UK Operations Lead

Waymo

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. Building a Regional Headquarters: You aren't just managing a team; you are building the "Waymo UK" organization. This includes hiring and mentoring the next generation of UK-based operations, safety, and policy leads. Influence on Global Product Roadmap: As the "Voice of the UK," you will have a seat at the table with Waymo’s Executives and Engineering, directly influencing how the next Generations Waymo Driver is designed for non-US environments. In this hybrid role, you will report to the Director of Operations, Head of Europe Operations. You will: - Strategic Leadership & Execution: Defines and drives the UK operational road map, ensuring local growth aligns with Waymo’s global objectives and long-term expansion strategy. - Safety & Operational Health: Holds end-to-end accountability for regional safety standards, service reliability, and maintaining high levels of customer trust. - Market Entry & Scaling: Leads the "launch-to-scale" life-cycle, ensuring operational readiness, partner capabilities, and disciplined execution during UK market entry. - Stakeholder & Partner Management: Serves as the primary UK representative to regulators and community leaders while managing vendor performance and regional governance. - Cross-Functional Integration: Acts as the central hub connecting regional operations with global product, engineering, and safety teams to streamline enterprise-wide goals. - Financial & Talent Oversight: Manages regional budgets and cost efficiencies while mentoring leadership talent to foster a culture of accountability and excellence. You have: - Senior Operational Leadership in Transportation or related field: 10+ years of experience leading large scope multi-facility operations, technology,in or logistics at a senior level. - UK Market Entry Expertise: A proven track record of successfully launching and scaling large-scale operations specifically within the UK market. - Safety & Regulatory Management: Demonstrated experience managing safety-critical environments and navigating complex regulatory landscapes or strategic partnerships. - Governance & Performance Metrics: Expertise in defining KPIs, establishing governance structures, and setting clear operational priorities. - Technical & Field Integration: Proven ability to bridge the gap between engineering/product development and on-the-ground field teams. - Financial & Talent Oversight: Advanced proficiency in P&L management and budget oversight, paired with a history of building and mentoring high-performing leadership teams. We prefer: - Autonomous Vehicle Sector Knowledge: Direct experience in the AV industry or emerging mobility technology, providing a head start on technical and safety nuances. - An MBA or an advanced degree in Engineering, Logistics, or a related field from a leading institution. - Multi-Market Expansion: Experience scaling operations in the UK market. - Continuous Improvement Lean Six Sigma Greenbelt or above or similar certification level. - Agile Methodology: Familiarity with agile product development cycles to better integrate with engineering and software teams. The expected base salary range for this full-time position 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. 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. Salary Range £118,000 - £124,000 GBP