Director of Communications

Waabi; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 165,000 - 255,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation and equity

Health and Wellness benefits

Unlimited Vacation

Flexible hours and Work from Home

Daily drinks, snacks and catered meals

Team building activities

Evolving perks as we grow

Job summary

Waabi seeks a Director of Communications to build and run our earned media and executive communications. You’ll land meaningful coverage across logistics, tech, and business media, shaping how the market sees Waabi as a physical AI leader, not just another AV company.

You’ll partner with Marketing on blog posts, thought leadership, and executive materials, while managing our communications agency day to day. The role offers a path to leading a team as the company scales.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in communications, PR, or media relations with coverage in tech, business, or logistics press.
• Ability to translate technical work into compelling stories for trade and mainstream media.
• Experience managing external PR agencies with clear performance expectations.
• Experience supporting executive communications – speeches, talking points, bylines, or media training.
• Excellent writing with ability to shape thought leadership in collaboration with product marketing.

Responsibilities

• Own relationships with reporters and editors across logistics, technology, and business media and land placements.
• Ensure external stories reinforce Waabi’s core narrative with technical accuracy and credibility.
• Draft executive communications, speaking materials, and talking points with a consistent voice.
• Collaborate with marketing on blog posts and thought leadership that reflect Waabi’s credibility.
• Manage the external agency day-to-day and hold them to measurable results.
• Maintain guardrails for proof points, terminology, and external claims as the company scales.
• Own internal communications strategy in partnership with leadership and HR.
• Scale the function toward building and leading a small communications team.

Skills

Media relations

Executive communications

Agency management

Thought leadership

Blog writing

Corporate storytelling

Written communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Communications or related field

Job description

Waabi, founded by AI visionary Raquel Urtasun, is the leader in Physical AI. With a world-class team, we’re unlocking the next era of autonomous transportation with technology that’s powering commercial autonomous trucks and robotaxis. Waabi is backed by and partners with world leaders in AI, automotive, logistics, and deep tech.

With offices in Toronto, San Francisco, Dallas, and Pittsburgh, Waabi is growing quickly and looking for diverse, innovative and collaborative candidates who want to impact the world in a positive way. To learn more visit: www.waabi.ai

About the Role

We’re looking for a Director of Communications to build and run Waabi’s earned media and executive communications function. You’ll be the person landing meaningful coverage of Waabi across logistics, technology, and business media - shaping how the market understands a company building AI for the physical world, not just another autonomous trucking company. You’ll partner closely with our Director of Marketing on blog posts, thought leadership, and executive communications, and you’ll manage our communications agency day to day. As the team grows, this role has a clear path to building and leading a communications team.

You will…

• Own relationships with reporters and editors across logistics, technology, and business media; pitch, place, and manage stories that land accurate, positive coverage of Waabi and its partners and customers.
• Ensure every external story reinforces Waabi’s core narrative - grounded in proof, not hype - and helps position Waabi against the right set of peers rather than being pigeonholed as just another AV company.
• Partner with the Director of Marketing and IR to draft executive communications, speaking materials, and talking points that carry a consistent voice across founder and leadership visibility moments.
• Partner with the Director of Marketing to craft compelling blog posts and thought leadership content across logistics, transportation, technology, safety and policy that reflect Waabi’s credibility without overselling it.
• Manage our communications agency’s day-to-day work - briefing, reviewing output, and holding the relationship accountable to results, not just activity.
• Maintain and enforce guardrails on what’s cleared for external use - proof points, terminology, and claims - so communications stay accurate as the company scales.
• Own internal communications strategy in partnership with the Head of People and CEO’s Chief of Staff, building the foundation a future internal comms lead will inherit.
• As volume and scope grow, build the case for and eventually lead a small communications team.

What Success Looks Like:

In your first 6-12 months, you will have:

• Established a consistent narrative and message discipline across press, blog, and executive communications, with a clear point of view on what’s cleared for external use.
• Landed a growing cadence of accurate, positive placements across logistics, technology, and business media that build durable third-party credibility.
• Shipped executive communications and thought leadership content, in partnership with the Director of Marketing, that strengthens leadership’s external voice.
• Brought clear direction and accountability to the communications agency relationship, with measurable improvement in output quality or placement rate.

Qualifications:

• 10+ years in communications, PR, or media relations, with a track record of landing coverage in technology, business, or industrial/logistics trade press
• Proven ability to translate deep technical or scientific work into a compelling, accurate story for both trade and mainstream business media
• Experience managing an external communications or PR agency, including briefing, review, and performance accountability
• Experience supporting executive communications – speeches, talking points, bylines, or media training
• Excellent writer, capable of shaping thought leadership and blog content in partnership with product marketing
• Strong message discipline - comfortable maintaining clearance guardrails on claims, terminology, and proof points as a company’s public narrative matures
• Comfortable operating in a small team, hands-on environment with the expectation of building toward leading a team over time

Bonus/nice to have:

• Experience communicating for a deep-tech, AI, or robotics company transitioning to commercial scale, especially one whose story needs to be actively repositioned against a specific peer set
• Existing relationships with reporters covering logistics, supply chain, transportation technology, or AI
• Experience with a company navigating a narrative shift (e.g., from a narrower category into a broader one)
• Experience in autonomous vehicles, robotics, or physical AI specifically
• Experience building a communications function or team from the ground up
• Open-minded and collaborative team player with the willingness to help others.
• Passionate about self-driving technologies, solving hard problems, and creating innovative solutions.

The US hourly range for this role is: $165,000 - $255,000 USD in addition to competitive perks & benefits. Waabi US Inc.'s yearly salary ranges are determined based on several factors in accordance with the Company’s compensation practices. Note: The Company provides additional compensation for employees in this role, including equity incentive awards and an annual performance bonus.

Perks/Benefits:

• Competitive compensation and equity awards.
• Health and Wellness benefits encompassing Medical, Dental and Vision coverage (for full-time employees only).
• Unlimited Vacation.
• Flexible hours and Work from Home support.
• Daily drinks, snacks and catered meals (when in office).
• Regularly scheduled team building activities and social events both on-site, off-site & virtually.
• As we grow, this list continues to evolve!

Waabi is a technology start-up building technologies to transform the way the world moves. Join our talented team to be a part of the future and to make an impact!

Waabi is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating a supportive, inclusive, and accessible workplace for all our employees. We seek applicants of all backgrounds and identities, across race, color, ethnicity, national origin or ancestry, age, citizenship, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, military or veteran status, marital status, pregnancy or parental status, caregiver status, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law. We make workplace accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities as required by applicable law. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process please let our recruiting team know.