Engineering & Hardware Category Manager

Waymo; Phoenix (AZ); On-site; USD 159,000 - 196,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus program

Equity incentive plan

Generous company benefits

Job summary

Waymo is seeking a senior leader for its Procurement and Vendor Enablement Office to drive strategic procurement in Engineering Services. The role involves executing procurement strategies and managing a high-volume pipeline of outsourced contracts, ensuring alignment with Waymo's standards.

The ideal candidate has over 7 years of experience in procurement, particularly in engineering and R&D hardware. You will collaborate with multiple departments to shape future operations in the autonomous vehicle space.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of strategic procurement experience, with at least 4+ years focused on Engineering Services.
• Experience managing R&D hardware lifecycles (EVT, DVT, PVT) and negotiating with component manufacturers.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a procurement strategy for Engineering Services.
• Manage outsourced engineering workforce contracts and lead negotiations.

Skills

Strategic procurement experience

Negotiation skills

Financial acumen

Deep expertise in outsourced engineering models

Tools

Ariba P2P

e-sourcing tools

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).

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