every access system online and secure for drivers.

WHAT YOU WILL DO 📋

• Plan & Schedule Installs and Repairs

  • Maintain a living, highly visible calendar of hardware deployments and fixes; share status updates early and often with Engineering, Ops, Sales, and Partner Success.

  • Lead and support a small but growing installation team, with a focus on smart hiring, effective execution, and team development.

  • Generate detailed Scopes of Work and installation checklists so every stakeholder knows who’s doing what, when, and with which resources.

• Drive On-Site Execution

  • Coordinate with internal or external installers in real time to track progress, gather photos/videos, and unblock issues before they derail timelines.

  • Enforce rigorous documentation such as Field Maintenance Logs, photo libraries, and post-install artifacts so we always have a single source of truth.

• Optimize Processes & Tooling

  • Spin up 3rd party deployments for minor field repairs; track suspected Tripwire degradation and dispatch fixes proactively.

  • Iterate on playbooks, SOPs, and dashboards that improve install velocity, consistency, and data quality across hundreds of parking facilities.

• Partner & Vendor Management

  • Act as the primary point of contact for property owners, regional ops teams, and third-party vendors throughout each deployment.

  • Negotiate timelines, set expectations, and ensure every stakeholder walks away impressed with AirGarage’s professionalism and rigor.

• Build & Lead a growing Organization

  • Although small now, this team will 10x in size over the next 24 months. You will be at the heart of this growth and need to excel in managing competing priorities, organization and mentoring your team.

  • Act with a CEO mindset of the internal company that you now operate. Ability to focus on short, medium and long term goals concurrently.

WHAT YOU NEED ✅

• A track record of juggling complex logistics—budgets, travel, equipment rentals—without dropping the ball.

• 3+ years of project management or field operations experience deploying hardware at scale (PropTech, IoT, telecom, or similar preferred).

• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills; you turn technical jargon into plain-English updates anyone can act on.

• Proficiency with cloud-based project-tracking, documentation, and collaboration tools (we live in G-Suite, Slack, Django, JobNimbus, and others).

• Fiercely proactive and assertive—you spot blockers before others do and rally teams to solve them fast.

• Bonus if you have a high-level technical intuition—you don’t need to design a PCB, but you can talk voltage, PoE, and network uplinks with engineers and installers alike.

• Ability to travel up to 25% to validate installs, audit vendor workmanship, and build relationships face-to-face. Opportunity to travel more than 25% is available.

IMPORTANT NOTE 🚨

AirGarage is a remote-first company, but we also value in-person collaboration to strengthen trust and teamwork. Team members should expect ~6 weeks of travel per year for:

• 2–3 full company offsites, “Remote Weeks”

• Lending a hand to support 2 new location launches

• In-person onboarding as well as supporting other onboarding sessions for new team members

The rest of the year, team members can work remotely from wherever (US time zones) they’re most comfortable as long as they are performing well in their role. Attendance at in-person events throughout the year is expected—if you’re not open to traveling ~6 weeks per year for work, this role isn’t a good fit for you.

THE UPSIDE 📈

• 📈 Equity: Have a stake in the business that you’re helping to build and grow.

• 🌴 Work remotely: Live and work wherever you like! We believe in folks working where they are happiest and most productive. We currently hire teammates that are located anywhere within North America.

• 🏥 Health insurance: We offer health insurance and currently cover 85% of the cost of medical, dental, and vision plans for the primary employee and 50% of the cost of plans for dependents.

• 🍼 Parental Leave: We offer 12 weeks of fully paid parental leave to all parents to bond with a newly born, adopted, or fostered child. The 12 weeks can be taken as a continuous leave or intermittently over the first 18 months of the child's life.

• 💻 Home office setup: Get a laptop + additional equipment needed to set you up for success.

• ⛺ Time to recharge: We have an unlimited PTO policy with a minimum requirement of 10 days per year.

• 🤑 401k: Make financial planning right for you with a 401k retirement savings program.

• ✈️ Team Off-sites: ~2 times per year our team comes together for a full week in places like Tahoe, Puerto Vallarta, San Diego, and Austin.

• 📚 BookGarage: Our team loves to learn and grow together so join us for our optional recurring book club.

• 🪴Room to grow:  Our team will be orders of magnitude larger within a few years, as a part of our foundational team you'll have opportunities to grow with us.

• 🏙️ Transform our cities: The opportunity to change the way that the world thinks about real estate use in our cities.

• 👐 Work with a diverse team: At AirGarage, we've always been committed to building a thriving team that represents the communities we serve. Our team is currently 40% female and 30%+ from underrepresented communities.

We understand that there's no such thing as a 'perfect' candidate. We're looking for someone passionate, with grit and determination, who is excited to face the challenges of a rapidly growing startup. AirGarage is the type of company where you can grow exponentially, and we encourage you to apply to us even if you don't 100% match the candidate description.

AirGarage is an Equal Opportunity Employer.  We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.  Candidates and employees are always evaluated based on merit, qualifications, and performance.  We will never discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, national origin, ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, martial status, mental or physical disability, or any other legally protected status.