Supply Chain Program Manager

Wayve; Sunnyvale (CA); Hybrid; USD 184,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Relocation support

Equity

Health benefits

Job summary

Wayve is seeking a Supply Chain Program Manager to own end-to-end execution across programs and product builds, including prototypes, NPI and fleet launches. You will coordinate with Engineering, Operations, Manufacturing and external partners to keep timelines on track.

You’ll translate engineering requirements into procurement plans, manage material readiness, and escalate risks early in the lifecycle. This role demands strategic oversight and hands-on execution in a hybrid Sunnyvale

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive experience in supply chain program management, NPI and hardware operations.
• Strong understanding of BOM management, material planning and procurement processes.
• Experience leading cross-functional programs across Engineering, Operations and Supply Chain.

Responsibilities

• Act as the primary Supply Chain lead for assigned programs and product builds, including prototypes, NPI and subassemblies.
• Own end-to-end material readiness to support program milestones across R&D, Engineering, Operations and Manufacturing.
• Collaborate with Engineering, Planning, Sourcing, Logistics, Finance and Suppliers to align supply chain activities with program timelines.
• Serve as the strategic liaison between hardware engineering and procurement, coordinating internal teams and external partners.
• Translate engineering BOMs and demand into procurement plans and identify long-lead items early.

Skills

End-to-end supply chain ownership

NPI & hardware operations

BOM management

Procurement planning

Cross-functional collaboration

Job description

Before the detail, here's the challenge you'd help us solve.

We build the embodied intelligence that moves real vehicles safely, and the ecosystem a billion machines will run on in the future. Very few people in AI can say this. Every role here, whatever the team, plugs into that.

Here’s what this particular role covers.

Supply Chain Program Manager

About Our Supply Chain Team

The Supply Chain Program Manager is a critical cross-functional role responsible for owning end-to-end supply chain execution across assigned programs and product builds at Wayve, including prototype development, new product introduction (NPI), and fleet launches.

You’ll serve as the primary Supply Chain lead for your programs, ensuring program deliverables, supplier compliance and seamless coordination across Engineering, Operations, Manufacturing and external partners. You’ll work cross-functionally with Engineering, Planning, Sourcing, Logistics, Finance, Legal and Suppliers, while partnering closely with global upfitters and third-­party integration partners across the US, UK and other regions to keep vehicle and program timelines on track.

Your day-to-day

You’ll own end-to-end material readiness across assigned programs, translating engineering requirements and demand into actionable procurement plans and identifying supply risks early in the product lifecycle.

You’ll operate as the strategic liaison between hardware engineering and procurement, coordinating internal teams, suppliers, upfitters and integration partners to keep builds moving. You’ll combine strategic program ownership with hands‑on execution—tracking materials, resolving readiness issues, managing supply chain risk and using KPIs to drive continuous improvement.

What You’ll Be Working On

• Acting as the primary Supply Chain lead for assigned programs and internal product builds, including prototypes, NPI and subassemblies.
• Owning end-to-end material readiness to support program milestones across R&D, Engineering, Operations and Manufacturing.
• Collaborating with Engineering, Planning, Sourcing, Logistics, Finance and Suppliers to align supply chain activities with program timelines.
• Acting as the strategic liaison between hardware engineering and procurement teams, including managing demand aggregation.
• Translating engineering BOMs and aggregated Technical Program Manager demand into procurement plans.
• Identifying long‑lead items and critical‑path components early in the product lifecycle, tracking material status throughout build phases and proactively escalating gaps and risks.
• Collaborating with Supply Chain Team Leads to ensure direct purchasing, indirect purchasing and logistics suppliers meet legal, environmental, regulatory and ethical sourcing requirements, including TISAX and ISO standards.
• Partnering with Legal and Compliance to ensure appropriate supplier agreements, NDAs and risk controls are in place.
• Developing contingency plans for supply disruptions and actively managing supply chain risks.
• Serving as the primary program manager for upfitter and partner relationships, maintaining stakeholder alignment and driving activities against vehicle timelines and quality standards.
• Proactively identifying and resolving issues affecting vehicle build readiness while coordinating internal teams and external partners.
• Maintaining clear communication cadences with upfitters and stakeholders, tracking milestones and escalating risks as needed.
• Defining, tracking and reporting supply chain KPIs, including material availability, total cost savings and inventory cycle count accuracy.
• Establishing program‑level dashboards and reporting cadences that provide leadership and cross‑functional stakeholders with visibility into performance.
• Analysing KPI trends to identify root causes of underperformance and drive corrective actions with suppliers and internal teams.
• Using KPI insights to continuously improve supply chain processes, reduce waste and increase overall program efficiency.

