Vice President, Restaurant AI Drive Through & Operations

Ready to be a part of something big? Join our team at SoundHound AI, where AI innovation and real-world impact come together. We unite voice AI, generative AI, and conversational AI to deliver powerful AI solutions that reimagine how people interact with the products and services they rely on. Whether it’s voice-enabling vehicles, streamlining patient journeys, or enhancing customer service, our multilingual, omnichannel AI technology touches the lives of hundreds of millions of people around the world.

Drive‑thru is the single largest transaction channel for most quick‑service restaurants (QSRs). We’ve proven that our AI‑powered drive‑thru ordering solution can reduce service times and increase average check. We’re now scaling those pilots into multi‑market rollouts. The VP of Drive‑Thru will ensure that our solutions achieve operational and guest experience KPIs and drive scaling to more locations—shaping strategy, guiding on‑the‑ground deployments, and ensuring every store hits its KPIs.

In this role, you will:

Lead and Grow the Drive‑Thru Deployment Team

• Manage and mentor a distributed team now comprising US and international team members
• Hire and develop additional program managers, deployment engineers, and field trainers as the business expands.
• Establish team OKRs and professional‑development paths.

Deliver Successful Drive‑Thru Pilots

• Conduct on‑site assessments of proposed pilot restaurants—layout, audio quality, POS/KDS integration, signage, crew workflow—and flag risks that could hinder AI performance.
• Collaborate with clients’ operations leaders to align on pilot KPIs, success criteria, and crew‑training needs.
• Create and execute comprehensive go‑live plans, including on‑site training, end‑to‑end testing, and real‑time performance monitoring.
• Gather live feedback from managers and crew, then translate insights into concrete improvements for our AI Analyst and Product teams.

Scale Rollouts & Continuous Improvement

• Build and run a repeatable restaurant deployment playbook that enables rapid expansion without performance degradation.
• Coordinate timelines and dependencies across client PMs, installers, and our Partnership team (hardware vendors, audio experts, digital‑menu‑board providers).
• Track post‑launch performance at the store level; deep‑dive into outliers, diagnose root causes, and drive remediation plans.

Act as Subject‑Matter Expert & Executive Partner

• Serve as the company’s public face for drive‑thru best practices — advising client C‑suite and operations executives on optimizing process flow, labor models, menu structure, and lane design for AI ordering.
• Provide strategic input to internal Product, Partnerships, Account Management, and Sales teams on market trends and client pain points.

Success Metrics

• On-schedule go-live deployments following SOW execution.
• Pilot KPI attainment rate across new client engagements.
• Expansion to hundreds of restaurant locations following pilot completion.

We would love to hear from you if:

• You have 8+ years leading drive‑thru operations or technology deployments for a respected QSR brand or a top‑tier restaurant‑tech vendor with a drive-thru solution focus.
• You have proven credibility as a client‑facing consultant or executive liaison.
• You have a track record of managing multi‑site pilot programs and scaling them into enterprise‑wide rollouts.
• You have prior experience recruiting, leading, and coaching cross‑functional field or implementation teams.
• You have a deep understanding of drive‑thru operations workflows, audio systems, POS/KDS integrations, and service‑time analytics.
• You have excellent project‑management chops—able to juggle dozens of locations, vendors, and stakeholders simultaneously.
• You have strong analytical and communication skills; comfortable presenting to C‑suite and frontline crews alike.
• You have experience building teams.

We'd be especially excited if you have:

• Familiarity with deployment of solutions that utilize conversational AI.
• Exposure to international QSR markets and multilingual operations.
• Certifications such as Six Sigma, PMP, or equivalent operations credentials.

Travel

• Willing and able