Figure AI Hires Night-Shift Robot Coordinator
The Santa Clara robotics startup is recruiting a contract-to-hire coordinator to oversee its humanoid robots during overnight operations.
Updated on Nov. 10, 2026 in Robotics
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Figure AI is hiring a night-shift coordinator in Santa Clara to schedule and coach the team that runs its humanoid robots, troubleshoot failures and safety issues, and sometimes operate the machines. The contract-to-hire role pays $40 to $45 an hour for a 10:30 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift that includes weekends.
Why it matters
Figure is seeking to keep its robots running for real commercial use cases overnight, a sign that humanoid machines are moving toward continuous operation rather than demonstration. The hiring comes as investment in robotics and physical AI accelerates sharply across the sector.
The night-shift coordinator role pays $40 to $45 an hour and requires lifting equipment up to 50 pounds. Robotics and physical AI investment reached $33.4 billion in the first half of 2026, already exceeding the $28.7 billion raised across all of 2025.
The players
Figure AI
A Silicon Valley robotics startup developing humanoid robots for commercial work, founded in 2022 and reported to be valued at $39 billion.
The details
The coordinator schedules and coaches the operations team, troubleshoots robot failures and safety issues, and sometimes operates the machines. Figure is also seeking humanoid robot operators to test and validate new behaviors and skills.
Timeline
Figure was founded in 2022.
Figure announced a $39 billion valuation after a $1 billion Series C round around late 2024 to early 2025.
Investors put $33.4 billion into robotics and physical AI companies in the first half of 2026.
Industry Dynamics
Investment in robotics and physical AI rose from just under $5 billion in 2020 to $28.7 billion in 2025, and reached $33.4 billion in the first half of 2026 alone. Figure's overnight staffing push signals the sector shifting from funding rounds toward running machines in daily commercial use.
For workers, the role offers $40 to $45 an hour on a contract-to-hire basis with overnight and weekend shifts. For the public, it signals that humanoid robots are moving toward unattended commercial work, which may affect how and where such machines appear in daily settings.
The takeaway
Investment in robotics has grown fast enough that the next question is staffing and reliability: who keeps the machines working when no one is watching. Job seekers weighing similar roles should compare contract-to-hire terms, shift length, and physical demands before accepting.
Further reading
For more on the machines behind the hiring, see Robotics coverage in Santa Clara.
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Do you think robots taking over physical work will make your job harder to keep?