You Should Apply If

• You have 10+ years of progressive experience in supply chain program management, NPI and hardware operations.
• You have a strong understanding of BOM management, material planning and procurement processes.
• You have demonstrated experience managing cross-functional programs across Engineering, Operations and Supply Chain.
• You bring strong analytical, problem‑solving and risk‑management skills.
• You have excellent communication and stakeholder‑management capabilities.
• You are able to travel internationally as needed.
• Experience in the automotive, consumer, hardware or robotics industries is preferred.
• Familiarity with supplier compliance frameworks, including TISAX, ISO standards and ethical sourcing requirements, is preferred.

Not ticking every box? That’s totally okay!

If you’re passionate about autonomy and keen to learn, we encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet every requirement.

More About Wayve

Wayve is building the leading AI platform for autonomous driving. We are pioneering an end to end AI approach that enables vehicles to learn directly from real world experience, developing the ability to adapt, generalise and improve at scale. Instead of relying on hand coded rules or pre mapped environments, our AI Driver learns to drive by understanding the world around it. The result is technology that navigates complex urban environments with intelligence, precision and natural flow, unlocking meaningful advances in both safety and efficiency. We believe autonomy represents a once in a generation transformation in how people and goods move, comparable to the shift from horses to cars, and from human driven vehicles to intelligent machines.

Our ambition is to make autonomy universal. Wayve’s mapless and hardware agnostic AI platform integrates with global OEM partners, enabling continuous software evolution and unlocking advanced levels of automation from L2 plus through to L4 as our core AI model scales. In a race increasingly defined by intelligence and real world learning, Wayve is taking a distinct approach, building a generalisable driving intelligence that can power any vehicle, anywhere. By combining embodied AI with scalable deployment, we are creating technology that can be shaped to each OEM brand and driver experience, accelerating the transition to a safer, more intelligent future of mobility.

How we work – Locations & Flexible Working:

This is a full-time role based in Sunnyvale, CA (hybrid). The reasonably estimated salary range for this role is $184,200–$240,000, plus a competitive equity package. Actual compensation is based on the candidate’s skills, qualifications and experience.

Our main hubs are in London, Sunnyvale, Yokohama, Herzliya, Vancouver and Leonberg. We operate a hybrid working model that combines in-person collaboration in our dedicated office spaces and workshops with focused time working remotely. This gives our teams the connection and energy of working together, alongside the flexibility to do their best work. We also operate core working hours so you can determine the schedule that works best for you and your team.

The Interview Process

• Initial call / recruiter screen (30 mins)
• Competency interviews (Hiring Manager Interview) (45 mins)
• Deep‑dive interviews (Team and cross‑functional interviews) (3 hrs)
• Final interview (30 mins)

We’ll always explain the format and work around your availability.

What’s In It For You

• Salaries benchmarked against the market annually
• Meaningful equity, sharing in the ownership and long term success of Wayve
• Relocation support and visa sponsorship where applicable
• Hybrid working, core hours and the chance to work hands on in vehicle workshops and labs
• Learning and development budgets with support for training, conferences and growth
• Comprehensive benefits including health insurance, dental, enhanced maternity and paternity leave, retirement or pension where applicable, access to therapists, wellbeing partnerships, team socials and more

A quick, honest note before you apply.

Wayve is not a mature, fully-structured place with the playbook already written. Much of how we work is still being written, and if you join, you’ll help write it. That suits people who want real ownership more than people who need a settled structure from day one.

If that sounds like the kind of problem you want to spend your time on, we’d really like to hear from you.

At Wayve we're committed to creating a diverse, fair and respectful culture that is inclusive of everyone based on their unique skills and perspectives, and regardless of sex, race, religion or belief, ethnic or national origin, disability, age, citizenship, marital, domestic or civil partnership status, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, pregnancy or related condition (including breastfeeding) or any other basis as protected by applicable law.

For more information visit Careers at Wayve. To learn more about what drives us, visit Values at Wayve

DISCLAIMER: We will not ask about marriage or pregnancy, care responsibilities or disabilities in any of our job adverts or interviews. However, we do look to capture information about care responsibilities, and disabilities among other diversity information as part of an optional DEI Monitoring form to help us identify areas of improvement in our hiring process and ensure that the process is inclusive and non-discriminatory.