Software Quality Operations, Vendor Delivery Lead

About Waymo and the Software Quality Operations Team

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.

The Software Quality Operations team is at the heart of ensuring the safety, reliability, and quality of the Waymo Driver. Our mission is to build an adaptable and scalable operation, increasingly powered by AI, to deliver the crucial insights necessary to confidently deploy and grow Waymo's autonomous vehicle service.

Waymo is experiencing unprecedented growth, rapidly expanding into new cities and launching new vehicle platforms. Software Quality Operations is critical to this expansion, enabling us to scale safely and efficiently. As a Software Quality Operations, Vendor Delivery Lead, you will be responsible for vendor delivery performance & operational reporting for multiple functional areas.

Your Responsibilities as a Software Quality Operations, Vendor Delivery Lead

• Manage recurring and one-off task delivery queues while building and maintaining Standard Operating Procedures
• Define and communicate priorities and resource allocation caps to vendor partners
• Hold partners accountable to SLAs, KPIs, budgets, and contractually committed operational improvements
• Lead short-term and contribute to long-term demand forecasting, capacity planning, and resource allocation
• Identify and execute tool/process improvements to boost efficiency and mitigate risks to timelines or deliverables
• Use technical judgment to drive project delivery, build consensus, and prepare retrospectives, process maps, and other reports for cross-functional stakeholders

What We're Looking For

• BA / BS in technical or business discipline or equivalent experience
• 5+ years leading technical projects and / or teams
• Experience directing a vendor supported operation
• A highly analytical mindset with demonstrated background of creating & defining metrics for a program
• Strong communication and presentation skills - can explain complicated topics and ideas in a clear and concise manner
• Ability to work nights as needed to support critical operations and contribute to offshore business day meetings

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working with fast-paced emerging technologies
• Background in consulting, operations, technology, technical / program management
• Strong data analysis and technical skills; ability to work with Engineers across multiple disciplines
• Moderate proficiency in SQL and understanding of relational databases
• Experience working in a multi-geography environment

Travel Requirements

Up to 5% travel internationally

Compensation and Benefits

The expected base salary range for this full-time position across US locations is $152,000—$192,000 USD. Actual starting pay will be based on job-related factors, including exact work location, experience, relevant training and education, and skill level. Waymo employees are also eligible to participate in Waymo’s discretionary annual bonus program, equity incentive plan, and generous Company benefits program, subject to eligibility requirements.

Key Skills/Competency

• Vendor Management
• Operations Leadership
• Project Delivery
• SLA & KPI Management
• Demand Forecasting
• Capacity Planning
• Process Improvement
• Data Analysis
• SQL Proficiency
• Cross-functional Communication