Senior / Staff Technical Program Manager, Fleet Optimization

Zoox; Foster City (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Zoox is seeking a Senior/Staff Program Manager to define and execute strategies that scale V&V operations for our autonomous fleet. You will coordinate programs across Autonomy, Product, and Safety teams, drive efficiency, and champion data-driven decision-making.

Role requires 10+ years in program management, strong stakeholder skills, and familiarity with AI tools; MBA or PMP/PgMP is a plus. Expect travel of 10–15% as the fleet expands across multiple cities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in an engineering or STEM field is required.
• 10+ years of program management experience with cross-functional impact.
• Ability to lead large-scale programs across multiple teams.
• Comfort in ambiguity and building frameworks from scratch.
• Strong stakeholder management across engineering, product, and operations.
• Data-driven with ability to validate and challenge metrics.
• Experience with autonomous vehicles, aerospace, or fleet management.
• MBA or STEM master's preferred.
• PMP/PgMP certification preferred.
• Experience with vehicle testing or validation is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead and coordinate large-scale, cross-functional programs across Autonomy, Product, Infrastructure, Engineering, and Safety.
• Own operational efficiency initiatives spanning engineering, field service, and operations.
• Collaborate with System Design & Mission Assurance to validate requirements.
• Champion AI/data-driven tools to surface actionable insights for leadership.
• Run monthly business reviews with stakeholders to guide resources and priorities.
• Define and track metrics; drive decision-making and accountability.
• Support finance planning cycles with accurate budgets for operations.
• Improve fleet utilization and reduction in troubleshooting cycles.
• Manage timelines, resources, and risks; maintain program docs for leadership.

Skills

Cross-functional leadership

Stakeholder management

Program management

Data-driven decision making

AI tooling awareness

Autonomous systems domain knowledge

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering/ STEM

MBA or Master's degree in STEM

PMP or PgMP certification

Tools

Gemini

Claude

MCP APIs

Cloud-based coding environments

Job description

Zoox's Fleet Operations Program Management team delivers cross-functional programs critical to the growth, expansion, and efficient operation of our commercial autonomous vehicle service. We partner closely with Fleet Operations and cross-functional stakeholders to verify, validate, and launch new software on our fleet — while continuously maturing our operational processes to deliver a premium customer experience.

We’re looking for an experienced, forward-thinking Senior / Staff Program Manager to help define and execute strategies that scale our Verification & Validation (V&V) operations. Our testing fleet — hundreds of vehicles across multiple cities and private tracks — is growing rapidly in size and geographic reach. This is a highly cross-functional role operating at the intersection of operations, autonomy, engineering, and product — requiring someone who can navigate technical complexity while driving alignment and execution across a broad set of stakeholders.

Expected Travel: 10–15%

• Lead and coordinate large-scale, highly cross-functional programs spanning Autonomy, Product, Infrastructure, Engineering, and Safety teams to drive measurable improvements in fleet efficiency and software quality
• Own and drive operational efficiency initiatives that span multiple engineering, field service, and operations teams — identifying bottlenecks, aligning stakeholders, and unblocking downstream execution
• Partner with System Design & Mission Assurance and other safety teams to gather and pressure-test requirements — bringing a critical lens to ensure what's being asked for is the right thing to build or prioritize
• Champion the adoption of AI and data-driven tools within operations — including building centralized, multi-source reporting systems that surface actionable intelligence from the field and feed into leadership decision-making
• Run monthly business reviews (MBRs) with a broad set of stakeholders — synthesizing ground-level signals from market leads and operational locations into clear recommendations on resources, partnerships, and priorities for leadership
• Define and track the right operational metrics — not just reporting on what exists, but actively shaping what should be measured and why
• Partner with Finance to support operational and financial planning cycles (OP1, OP2, quarterly R&O), ensuring budgets reflect operational needs accurately and efficiently
• Lead key efficiency initiatives across our L3 and robotaxi R&D fleets, including improvements in fleet utilization, time-in-autonomy, troubleshooting cycle times, and operational infrastructure
• Manage program timelines, resources, and deliverables; proactively identify and mitigate operational and programmatic risks
• Create and maintain program documentation and progress reports for senior leadership

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Operations Research, Operations Management, or a STEM field
• 10+ years of program management experience, with a strong preference for backgrounds that blend technical depth with operational execution
• Demonstrated ability to lead large-scale, highly cross-functional programs with significant organizational impact
• Comfortable operating in ambiguity — able to structure undefined problems, build frameworks from scratch, and drive toward clarity
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills across engineering, product, and operations audiences
• Deeply data-driven — not just tracking metrics but validating them, questioning outputs that don't add up, and pushing back when the data tells the wrong story
• Proficient with modern AI tools and workflows (e.g., Gemini, Claude, MCP APIs, cloud-based coding environments) and actively applies them to drive operational efficiency and better decision-making
• Experience in autonomous vehicles, aerospace, ride-hail, robotics, or fleet management
• Background in systems engineering, software development, or technical operations
• MBA or Master's degree in a STEM field
• PMP, PgMP, or equivalent certification
• Experience with vehicle testing, validation, or disengagement analysis