Operations Controller

Waymo; London (KY); On-site; USD 192,000 - 201,000; Full time

Job summary

Waymo is hiring for a senior operations leadership role in a hybrid capacity. The candidate will act as the designated on-shift authority, coordinating with regional leads to stabilize and recover services during incidents while balancing local regulatory considerations and global priorities.

We expect extensive experience in real-time, mission-critical environments, plus strong communication and leadership skills to guide cross-functional teams through high-pressure situations.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of experience making decisions in real-time, mission-critical operational environments.
• Proven track record of high-judgment decision-making under extreme pressure.
• Experience leading cross-functional event response in high-stakes environments.
• Strong systems-thinking capabilities to maintain situational awareness across markets.
• Exemplary communication and presentation skills for cross-functional leaders.
• Ability to align network priorities with regional market realities and engineering constraints.

Responsibilities

• Exercise Real-Time Operational Authority: act as designated authority on shift for Waymo’s network, maintaining end-to-end situational awareness across target markets.
• Evaluate and Triage Network Disruption: manage incidents to stabilize and recover service, escalate as needed.
• Synchronize Regional Strategy: align network priorities with market realities, representing local impacts in network decisions.
• Manage Global-Local Balance: balance network-first view with local regulatory considerations to ensure compliance and performance.
• Manage Crisis Communications: communicate clearly and calmly during high-pressure events to maintain confidence.
• Bridge Cross-Functional Workstreams: coordinate with Product, Engineering, Operations and other teams to execute incident responses.

Skills

Decision making under pressure

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication skills

Situational awareness

Strategic thinking

Travel readiness

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 Operations exists to deliver the Waymo Driver to the world. We are a global team building and scaling the world's first and leading autonomous fleet and operations platform. From component sourcing to end customer management, we enable and create value for Waymo through scaled and orchestrated deployment of the Waymo Driver. At Waymo, we are dedicated to building a culture that promotes collaboration and celebration. We value our team members' unique backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences and support and encourage all team members to share their ideas to help Waymo better serve the communities in which we operate.

In this hybrid role, you will report to the Senior Director, Global Operations Center

You will:

• Exercise Real-Time Operational Authority: Act as the designated authority on shift for Waymo’s network, maintaining end-to-end situational awareness across target markets
• Evaluate and Triage Network Disruption: Exercise operational control during incidents, disruptions and safety-critical events, making timely decisions to stabilize and recover service, and escalating as appropriate
• Synchronize Regional Strategy: Partner closely with Regional Market Leads, ensuring alignment between network-level priorities and market-level realities, representing local impacts, risks, and constraints in network-level decision-making to ensure balanced outcomes.
• Manage Global-Local Balance: Apply a network-first mindset while balancing local conditions and regulatory considerations to maintain compliance and performance.
• Manage Crisis Communications: Communicate with clarity, authority, and a calm demeanor during high-pressure situations to maintain organizational confidence.
• Bridge Cross-Functional Workstreams: Coordinate directly with Product, Engineering, Operations teams and other cross-functional partners to seamlessly execute incident responses.

You have:

• 12+ years of experience making decisions in real-time, mission-critical operational environments in fast-paced, 24/7 environments
• Proven track record of high-judgment decision-making under extreme pressure, with a demonstrated ability to stand by choices using data-driven arguments.
• Experience leading cross-functional event response in high-stakes environments, with clear structure, decision discipline and communication and the ability to provide immediate actionable guidance.
• Strong systems-thinking capabilities with the ability to synthesize live signals to maintain situational awareness across target markets
• Exemplary communication and presentation skills, with the confidence to deliver crisp briefings to cross-functional leaders and stakeholders
• Ability to align network priorities with regional market realities and technical engineering constraints

We prefer:

• Operational experience within emergency services, aviation, or autonomous operations
• 15+ years of experience making decisions in real-time, mission-critical operational environments in fast-paced, 24/7 environments

Travel:

• 10% travel

The expected base salary range for this full-time position 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. 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

£142,000—£149,000 GBP