Scythe Robotics has added Brian Merkel and Jen Mongeois to its team to help meet the surging demand for its all-electric, fully autonomous commercial mower, Scythe M.52.
Scythe surpassed 5,000 reservations for M.52 from landscape contractors across the United States, and these leaders will play a critical role in fulfilling this demand.
Brian Merkel joins Scythe as head of manufacturing, and Jen Mongeois as head of talent acquisition.
“Brian and Jen bring not only a wealth of experience to their roles but also the energy and drive that will help Scythe deliver game-changing autonomous mowing technology to landscape professionals,” says Jack Morrison, Scythe co-founder and CEO. “We are excited about how our mission is attracting new talent to the landscaping industry. They join a team of dedicated and dynamic engineers, field operators, and customer relationship managers that are eager to transform how we care for our green spaces.”
From Scythe:
Brian Merkel
Brian Merkel, Head of ManufacturingScythe Robotics
Merkel brings an extensive background in scaling production of manufacturing. Merkel comes to Scythe from SpaceX Starlink where he scaled production from an empty building to a manufacturing organization of more than 200 production associates, maintenance personnel and supporting staff that produced 5,000 to 10,000 dishes a week in its first year of operation. Merkel also managed test engineering for Crew and Cargo Dragon capsules and served as a lead manufacturing engineer on the Merlin rocket engines and the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launch vehicles.
“The success of Scythe’s committed reservations count showcases the pent-up demand for this technology in the landscaping industry and demonstrates M.52’s ability to solve contractors’ labor pains,” Merkel says. “These landscaping businesses are eager to transform their operations with our technology. I’m thrilled to leverage my experience to quickly scale production and help support Scythe’s important mission as we bring resources, sustainability, and greater productivity to the green industry.”
Jen Mongeois
Jen Mongeois, Head of Talent AcquisitionScythe Robotics
Mongeois brings to Scythe more than 20 years of expertise in recruiting for technical and non-technical roles across hardware, software, and field operations. Among her prior roles, Jen was lead recruiter at Magic Leap, an enterprise AR technology company, where she hired more than 500 employees in a five-year period. Mongeois also previously led talent acquisition and HR for a freight logistics company, where because of the sophisticated recruiting organization she built and the caliber of talent who joined the team, revenue grew eight-fold over two years.
“It’s really exciting to be part of this growing market, and Scythe’s uniquely collaborative culture,” Mongeois says. “Scythe’s cross-functional team of world-class experts breaks down silos, enabling fast-paced innovation, while its mission attracts passionate talent looking to do meaningful work that has a positive impact on the world. I look forward to contributing to the transformation of the landscape industry and aligning it with the interests and aspirations of the next-generation workforce.”
