Material Program Manager

Before the detail, here's the challenge you'd help us solve.

We build the embodied intelligence that moves real vehicles safely, and the ecosystem a billion machines will run on in the future. Very few people in AI can say this. Every role here, whatever the team, plugs into that.

Here’s what this particular role covers.

The role

The Purchasing Manager (Japan) is responsible for end-to-end materials execution for Wayve’s autonomous vehicle and hardware programs in Japan. This includes materials procurement, supplier coordination, CTB readiness, material receiving, secure storage, and outbound shipping, in close partnership with Engineering, Operations, and the global Supply Chain team.

This role ensures that materials flow efficiently from suppliers through receipt, storage, and delivery to workshops or vehicle upfitting locations, while maintaining visibility, cost control, and compliance. The role operates in a fast-paced, Agile environment and plays a critical part in taking early-stage hardware development toward scalable execution.

Key Responsibilities

Materials Program Ownership & Execution

Own and manage materials programs enabling Wayve’s autonomous vehicle and hardware development in Japan

Drive execution across procurement, receiving, storage, and shipping to meet aggressive program milestones

Identify and manage dependencies and blockers across multi-disciplinary teams to ensure smooth materials flow

Materials Procurement & CTB Readiness

Own materials procurement activities in coordination with sourcing and purchasing teams

Drive and manage the CTB (Clear to Build) process with suppliers, contract manufacturers, workshop teams, and internal stakeholders

Ensure clear visibility into procurement strategy, material availability, lead times, and build readiness

Support supplier negotiations on pricing, availability, and scale readiness

Supplier & Partner Management

Work closely with Engineering to onboard, set up, and manage suppliers and partners within the Japanese market

Own tracking of supplier progress, deliverables, and handoffs

Build strong working relationships with suppliers across a broad range of industries

Support escalation management and issue resolution, acting as the primary local point of contact

Materials Receiving, Storage & Shipping

Coordinate and oversee material receiving in Japan, ensuring accuracy, traceability, and proper documentation

Manage secure storage of high-value, long-lead-time materials, including inventory tracking and access controls

Coordinate outbound shipping of materials to workshops, vehicle upfitting locations, or other Wayve sites

Work with local Japanese logistics and customs requirements and internal teams to ensure compliant and timely shipments

Engineering Collaboration & Design Support

Partner with Engineering, Operations, and Product teams to embed strong engineering and manufacturing practices

Support design-for-manufacturing and design-for-scale decisions

Help guide early-stage designs toward scalable, cost-effective production solutions

Cross-Functional Coordination & Communication

Act as a central point of coordination across Engineering, Supply Chain, Operations, and external partners

Drive alignment and decision-making across stakeholders with competing priorities

Clearly communicate risks, tradeoffs, and decisions to both working-level teams and leadership

Success Metrics

On-time materials procurement and readiness aligned to program milestones

Clear CTB visibility with reduced last-minute procurement escalations

Accurate material receiving, storage, and inventory tracking

Reliable and compliant outbound shipping execution

Improved cost visibility and supplier execution

Essential Qualifications

Experience bringing newly developed products to scale through supplier and partner relationships

Strong project or program management experience with the ability to influence across teams

Experience coordinating materials procurement, receiving, storage, and shipping

Professional proficiency in English and Japanese (written and verbal)

Knowledge of Japanese logistics, import/export regulations, and local business etiquette

Ability to perform cost analysis and support negotiations

Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills

Comfortable working in an Agile environment with aggressive timelines

This is a full-time role based in our offices in either Tokyo or Yokohama. At Wayve we want the best of all worlds so we operate a hybrid working policy that combines time together in our offices and workshops to fuel innovation, culture, relationships and learning, and time spent working from home. We operate core working hours so you can determine the schedule that works best for you and your team.

A quick, honest note before you apply.

Wayve is not a mature, fully-structured place with the playbook already written. Much of how we work is still being written, and if you join, you’ll help write it. That suits people who want real ownership more than people who need a settled structure from day one.

If that sounds like the kind of problem you want to spend your time on, we’d really like to hear from you.