Team Lead, Readiness & Response

Socket.dev; Phoenix (AZ); On-site; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Zoox is seeking a Team Lead for Readiness and Response within the Fleet Operations group. You will lead end-to-end readiness of vehicles and oversee live field incidents, ensuring fleet availability and safety.

You will supervise a hybrid workforce of FTE Shift Leads and contingent staff, mentor leaders, and coordinate with vendors to deliver uptime and service quality across markets.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in an operations-based environment.
• Experience managing people leaders: direct reports at the Shift Lead or Supervisor level.
• Contingent workforce management including onboarding and performance.
• Vendor and partner management with SLAs.
• Critical thinking under pressure and data-driven decisions.
• Technical aptitude to understand autonomous vehicle systems.
• Process-improvement mindset with Lean Six Sigma or similar.
• Safety-focused culture; clean driving record.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with Fleet Ops leadership to optimize fleet utilization and market needs.
• Drive unified fleet strategy for vehicle readiness and incident response.
• Lead through shift leadership, mentoring FTE Shift Leads and contingent staff.
• Manage on-site escalations for critical field incidents and service issues.
• Oversee a hybrid workforce including onboarding and performance management.
• Coordinate with third-party vendors for vehicle recovery and roadside support.
• Identify bottlenecks in depot workflows and field protocols, driving improvements.
• Ensure regulatory and safety compliance, with audit-ready documentation.
• Synthesize operational data into KPIs for leadership insights.
• Travel requirements: less than 20%.

Skills

8+ years experience

People leadership

Contingent workforce mgt

Vendor & partner mgmt

Critical thinking under pressure

Technical aptitude (AV systems)

Process improvement

Safety excellence

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

As a Team Lead for Readiness and Response within Zoox's Fleet Operations organization, you are at the forefront of the autonomous mobility revolution. You will be a key leader in the expansion into new markets, responsible for the end-to-end operational integrity of the Zoox Robotaxi and Mapping Vehicle Fleet. This role unifies the technical preparation of our vehicles (Readiness) with high-level oversight of live field incidents (Response), ensuring every Zoox vehicle is "service ready" and every mission is supported with operational excellence.

Your leadership will bridge the gap between structured depot workflows and the dynamic environment of real-time fleet response. Rather than performing hands-on technical tasks, you will drive strategy and performance by managing a hybrid workforce of Full-Time Shift Leads and contingent associates. Serving as the primary on-site escalation path for critical field incidents and holding third-party recovery partners accountable, you will directly impact Zoox's fleet availability, safety standards, and our ability to deliver a seamless experience to our riders.

In this role, you will:

• Collaborate with Leadership: Work with Fleet Ops leaders in market, as well as Fleet Ops Program Teams, to ensure optimization of fleet utilization while driving market needs.
• Drive Unified Fleet Strategy: Oversee the execution of operational strategies for both vehicle preparation (Readiness) and incident response (Response), ensuring alignment with broader organizational uptime goals.
• Lead through Shift Leadership: Directly manage and mentor FTE Shift Leads & a contingent workforce, empowering them to oversee daily floor operations while you focus on high-level strategy, performance coaching, and site-wide operational health.
• Manage On-Site Escalations: Serve as the primary leadership escalation path for critical field incidents and service interferences, providing guidance to the team and making high-level decisions to resolve complex vehicle or rider issues.
• Manage a Hybrid Workforce: Provide administrative and people leadership for a multidisciplinary team, including onboarding, training, and performance management for contingent (contract) workforces.
• Coordinate Third-Party Vendors On The Ground: Serve as the local point of contact for vehicle recovery, roadside assistance, and facility vendors — verifying on-site service quality and response time, and flagging no-shows, defects, or service misses to the relevant Program team, who owns vendor standards, governance, and corrective action.
• Optimize Operational Workflows: Identify bottlenecks in depot workflows (software deployment, sensor cleaning), field response protocols, and work with cross-functional partners to implement process innovations to reduce vehicle downtime.
• Ensure Regulatory & Safety Compliance: Oversee adherence to all health and safety policies (OSHA) within the workshop and ensure all vehicle documentation and "Up/Down" status reporting are accurate and audit-ready.
• Synthesize Operational Data: Own the analysis and reporting of site-specific KPIs, providing leadership with data-driven insights into fleet health, team efficiency, and vendor performance.
• Travel Requirements: less than 20%

Qualifications

• 8+ years of relevant work experience in an operations-based environment
• Experience Managing People Leaders: Demonstrated ability to manage and develop direct reports at the Shift Lead or Supervisor level.
• Contingent Workforce Management: Extensive experience leading, onboarding, and managing the performance of contractor or contingent workforces.
• Vendor & Partner Management: Demonstrated experience managing 3rd party service providers and holding external partners accountable to Service Level Agreements (SLAs).
• Critical Thinking under Pressure: Ability to manage high-priority escalations and make sound, data-driven decisions in fast-paced or ambiguous situations.
• Technical Aptitude: Ability to understand complex technical systems (autonomous vehicle hardware/software) to effectively lead technical teams and communicate with engineering stakeholders.
• Process Improvement Mindset: Experience facilitating Lean Six Sigma projects or similar methodologies to improve operational efficiency.
• Safety Excellence: Commitment to maintaining a culture of safety and compliance; must have a clean driving record.

Bonus Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in a relevant field (business management, operations, finance, etc.)
• Experience with autonomous vehicles or a similar safety-critical industry
• Experience in a fast-paced and dynamic service environment.
• Experience with Lean Six Sigma or other process optimization methodologies.
• Familiarity with fleet management software.