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Wayve is building an AI platform for autonomous driving using end-to-end learning approaches. This role is a founding manager opportunity to lead a new Application Engineering team focused on localizing and advancing autonomous driving technology for the US market.
You will build and lead a self-sufficient team of engineers working across robotics, machine learning, and systems integration. Your responsibilities include:
- Hiring and mentoring top talent across robotics and ML disciplines
- Delivering autonomy capabilities tailored to US road conditions, driving norms, and regulatory landscape
- Driving full-cycle development from identifying local autonomy needs through design, implementation, testing, and production deployment
- Maintaining Wayve's high engineering standards while operating with agility and independence
- Representing Wayve's autonomy team in technical discussions with OEM partners in the US
- Establishing working relationships with product and vehicle operations teams in the US
- Defining goals, carving out roadmaps, and delivering high-impact work with minimal supervision
This is a startup-like founding role requiring someone who thrives in self-directed environments and can operate across geographically distributed teams. You'll work in close collaboration with central Autonomy teams while maintaining independence in US-specific development.
Wayve operates a hybrid model with main hubs in London, Sunnyvale, Yokohama, Herzliya, Vancouver, and Leonberg. The company is not a mature, fully-structured organization—much of how it works is still being written, and you'll help shape that.
REQUIREMENTS:
Essential:
- Strong background in robotics and autonomy with experience building and deploying systems in real-world environments
- Demonstrated ability to lead and grow high-performing engineering teams, ideally in geographically distributed or independent settings
- Comfort with ambiguity; ability to define goals, carve out roadmaps, and deliver high-impact work with minimal supervision
- Broad technical fluency across software engineering, ML, controls, and systems integration
- Excellent communication skills for conveying technical context and strategic vision across cultures and time zones
- Strong product sense and stakeholder management skills; comfort interfacing directly with OEM customers
Desirable:
- Prior experience in autonomous vehicles or robotic systems operating at scale
- Familiarity with US road environment, driving behavior, or AV regulatory landscape
- Strong foundation in machine learning and its application to real-time decision-making or perception systems
