Mission Control Manager

Lever, Inc.; Dallas, Northern (TX, KY); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation & equity

Health, Vision & Dental

Unlimited vacation

Flexible hours & WFH support

Catered meals & snacks

Team building & events

Company growth & evolution

Job summary

Waabi, a leader in Physical AI, seeks a Mission Control Manager to own operations end to end for both supervised R&D testing and driverless launches. You will build and lead a team, manage KPIs, and drive continuous improvement across dispatch, vehicle operations, and training.

You will set standards for emergency response, validate operating models, and coordinate with cross-functional stakeholders while representing Waabi to customers and regulators. This onsite role is based in Lancaster, TX.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of people leadership in operations.
• Experience running a 24/7 shift-based control center or dispatch floor.
• Proven ability to scale teams and operating models from early stage.
• Calm judgment under pressure with strong cross-functional communication.
• Habit of turning incidents into improved processes and SOPs.
• Comfortable in a technical environment; deep AV/engineering expertise not required.
• Logistics/trucking/AV operations background is a plus.

Responsibilities

• End-to-end ownership of Mission Control operations across both supervised R&D testing and driverless operations.
• Build, lead, and coach the team (Remote Assist Specialists, Mission Control Specialists): hiring, staffing, scheduling, training, performance management and career development.
• Own the team's KPIs: mission completion rate, intervention rate, remote resolution rate, MTTR, operator-to-truck ratio, fleet uptime.
• Lead the continuous-improvement loop: convert road events into updated SOPs, debriefs, and handoffs.
• Serve as the escalation point for issues that outgrow the floor (engineering, legal, safety, leadership).
• Set standards for emergency response and redundancy procedures.
• Validate and pressure-test the Mission Control operating model during supervised operations.
• Own 24/7 coverage planning as the operation scales.
• Collaborate across Dispatch, Vehicle Operations, Test Operations, Fleet Readiness, Training, Autonomy, and Commercial.
• Represent Waabi to customers, regulators, and visitors touring Mission Control.

Skills

People leadership

Control-center experience

Scaling experience

Calm under pressure

Continuous-improvement

Technical comfort

Plus: relevant background

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

Waabi is building generative AI for the physical world, starting with autonomous trucks. Our Texas road operations run both R&D testing and commercial freight. Mission Control is the operational nerve center of the Waabi Network. Every mission and load flows through it. The Waabi Driver drives and owns safety in the moment. Mission Control manages everything around the driving: monitoring, remote assist, customer and site coordination, exceptions, and keeping freight moving.

The Mission Control Manager owns that operation end to end. This is senior people leadership: build the team, set the standards, own the service levels, and stand up and validate the operating model. This role is a peer to the Vehicle Operations Lead and the Test Operations Lead.

You will…

• End-to-end ownership. Own Mission Control operations end to end (remote assist, fleet and mission management, dispatch coordination) across both supervised R&D testing and driverless operations at launch.
• Team building. Build, lead, and coach the team (Remote Assist Specialists, Mission Control Specialists): hiring, staffing, scheduling, training, performance management, and career development.
• KPI ownership. Own the team's KPIs: mission completion rate, intervention rate, remote resolution rate, mean time to respond/resolve, operator-to-truck ratio, and fleet uptime.
• Continuous improvement loop. Own the intervention-to-improvement loop: turning novel road events into updated SOPs, debriefs, and handoffs.
• Key Escalation Point. Be the escalation point for anything that outgrows the floor (engineering, legal, safety, leadership).
• Standards setting. Set standards for emergency response and redundancy procedures.
• Operating model validation. Stand up and pressure-test the Mission Control operating model during supervised operations, before it has to carry a driverless load.
• Coverage planning. Own 24/7 coverage planning as the operation scales.
• Cross-functional partnership. Partner across Dispatch, Vehicle Operations, Test Operations, Fleet Readiness, Training, Autonomy, and Commercial.
• External representation. Represent Waabi to customers, regulators, and visitors touring Mission Control.

Qualifications:

• People leadership. 6+ years leading operations, with substantial people-leadership depth (you've led leaders, not just individual contributors).
• Control-center experience. Experience running or standing up a 24/7 shift-based control center, NOC, command center, or dispatch floor.
• Track record of scaling. A track record of building and scaling a team and an operating model from an early stage.
• Composure and communication. Calm judgment under pressure and excellent cross-functional communication.
• Continuous-improvement discipline. A continuous-improvement discipline: you turn incidents into better processes, not just after-action reports.
• Technical comfort. Comfortable working in a technical environment (deep autonomous-vehicle or engineering expertise is not required).
• Relevant background is a plus. Logistics, trucking, aviation, emergency dispatch, or AV operations background is a plus.
• Location and schedule. Willing to work onsite in Lancaster, TX and flex to shift-based coverage as needed.

Perks/Benefits:

Waabi provides a competitive benefits package that includes:

• Competitive compensation and equity awards.
• Health and Wellness benefits that include Medical, Vision and Dental coverage.
• 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.
• 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.