Senior Manager, Construction

Waymo; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 226,000 - 278,000; Full time

Job summary

Waymo is seeking a Global Head of Construction to lead a multi-regional program of facilities including Service Centers, EV charging, offices and labs. The role requires 15+ years in commercial real estate or construction with at least 5 years in senior leadership overseeing a global portfolio.

You will build and mentor a global team, align investments with strategy, enforce standards, and collaborate with Finance, Legal, Procurement, Network and Security in a fast-paced, hybrid work environment.

Qualifications

• 15+ years in commercial real estate development or construction.
• At least 5+ years in a senior leadership role overseeing a global portfolio.
• Proven track record delivering large-scale capital projects ($20M+) with multi-disciplinary teams.
• Experience negotiating complex contracts (GMP, Design-Build, or lump sum).

Responsibilities

• Develop and manage a multi-year global CapEx budget and drive value engineering to optimize total cost to build.
• Build, mentor, and lead a high-performing global team of regional construction executives and project managers.
• Align regional investments with portfolio strategies and communicate timelines to stakeholders.
• Enforce global design/construction playbooks, risk management protocols, and quality standards.
• Collaborate with Finance, Legal, Procurement, Network and Security to align pipeline with growth objectives.
• Innovate processes and tools to ensure end-to-end construction delivery from site search to first day of business.

Skills

Global team leadership

Capital project delivery

Stakeholder management

Budgeting & forecasting

Contract negotiation

Cross-functional collaboration

Real estate development

International project experience

Education

Advanced degree in construction management or related field

PMP / CCM / PE / AIA certification

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 cars may be self-driving, but its construction projects are steered by experts like you. Safety is our foundation and is at the heart of everything we do. As Waymo's Global Head of Construction you will be responsible for the build out of a variety of facilities including Service Centers, EV Charging Facilities, Office, and Lab/ R&D typologies across the globe for Waymo in an extremely fast paced environment with a high degree of ambiguity. At every turn, process excellence, collaboration, and detailed cross-org communications are critical.

This role follows a hybrid work schedule and reports to the Head of Project Delivery.

You will

• Contribute to the development of and manage a multi-year global CapEx budget. Forecast costs across regions, and drive value engineering to optimize the total cost to build
• Build, mentor, and lead a high-performing global team of regional construction executives and project managers while collaborating with subject matter experts. Align regional teams under a unified global strategy
• Build trusted relationships across the business and act as liaison to ensure alignment between investments and the portfolio strategies. Effectively communicate expectations, requirements and status of deals to key business stakeholders, building a culture of speed, flexibility and frugality for solutioning
• Enforce global design and construction playbooks and standards, risk management protocols, and quality standards. Ensure that projects are delivered consistently across all markets
• Collaborate directly with stakeholders and cross functional partners (Finance, Legal, Procurement, Network and Security) to ensure the construction pipeline aligns with the company's broader business and growth objectives
• Innovate and execute processes and tools that contribute to ensuring the complete cycle from site search due diligence through deal execution to the first day of business is completed consistently and predictably, managing an ever-changing variety of internal initiatives and projects

You have

• 15+ years of progressive experience in commercial real estate development or construction, including at least 5+ years in a senior leadership role overseeing a global, multi-regional, or highly complex portfolio
• A proven track record of successfully delivering large-scale capital projects, orchestrating teams of project managers, architects, contractors, consultants and attorneys through concurrent deal flows at values of $20M each and greater
• Deep, hands-on expertise navigating every phase of the construction lifecycle, including site selection challenges, zoning/entitlements, permitting bottlenecks, and active construction site management
• Extensive experience structuring, reviewing, and negotiating high-stakes commercial construction contracts (e.g., Guaranteed Maximum Price, Design-Build, or lump sum) in partnership with legal counsel
• Demonstrated mastery of complex real estate financial metrics, cost estimation, risk forecasting, and budget variance reporting. Translate construction data into executive-level financial insights
• Managed team of at least (5) FTEs and have demonstrated leadership to inspire diverse project teams to meet goals with vision, mission, and strategy

We prefer

• Advanced degree in construction management, architecture, engineering, real estate, business administration or finance
• Industry-recognized credentials such as a PMP, CCM, PE, or AIA
• Direct experience executing projects internationally, with a strong understanding of navigating varied building codes, labor laws, and permitting processes across EMEA and APAC regions, in addition to the Americas
• A background in Lean/Six Sigma methodologies or a proven history of institutionalizing operational efficiencies that drastically reduce project timelines and speed-to-market
• Experience overseeing or developing and implementing process improvements to streamline the full project delivery cycle inclusive of a strong understanding of and experience using AI tools to enhance construction management workflows
• Experience in strategic program implementation and objective analysis within matrixed organizations in an atmosphere where speed, nimbleness, and frugality are the norm

Travel Requirements

• 25% Travel time

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

$226,000—$278,000 USD