Technical Business Development 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.

Technical Business Development Manager (OEM / Tier-1 / Technology Partners)

🤝 About our Business Development Team

As a Technical Business Development Manager at Wayve, you’ll play a pivotal role in scaling strategic OEM partnerships across Europe. You’ll own the front end of major RFQ/RFI and pre-nomination activity, shaping how we position our autonomy and automotive software capabilities with customers.

You’ll operate at the intersection of automotive technology and complex commercial partnerships, working closely with Product, Engineering and technical leads to translate technical capabilities into compelling customer outcomes. You’ll have direct exposure to senior customer stakeholders and the opportunity to materially influence commercial momentum in one of Wayve’s priority geographies.

🧠 Your day-to-day

You’ll lead early-stage OEM engagements across Europe, taking opportunities from initial conversations through RFQ/RFI, bid development and pre-nomination phases.

You’ll be equally comfortable running technical deep dives with engineering teams and aligning executives on strategy, risk and deal structure. Internally, you’ll bring together Product, Engineering and Commercial stakeholders to align on positioning, feasibility and priorities. Externally, you’ll translate those inputs into clear customer commitments, proposals and narratives that move opportunities from early discovery through PoC planning and toward nomination.

🧩 What you’ll be working on:

Leading Europe-focused early-stage OEM engagements and driving opportunity strategy from first touch through pre-nomination phases.

Owning RFQ/RFI and bid responses end-to-end, including clarifying requirements, coordinating inputs, managing timelines and delivering high-quality submissions.

Partnering with Product, Engineering and technical leads to develop customer narratives, proposals and supporting materials, including decks, business cases and GTM content.

Presenting confidently to both working-level engineering teams and executive/C-level stakeholders, adapting technical and commercial messaging to the audience.

Operating effectively within a matrix organisation, aligning internal stakeholders on positioning, feasibility and priorities to move opportunities forward.

Translating product and engineering realities into clear customer commitments while supporting opportunities from early discovery through PoC planning and toward nomination.

Acting as a force multiplier across teams by bringing together the right stakeholders, aligning priorities, building conviction around outcomes and accelerating execution against critical goals.

🙌 You should apply if:

You have an automotive and/or automotive software background.

You have a strong understanding of OEM processes and commercial motions, including RFQ/RFI, Tier 1/OEM dynamics, bidding and pre-nomination workflows.

You can understand, translate and credibly present technical materials to both technical and non-technical audiences.

You have demonstrated experience driving cross-functional execution in a matrix organisation, aligning Product, Engineering and Commercial stakeholders.

You’re comfortable operating at the intersection of deep automotive autonomy technology and complex commercial partnering.

Experience working directly with European OEMs and navigating complex enterprise procurement and decision-making environments is a plus.

Experience in an adjacent role such as solutions architecture, technical sales or consulting, combined with a willingness to operate hands-on at a detailed level, is a plus.

Exposure to autonomy/ADAS, software-defined vehicles or related domains is helpful, but not required.

You’re highly adaptable and have the flexibility to travel and attend onsite meetings and events as business needs require.

🌱 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.

This role requires flexibility to travel and attend onsite meetings and events as business needs require.

🔍 The Interview Process:

Our process is clear and respectful of your time:

Initial call / recruiter screen (30 mins)

Competency interviews (Hiring Manager Interview) (45 mins)

Deep-dive interviews (Presentation and Technical Interview) (1 hr, 45 mins)

Final interview (30 mins)

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

What’s in it for you:

• 💰 Salaries benchmarked against the market annually
• 📈 Meaningful equity, sharing in the ownership and long term success of Wayve
• ✈️ Relocation support and visa sponsorship where applicable
• ✅ Hybrid working, core hours and the chance to work hands on in vehicle workshops and labs
• 📚 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

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