Operations 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.

🛠️ About our Remote Operations & Feature Testing Teams

Our Remote Operations and Feature Testing team is responsible for delivering internal remote operations and feature testing activities. This team focuses on turning testing priorities into safe, practical and executable operational plans. Working across diverse locations and, where required, different countries, we ensure high-quality testing outputs by coordinating team members, vehicles, resources and processes. The team operates in close collaboration with Product, Engineering, Safety, Field Engineering, Fleet Servicing and Maintenance, Training, Systems & Insights, Quality Assurance and other cross-functional partners to align on testing priorities and operational delivery.

🧠 Your day-to-day

Lead the operational delivery of internal Remote Operations and Feature Testing activities

Translate testing priorities and business requirements into clear tactical plans

Plan and coordinate testing activities across different locations and countries

Balance staffing, vehicle availability, shift coverage and testing requirements

Monitor and ensure testing activities are delivered safely, efficiently, and in line with agreed KPIs and standards

Serve as the escalation point for safety concerns, operational risks and serious incidents

Communicate and implement new processes, SOPs, and operational changes

Use data, operational feedback and team input to improve planning, resource utilisation, and delivery

🧩 What you’ll be working on

Line managing the Remote Operations and Feature Testing VSO team by setting clear expectations and supporting their performance, development and wellbeing

Promoting a safety-first culture and ensuring that operational standards are consistently met

Supporting the prioritisation and execution of testing activities, including feature testing and remote support missions

Identifying operational blockers and collaborating with cross-functional teams to resolve them

Supporting the scaling of internal testing operations while maintaining quality and consistency

🙌 You should apply if

You have proven experience in operational management, ideally in automotive testing, fleet operations, logistics or technology operations

You have strong people leadership experience with direct management of operational teams

You’re able to translate high-level priorities into actionable operational plans

You have strong resource and shift planning skills, and are experienced in performance management and operational KPIs

You’re an effective communicator and comfortable working cross-functionally

You possess sound decision-making skills under pressure, with the ability to manage competing priorities

You have a strong safety mindset and experience in controlled or safety-sensitive environments

You work well in dynamic environments and can influence operational priorities across teams

Desirable:

Experience with ADAS, autonomous vehicle testing, automotive development or remote operations

Understanding of vehicle testing, data collection, feature testing or safety driver operations

Experience with VSOs, technicians, field engineers or similar operational teams

Experience planning activities across countries or markets

German language skills or experience working within German operational environments

Experience with Fleetio, Jira, Slack, planning systems or KPI dashboards

🌱 Not ticking every box? That’s totally okay! If you’re passionate about autonomy and keen to learn, we encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet every requirement.

More about Wayve:

🚀 Wayve is building the leading AI platform for autonomous driving. We are pioneering an end to end AI approach that enables vehicles to learn directly from real world experience, developing the ability to adapt, generalise and improve at scale. Instead of relying on hand coded rules or pre mapped environments, our AI Driver learns to drive by understanding the world around it. The result is technology that navigates complex urban environments with intelligence, precision and natural flow, unlocking meaningful advances in both safety and efficiency. We believe autonomy represents a once in a generation transformation in how people and goods move, comparable to the shift from horses to cars, and from human driven vehicles to intelligent machines.

Our ambition is to make autonomy universal. Wayve’s mapless and hardware agnostic AI platform integrates with global OEM partners, enabling continuous software evolution and unlocking advanced levels of automation from L2 plus through to L4 as our core AI model scales. In a race increasingly defined by intelligence and real world learning, Wayve is taking a distinct approach, building a generalisable driving intelligence that can power any vehicle, anywhere. By combining embodied AI with scalable deployment, we are creating technology that can be shaped to each OEM brand and driver experience, accelerating the transition to a safer, more intelligent future of mobility.

How we work 💻- Locations & Flexible Working:

Our main hubs are in London, Sunnyvale, Yokohama, Herzliya, Vancouver and Leonberg. We operate a hybrid working model that combines in-person collaboration in our dedicated office spaces with focused time working remotely. This gives our teams the connection and energy of working together, alongside the flexibility to do their best work in a way that fits their lives.

🔍 The Interview Process:

Our process is clear and respectful of your time:

Initial call / recruiter screen (30 mins)

Competency Interviews (e.g. operational experience and management, 2 hours total)

Deep-dive technical interviews (e.g. planning, risk management, cross-team collaboration; 3 hours total)

Final interview: mission & values alignment (1 hour).

We’ll always explain the format and work around your availability.

What’s in it for you (Location dependent):

• 💰 Salaries benchmarked against the market annually
• 📈 Meaningful equity, sharing in the ownership and long term success of Wayve
• 📚 Learning and development budgets with support for training, conferences and growth
• 🩺 Comprehensive benefits including health insurance, dental, enhanced maternity and paternity leave, retirement or pension where applicable, access to therapists, wellbeing partnerships, team socials and more

Location and working pattern:

This is a full-time role with the primary workplace based in Leonberg, Germany. The standard working pattern is generally Monday to Friday. Flexibility may be required during remote support periods, feature testing activities, incidents or cross-country testing programmes. Occasional travel within Germany and to other European locations may be required to support test execution and team coordination.

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.

At Wayve we're committed to creating a diverse, fair and respectful culture that is inclusive of everyone based on their unique skills and perspectives, and regardless of sex, race, religion or belief, ethnic or national origin, disability, age, citizenship, marital, domestic or civil partnership status, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, pregnancy or related condition (including breastf