Project Manager [AQ-19304]

Aquent; San Mateo (CA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, Vision & Dental benefits

Paid sick leave

Retirement plan with match

Free online training

Job summary

Aquent is seeking a Project Manager to support a pioneering autonomous vehicle program in our San Mateo office. You will coordinate operations, document processes, and drive issue resolution across engineering, operations, and leadership to enable scalable, reliable services.

The role emphasizes developing playbooks, dashboards, and standard workflows; you will lead triage meetings, track milestones, risks, and deliverables, and partner with cross-functional teams to translate challenges into

Qualifications

• Experience in project or program management in a technical/operational environment.
• Strong cross-functional communication across engineering, operations, and leadership.
• Experience documenting and improving operational processes, workflows, SOPs, or playbooks.

Responsibilities

• Own and maintain operational process documentation (playbooks, workflows, checklists) and keep them accurate and accessible.
• Manage end-to-end operational issue resolution, triaging tickets, prioritizing, root-cause analysis, coordinating solutions, closing issues.
• Partner with cross-functional stakeholders to investigate challenges, implement solutions, and embed improvements into workflows.
• Develop and maintain reporting and dashboards to provide visibility into issue resolution, trends, and program health.
• Support planning and execution of initiatives to scale fleet operations, tracking milestones, dependencies, risks, and deliverables.
• Facilitate recurring issue triage meetings, program reviews, and stakeholder discussions with clear action items.

Skills

Project management

Cross-functional communication

Organizational skills

Issue resolution

Process improvement

Tools

Jira

Confluence

Job description

Are you ready to help shape the future of autonomous transportation? Aquent, a leading talent solutions partner, is seeking a detail-oriented and proactive Project Manager to support a pioneering team developing and scaling autonomous vehicle technology. In this role, you will help drive operational efficiency, manage issue resolution, and build processes that support the growth of a complex technical operation. You’ll collaborate with engineering, operations, and program leadership to translate operational challenges into sustainable improvements, helping ensure the reliability and successful scaling of next-generation autonomous services.

The Opportunity

The Fleet Operations Program team is responsible for the safe and efficient operation of a growing autonomous vehicle fleet. As the service fleet expands, this team owns the processes, tools, and cross-functional coordination that keep operations running smoothly at scale. In this role, you will bring structure and clarity to operational challenges, manage issues from identification through resolution, and ensure processes are clearly documented and continuously improved. You’ll partner closely with operations, engineering, and program leadership to drive issue resolution, improve workflows, and support initiatives that enable the fleet to scale efficiently.

Key Responsibilities

• Own and maintain operational process documentation, including playbooks, workflows, and checklists, ensuring procedures remain accurate, organized, versioned, and accessible as operations evolve.
• Manage the operational issue resolution process end to end, including triaging incoming tickets, assigning priorities, tracking root cause analysis, coordinating solutions, and confirming issues are fully resolved before closure.
• Partner with cross-functional stakeholders to investigate operational challenges, identify root causes, implement solutions, and ensure process improvements are incorporated into day-to-day workflows.
• Develop and maintain reporting and dashboards to provide leadership with visibility into issue resolution, recurring trends, operational performance, and overall program health.
• Support planning and execution of initiatives to scale fleet operations, tracking cross-functional milestones, dependencies, risks, and deliverables.
• Facilitate recurring issue triage meetings, program reviews, and stakeholder discussions, ensuring action items are clearly documented, assigned, and completed.
• Identify opportunities to streamline workflows, improve operational efficiency, and establish standardized processes across teams.
• Support general project and program management activities, including scheduling, status reporting, stakeholder communication, and process improvement initiatives.

Required Skills & Experience

• Experience in project or program management, preferably within a technical, operational, or fast-paced environment.
• Proficiency with Jira and Confluence for issue tracking, workflow management, project coordination, and process documentation.
• Experience developing, documenting, maintaining, or improving operational processes, workflows, SOPs, or playbooks.
• Ability to manage issues from identification through resolution, including prioritization, progress tracking, stakeholder coordination, and follow-through.
• Strong organizational and cross-functional communication skills, with the ability to coordinate effectively across engineering, operations, and leadership teams.
• Experience tracking project milestones, dependencies, action items, and risks while maintaining clear visibility into program progress.
• Ability to bring structure and clarity to ambiguous situations, manage competing priorities, and adapt to evolving operational needs.

Desired Skills & Experience

• Experience supporting operational scaling initiatives within fleet operations, automotive, robotics, manufacturing, infrastructure, or other complex technical environments.
• Familiarity with root cause analysis and continuous improvement methodologies, such as five whys or fishbone diagrams.
• Experience building dashboards, monitoring operational metrics, or reporting on issue resolution trends and program performance.
• Background in autonomous vehicle operations, robotics, or related emerging technologies.

About Aquent Talent

Aquent Talent connects the best talent in marketing, creative, and design with the world's biggest brands.

Benefits

• Our eligible talent get access to amazing benefits like subsidized health, vision, and dental plans, paid sick leave, and retirement plans with a match.
• We also offer free online training through Aquent Gymnasium.

More information on our awesome benefits!

Aquent is an equal-opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, and other legally protected characteristics. We’re about creating an inclusive environment-one where different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives are valued, and everyone can contribute, grow their careers, and thrive.