Technical Operations Manager

About us     Founded in 2017, Wayve is the leading developer of Embodied AI technology.  Our advanced AI software and foundation models enable vehicles to perceive, understand, and navigate any complex environment, enhancing the usability and safety of automated driving systems. Our vision is to create autonomy that propels the world forward.  Our intelligent, mapless, and hardware-agnostic AI products are designed for automakers, accelerating the transition from assisted to automated driving.  In our fast-paced environment big problems ignite us—we embrace uncertainty, leaning into complex challenges to unlock groundbreaking solutions. We aim high and stay humble in our pursuit of excellence, constantly learning and evolving as we pave the way for a smarter, safer future. At Wayve, your contributions matter.  We value diversity, embrace new perspectives, and foster an inclusive work environment; we back each other to deliver impact.   Make Wayve the experience that defines your career!   The role  We're looking for a Technical Operations Manager to join Wayve's Technical Operations function, acting as the critical bridge between Science, Product, Engineering, and Operations, serving as a key execution partner for OEM customer programs. This role is ideal for someone who thrives in dynamic, high-growth environments and has proven experience translating complex technical strategies into actionable field operations in safety-critical, high-complexity systems. You'll lead critical testing, demonstration, and validation programs across our global operations, spanning roadshows, OEM program support and milestone delivery, and on-road validation activities. You will work cross-functionally to ensure structured feedback loops between field operations and development teams, while also helping ensure customer-grade operational rigor: clear readiness criteria, repeatable execution, and decision-ready reporting for internal leadership and external stakeholders. This role is central to our transformation from an R&D-focused organization to a world-class, delivery-grade commercial AV company that can execute seamlessly with customers and partners. Key responsibilities: Technical and Operations Enablement: Convert high-level program plans into clear, actionable on-road plans in partnership with Fleet Operations leadership, ensuring alignment on scheduling, safety, and operational feasibility across diverse testing requirements, including OEM-specific constraints (ODDs, vehicle variants, hardware/software stacks). Testing and Validation: Lead execution across internal-facing and external-facing programs, coordinating between technical teams and operations to ensure seamless testing and validation execution while maintaining safety protocols and capturing valuable feedback. Ensure plans explicitly define entry/exit criteria and the evidence required for go/no-go decisions. OEM Program Support & Milestone Delivery: Partner with Customer Programs / OEM stakeholders to plan and execute program milestones (e.g., integration validation, demos, acceptance candidates). Drive predictable operating cadence (readiness reviews, test execution, reporting) and ensure rapid alignment across Wayve teams when priorities shift. Cross-Functional Alignment: Act as the connective tissue between model developers, researchers, product teams, and operations, ensuring two-way visibility and structured feedback loops that drive faster iteration on features, releases, and model performance. Operational Readiness: Collaborate closely with Fleet Operations to maintain consistent experiment design, vehicle availability, and process quality across testing programs, ensuring repeatable, high-quality delivery at scale. Continuous Improvement: Partner with Systems and Enablement teams to leverage fleet data, systems, and metrics for collaborative problem-solving and refinement of testing processes and internal tooling, quantifying improvements in operational performance. Innovation in Testing & Evaluation: Proactively brainstorm and explore new experimental methods (e.g., adversarial route selection, edge case testing concepts), fostering a culture of curiosity and bold experimentation to uncover insights that drive novel breakthroughs, including improvements to OEM-grade validation (repeatability, coverage, comparability across platforms). Technical Collaboration: Build strong partnerships with model development teams, combining strategic thinking with practical operational expertise to maximize the value of every test, dataset, and feedback loop in support of commercial objectives. About you    In order to set you up for success as a Technical Operations Lead at Wayve, we’re looking for the following skills and experience.   Essential   Experience supporting or operating within customer/OEM partnership programs (e.g., automotive, robotics, or other regulated/safety-critical partners), including managing m