Engineering & Hardware Category Manager

Waymo LLC; Mountain View (CA); Hybrid; USD 159,000 - 196,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus program

Equity incentives

Company benefits

Job summary

Waymo LLC is seeking a senior procurement leader to drive the Enterprise Outsourcing & Services vertical, partnering with executives to scale the Waymo Driver program across engineering, hardware, and corporate functions.

You will develop procurement strategies for Engineering Services and R&D hardware, manage a high-volume outsourced workforce, and negotiate MSAs, NREs, and complex SOWs to ensure timely, cost-effective delivery while protecting IP and security postures.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of strategic procurement experience with focus on Engineering Services, R&D, or Hardware sourcing.
• Experience negotiating with Tier 1 engineering service providers and complex MSAs/NREs.
• Proven ability to draft and negotiate complex professional services SOWs and hardware agreements.
• Strong financial acumen with Total Cost of Ownership analyses for hardware/engineering programs.
• Experience managing high-velocity sourcing events for unreleased technologies.
• Knowledge of IP and cybersecurity considerations in engineering and hardware contracts.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute procurement strategy for Engineering Services and R&D Hardware.
• Manage high-volume outsourcing pipeline; negotiate long-term commercial and IP terms.
• Structure and negotiate SOWs and NREs for hardware development.
• Optimize JDM/ODM relationships for hardware components and logistics.
• Lead make vs. buy analyses and influence engineering requirements for value.
• Partner with Legal to ensure IP/security standards in all agreements.

Skills

Strategic procurement

Engineering Services

R&D sourcing

Hardware sourcing

Contract negotiations

SOWs & NRE

Vendor management

Financial analysis

Make vs buy analyses

Cross-functional collaboration

Tools

Ariba P2P

e-sourcing

Spend Analysis

Job description

Waymo is an autonomous driving technology company with the mission to be the world's most trusted driver. Since its start as the Google Self-Driving Car Project in 2009, Waymo has focused on building the Waymo Driver—The World's Most Experienced Driver™—to improve access to mobility while saving thousands of lives now lost to traffic crashes. The Waymo Driver powers Waymo’s fully autonomous ride-hail service and can also be applied to a range of vehicle platforms and product use cases. The Waymo Driver has provided over ten million rider-only trips, enabled by its experience autonomously driving over 100 million miles on public roads and tens of billions in simulation across 15+ U.S. states.

Waymo's Procurement and Vendor Enablement Office (PVEO) is the strategic engine behind our rapid commercial scaling. We don't just buy services; we design the workforce architecture that powers the Waymo Driver. In this senior leadership role, you will lead the Enterprise Outsourcing & Services vertical. You will partner with Executives across Engineering, Operations, and Corporate functions to define the "Future of Work" at Waymo—determining how we leverage the global external ecosystem to scale our Mapping, Labeling, Engineering, and Corporate capabilities.

You will:

• Develop and execute a comprehensive procurement strategy for Engineering Services and R&D Hardware, balancing cost optimization with speed-to-market for prototypes and technical development.
• Proactively manage a high-volume pipeline of outsourced engineering workforce contracts; lead negotiations for mission-critical engineering design firms to secure favorable long-term commercial and IP terms.
• Structure and negotiate complex Statements of Work (SOWs) and Non-Recurring Engineering (NRE) agreements for hardware development to ensure successful project delivery and ROI.
• Optimize Joint Design Manufacturing (JDM) and Original Design Manufacturing (ODM) relationships for R&D components, ensuring competitive pricing and seamless fulfillment logistics for hardware iterations.
• Act as the trusted advisor to Engineering and Hardware leadership; lead complex "make vs. buy" analyses and influence technical requirements to drive commercial value and mitigate supply chain risk.
• Partner with Legal (IP/Security) to ensure all engineering services and hardware agreements meet Waymo’s rigorous intellectual property protection and cybersecurity standards.

You have:

• 7+ years of strategic procurement experience, with at least 4+ years dedicated to Engineering Services, R&D, or Hardware sourcing.
• Deep expertise in outsourced engineering models (managed services, staff augmentation, fixed-bid) and experience negotiating with Tier 1 engineering service providers.
• Proven ability to draft and negotiate complex commercial contracts, including MSAs, NREs, JDM/ODM agreements, and highly technical Professional Services SOWs.
• Experience managing R&D hardware lifecycles (EVT, DVT, PVT) and negotiating with custom component manufacturers and prototyping houses.
• Strong financial acumen with the ability to present TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) analysis to Finance and Hardware Engineering leadership.
• Ability to operate in a high-velocity environment, managing multiple concurrent high-priority sourcing events for unreleased technologies.

We prefer:

• Experience in a hyper-growth Tech, Autonomous Vehicle (AV), or automotive manufacturing environment.
• Engineering background or profound understanding of hardware development and systems engineering principles.
• Experience using Ariba P2P, e-sourcing, and Spend Analysis tools.

Travel:

• Estimated 10-15% (Vendor QBRs, supplier audits, & HQ visits as needed).

Please note that Waymo may not be able to employ remotely in all locations. Please speak with your recruiter about your preferred location for remote work when you begin the interview process. Reference the following list of cities we can hire remotely out of:

• Atlanta, GA
• Austin, TX
• Dallas, TX
• Houston, TX
• Los Angeles, CA
• Miami, FL
• Nashville, TN
• Orlando, FL
• Phoenix, AZ
• San Antonio, TX
• San Francisco Bay Area, CA

The expected base salary range for this full-time position across US locations is listed below. Actual starting pay will be based on job-related factors, including exact work location, experience, relevant training and education, and skill level. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for the role location or, if the role can be performed remote, the specific salary range for your preferred location, during the hiring process.

Waymo employees are also eligible to participate in Waymo’s discretionary annual bonus program, equity incentive plan, and generous Company benefits program, subject to eligibility requirements.

Salary Range

$159,000—$196,000 USD