Manufacturing Program Manager

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 supply chain and manufacturing teams are making the cars of the future a reality. We handle all production processes and supplier strategies: from contracts and assembly, to designs for improved manufacturing, through quality control and delivery. We collaborate actively with Waymo engineering teams as well as external suppliers and partners to make sure everything is built to spec and delivered on time to meet the rising demands of our business. 

We’re looking for a strategic manufacturing program manager to drive our long-term manufacturing and vehicle integration roadmap. Sitting at the crucial junction of Engineering, Supply Chain, and external partners, you will pressure-test experimental concepts, balance capacity, build playbooks for contract manufacturing, and present key initiatives directly to executive stakeholders. Join us to move next-generation vehicle integration from experimental fleets to global production.

This role is an on-site position and will report to the Head of Vehicle Manufacturing Engineering.

You will:

• Drive the long-term manufacturing strategy, leading investigative workstreams to evaluate future production models and partnership frameworks.
• Regularly present to executive stakeholders and cross-functional leadership on the health of manufacturing initiatives and the strategic rationale behind proposed shifts.
• Serve as a key partner to the Head of Vehicle Manufacturing Engineering, pressure-testing new manufacturing concepts, driving optimizations and identifying the critical workstreams needed to move from experimental to production-grade fleets.
• Define and institutionalize standardized playbooks for the vehicle integration lifecycle, ensuring our strategy, IP and quality standards are maintained as we scale with contract manufacturers and partners.
• Oversee a portfolio of high-priority projects, ensuring on-time and on-budget delivery while implementing frameworks to clearly demonstrate business value.
• Lead high-stakes prioritization and alignment between Engineering, Supply Chain, and External Partners to ensure manufacturing readiness for next-generation Waymo Driver technology.

You have:        

• 10+ years of professional experience in automotive program management, manufacturing launch or a closely related field    
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, or a related field    
• Demonstrated expertise in the NPI, Manufacturing launch, strategic planning, product development, systems, and milestones    
• Skilled in defining complex problems, achieving team alignment, and delivering strategic solutions to leadership.    
• Exceptional leadership and communication abilities, including the capacity to overcome obstacles and provide necessary pushback. Able to communicate complex ideas and strategies    
• Proven track record of managing multiple competing priorities and achieving high-quality results in high-pressure environments

We prefer:

• Master's degree in Engineering, MBA, or a related field    
• Exceptional attention to detail and ability to resolve complex program related issues, strong organization skills    
• Demonstrated experience in one or more of the following areas: New Product Introduction, Global Scaling, and/or Manufacturing Operations     
• Strong understanding of manufacturing assembly processes with on the floor experience.     

Travel Requirements:

• Able to travel up to 30% to domestic and global locations