Critical Incident Response Lead - Ops & Safety

Waymo; Arizona; Hybrid; USD 159,000 - 196,000; Full time

Job summary

Waymo, an autonomous driving technology company, seeks a senior operations leader based in Phoenix, AZ, to own high-priority safety escalations and drive rapid, coordinated responses with local leadership, Engineering, and Safety.

You will lead response actions, ensure business continuity, and publish authoritative updates to executives while guiding shift teams and post-incident reviews.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in high-pressure operational environments such as network operations, aviation, emergency response, or critical infrastructure.
• Mastery in real-time critical thinking and de-escalation, with the emotional intelligence to prioritize safety and operational continuity.
• Exceptional verbal and written skills, with the ability to provide authoritative direction to cross-functional teams and deliver concise briefings to executive leadership.
• Experience with workflow management tools, escalation systems, and knowledge management practices.
• Bachelor's degree, or 4+ years of work experience in related fields as substitute.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary operations leader and escalation point for high-priority safety and operational issues.
• Make real-time, safety-driven judgment calls regarding fleet and rider issues to protect the community and public.
• Resolve complex situations under pressure by balancing risk, safety, and operational continuity.
• Partner with local leadership, Engineering, and Safety to direct immediate response actions and ensure business continuity.
• Lead Operations teams in swift execution of escalation pathways and response plans.
• Collaborate in post-incident reviews to capture root causes, corrective actions, and lessons learned.
• Translate findings into updated policies, workflows, and playbooks to strengthen future responses.
• Proactively identify recurring trends and propose improvements to operational systems and processes.
• Lead daily shift and weekly reporting for notable events and provide feedback to product/quality teams.
• Standardize escalation frameworks and decision playbooks to ensure consistency across markets and partners.
• Maintain in-house technical knowledge retention and ensure compliance with safety standards.
• Coordinate product releases with vendor teams and manage change management and performance tracking for new capabilities.
• Model composure and decisive leadership during escalations and mentor frontline teams.

Skills

High-pressure operations

Real-time decision making

Executive communication

Data analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Workflow management tools

Escalation systems

Job description

Waymo, an autonomous driving technology company, seeks a senior operations leader based in Phoenix, AZ, to own high-priority safety escalations and drive rapid, coordinated responses with local leadership, Engineering, and Safety.

You will lead response actions, ensure business continuity, and publish authoritative updates to executives while guiding shift teams and post-incident reviews.