Program Manager, Vehicle Platform Scaling
waymo · Mountain View, CA, USA; San Francisco, CA, USA ·
- Work mode
- Hybrid
- Employment
- Full time
- Category
- Project management
- Experience
- 5+ years
- Salary
- USD 159,000 – 196,000 / year
Program Manager at Waymo leading market expansion launches for the autonomous Waymo Driver — owning plans, critical paths, and cross-functional deliverables across Product, Engineering, GTM, Legal, and Operations. Requires 5+ years of complex program management experience; hybrid work in the Bay Area.
Waymo is an autonomous driving technology company with the mission to be the world's most trusted driver. Since its start as the Google Self-Driving Car Project in 2009, Waymo has focused on building the Waymo Driver—The World's Most Experienced Driver™—to improve access to mobility while saving thousands of lives now lost to traffic crashes. The Waymo Driver powers Waymo’s fully autonomous ride-hail service and can also be applied to a range of vehicle platforms and product use cases. The Waymo Driver has provided over ten million rider-only trips, enabled by its experience autonomously driving over 100 million miles on public roads and tens of billions in simulation across 15+ U.S. states.
Waymo’s Technical Program Managers and Program Managers are accountable for Waymo’s roadmap execution by providing thoughtful cross-functional planning, clarity, and proactive risk management. In the face of complex technical and operational challenges with no established playbooks to follow, we act with thoughtful urgency, driving conversations, discussions, and outcomes. Our team partners closely with every function of Waymo to structure, own and drive work towards real-world deployments of the Waymo Driver across platforms and geographies.
This role follows a hybrid work schedule and reports to the Program Manager Lead, Commercialization and Expansion.
You will:
- Lead and launch expansion programs for new markets and new horizontal / vertical capabilities, with a focus on new vehicle platform launches
- Drive and own plans and critical path for launch activities, from early testing to full public launch
- Orchestrate deliverables, scope and timelines across internal teams including Product, Engineering TPMs, Operations, GTM, UX Research, Regulatory Legal / Policy, and Operations to align on clear commercial launch plans and rider readiness criteria
- Establish new or improve existing workflows and repeatable playbooks to build a strong foundation for the org to grow and scale, specifically across multiple vehicle generations
- Proactively identify and reduce both short- and long-term business-critical risks and dependencies; resolve bottlenecks using data, operational metrics and cross-functional teams to drive solutions
- Communicate program status effectively and deliver regular reporting to maintain clear alignment across both working teams and executive leadership
You have:
- 5+ years of experience in Program Management with a track record of leading complex, cross-functional commercial launches from conception to scale
- Experience driving large, multi-disciplinary launch programs with a holistic understanding across technical and business functions to deliver cohesive end-to-end outcomes
- Demonstrated success in an innovative, fast-paced environment, characterized by excellent problem-solving and analytical skills, a growth mindset, and the ability to navigate ambiguity with a strong sense of independence and ownership.
- Clear verbal and written communication, alongside the ability to navigate ambiguity and drive decision-making in a fast-paced environment
- Strong leadership skills to manage both upstream and downstream dependencies. Proven ability to effectively connect and influence a wide variety of audiences, from engineers, to operations teams, to senior executives
We prefer:
- Experience designing and managing dogfood, early adopter, and/or commercial launch programs for complex consumer hardware products
- Expertise in external partner engagement and market expansion (e.g. scale, commercialization)
- Domain knowledge across the autonomous vehicle, automotive, ride-hailing, or mobility industries, including familiarity with physical fleet operations and regulatory permitting
- Experience scaling businesses
- Experience launching in national and international markets
The expected base salary range for this full-time position across US locations is listed below. Actual starting pay will be based on job-related factors, including exact work location, experience, relevant training and education, and skill level. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for the role location or, if the role can be performed remote, the specific salary range for your preferred location, during the hiring process.
Waymo employees are also eligible to participate in Waymo’s discretionary annual bonus program, equity incentive plan, and generous Company benefits program, subject to eligibility requirements.