Customer Program Manager

Wayve; Leonberg; Hybride; EUR 90 000 - 130 000; Plein temps

Avantages offerts par ce poste

Hybrid working

Relocation support and visa where/app

Equity / long-term incentives

Health insurance & pension

Résumé du poste

Wayve, a leading AI platform for autonomous driving, seeks a Customer Program Manager for our Germany-based team in Leonberg. You will lead end-to-end programs with OEMs, translating customer needs into the internal development roadmap and milestones.

You’ll collaborate with Product, R&D and other teams to guide embodied AI initiatives, manage risks, and ensure timely delivery while maintaining strong customer relationships.

Qualifications

• Extensive program management experience in complex automotive software development.
• Proficient in utilising program management tools (e.g., Jira) to optimise workflow.
• Robust technical expertise with comprehensive knowledge of the automotive industry and software development.
• Proactive problem-solving mindset.

Responsabilités

• Lead cross-functional teams in executing complex customer programs and achieve objectives.
• Establish and maintain a comprehensive project management framework with planning, risk and change management.
• Engage with customers to understand and address their technical requirements.
• Translate customer demands into actionable technical requirements with Product and R&D teams.
• Ensure external and internal reporting is accurate and timely.
• Coordinate with internal development to align milestones with customer needs.
• Provide first-level support to customers.

Connaissances

Program management

Jira

Automotive software

Problem-solving

Communication

Cross-functional collaboration

Willingness to travel

Formation

Master’s degree in Engineering or Computer Science

Outils

Jira

Description du poste

Before the detail, here’s the challenge you’d help us solve.

We build the embodied intelligence that moves real vehicles safely, and the ecosystem a billion machines will run on in the future. Very few people in AI can say this. Every role here, whatever the team, plugs into that.

Here’s what this particular role covers.

About our Program Management Teams

We’re seeking an exceptional Customer Program Manager to join our Germany-based team focused on localising and advancing Wayve’s autonomous driving technology for the German market. This is a unique opportunity to play a hands‑on role in shaping our AV capabilities in Germany from the ground up.

Your day-to-day

• Lead cross‑functional teams in executing complex customer programs, ensuring the successful achievement of program objectives.

• Establish and maintain a comprehensive project management framework, including project planning, risk management, change management, and task coordination.

• Engage with customers to understand and address their technical requirements and needs.

• Collaborate closely with teams across Product, R&D, and other departments to translate customer demands into clear, actionable technical requirements.

• Ensure efficient reporting both externally to customers and internally within the organisation.

• Work closely with internal development teams to align customer requirements with internal milestone planning and execution.

• Provide first‑level support to customers, ensuring their needs are met promptly and effectively.

What you’ll be working on

In this role, you will be responsible for leading and overseeing programs with OEM customers, spanning from early‑stage advanced development initiatives to full‑scale production programs. You will collaborate closely with the customer to define and manage project plans, ensuring that requirements are seamlessly integrated into the internal development pipeline and delivered on schedule. A deep understanding of the automotive industry and the development of embodied AI systems is essential to effectively guide these programs, identify and report potential risks, and implement a robust change management. You will be at the forefront of delivering meaningful impact to real‑world customers.

You should apply if

Essential

• Extensive program management experience in complex automotive software development.

• Proficient in utilising program management tools (e.g., Jira) to optimise workflow efficiency and ensure seamless project execution.

• Robust technical expertise with comprehensive knowledge of the automotive industry and software development.

• A proactive problem‑solving mindset.

• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills.

• Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively across multidisciplinary teams.

• Willingness to travel as needed.

Desirable

• Knowledge of current AI advancements, including Generative AI, AV 2.0, and Large Language Models (LLMs).

• Hands‑on experience in software development (Python, C++, Rust, …).

• A Master’s degree in Engineering or Computer Science.

Not ticking every box? That’s totally okay! If you’re passionate about autonomy and keen to learn, we encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet every requirement.

More about Wayve:

Wayve is building the leading AI platform for autonomous driving. We are pioneering an end to end AI approach that enables vehicles to learn directly from real world experience, developing the ability to adapt, generalise and improve at scale. Instead of relying on hand coded rules or pre mapped environments, our AI Driver learns to drive by understanding the world around it. The result is technology that navigates complex urban environments with intelligence, precision and natural flow, unlocking meaningful advances in both safety and efficiency. We believe autonomy represents a once in a generation transformation in how people and goods move, comparable to the shift from horses to cars, and from human driven vehicles to intelligent machines.

Our ambition is to make autonomy universal. Wayve’s mapless and hardware agnostic AI platform integrates with global OEM partners, enabling continuous software evolution and unlocking advanced levels of automation from L2 plus through to L4 as our core AI model scales. In a race increasingly defined by intelligence and real world learning, Wayve is taking a distinct approach, building a generalisable driving intelligence that can power any vehicle, anywhere. By combining embodied AI with scalable deployment, we are creating technology that can be shaped to each OEM brand and driver experience, accelerating the transition to a safer, more intelligent future of mobility.

How we work - Locations & Flexible Working:

Our main hubs are in London, Sunnyvale, Yokohama, Herzliya, Vancouver and Leonberg. We operate a hybrid working model that combines in‑person collaboration in our dedicated office spaces with focused time working remotely. This gives our teams the connection and energy of working together, alongside the flexibility to do their best work in a way that fits their lives.

The Interview Process:

Our process is clear and respectful of your time:

• Initial call / recruiter screen (30 mins)

• Competency Interviews [Experience conversation with Hiring Manager, 60mins]

• Deep‑dive technical interviews [Automotive Product, 60mins, Program Management & Cross Functional Collaboration, 60mins]

• Final interview : [Mission & Values alignment, 30mins].

We’ll always explain the format and work around your availability.

What’s in it for you (Location dependant):

• Salaries benchmarked against the market annually
• Meaningful equity, sharing in the ownership and long term success of Wayve
• Relocation support and visa sponsorship where applicable
• Hybrid working, core hours and the chance to work hands on in vehicle workshops and labs
• Learning and development budgets with support for training, conferences and growth
• Comprehensive benefits including health insurance, dental, enhanced maternity and paternity leave, retirement or pension where applicable, access to therapists, wellbeing partnerships, team socials and more

A quick, honest note before you apply.

Wayve is not a mature, fully-structured place with the playbook already written. Much of how we work is still being written, and if you join, you’ll help write it. That suits people who want real ownership more than people who need a settled structure from day one.

If that sounds like the kind of problem you want to spend your time on, we’d really like to hear from you.

At Wayve we’re committed to creating a diverse, fair and respectful culture that is inclusive of everyone based on their unique skills and perspectives, and regardless of sex, race, religion or belief, ethnic or national origin, disability, age, citizenship, marital, domestic or civil partnership status, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, pregnancy or related condition (including breastfeeding) or any other basis as protected by applicable law.

For more information visit Careers at Wayve. To learn more about what drives us, visit Values at Wayve

DISCLAIMER: We will not ask about marriage or pregnancy, care responsibilities or disabilities in any of our job adverts or interviews. However, we do look to capture information about care responsibilities, and disabilities among other diversity information as part of an optional DEI Monitoring form to help us identify areas of improvement in our hiring process and ensure that the process is inclusive and non-discriminatory.