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Salary: USD 70,000 - 90,000 / annual
Via Transportation is seeking an Operations Manager for Autonomous Vehicle Projects to lead daily operations of accessible transit services in the NYC area. This is a high-ownership, field-based role where you'll manage the reliable delivery of transportation services to communities, with an expectation of being onsite several days per week and traveling monthly to services across the United States.
Key Responsibilities:
- Run daily onsite operations of transit services, ensuring fleets operate smoothly and safely with full accessibility compliance.
- Make real-time decisions regarding fleet availability, wheelchair-accessible vehicle (WAV) compliance, rider accessibility needs, and operational issues.
- Convert rider feedback, mobility advocate input, and community insights into tangible operational improvements, addressing accessibility friction points.
- Analyze ridership trends, service performance, and fleet utilization using data and technology to maximize transit efficiency and rider independence.
- Serve as the operational bridge between local partners, safety drivers, third-party operators, and Via central teams.
- Act as primary operational point of contact for Via's autonomous vehicle partners and local operators, maintaining proactive communication.
- Lead driver onboarding and specialized WAV safety/securement training during market visits; build relationships with local disability advocate groups and transit partners.
Requirements:
- Operational experience with background in people management, logistics, customer service, or process-oriented work. Experience with paratransit, non-emergency medical transport, or WAV fleets is a strong plus.
- Relationship-oriented with ability to earn trust from riders, accessibility advocates, teammates, and external partners through empathetic, clear communication and follow-through.
- Hands-on and proactive approach; eager to understand the end-to-end WAV rider journey and solve mobility challenges in the field.
- Capable of triaging live operational issues while building long-term processes that safeguard service quality and accessibility compliance.
- Mission-driven, deeply motivated by expanding equitable transit access.
- Based in the NYC area, able to be onsite and in-office when needed.
