Technical Program Manager Sunnyvale, California USA

OpenDigital Limited; Sunnyvale, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 172,000 - 229,000; Full time

Job summary

Wayve in Sunnyvale, CA is seeking a Technical Program Manager for Robotics to own multi‑team programs across the autonomy stack, turning cutting‑edge research into shipped on‑vehicle capabilities. You will coordinate vehicle software, hardware, ML, and measurement teams to deliver programs for flagship customers such as Nissan and Stellantis, with global travel as needed.

You should bring 5+ years of leading complex, multi‑team programs, strong technical credibility, and excellent communication.

Qualifications

• 5+ years leading complex, multi‑team programs in fast‑paced or early‑stage environments.
• Technical credibility across vehicle software, hardware and ML.
• Ability to adapt in ambiguous, fast‑moving environments while keeping delivery structured.
• Strong project management across teams and dependencies.
• Clear communicator who surfaces risk early and keeps teams aligned.
• Collaborative leader who influences across software/hardware boundaries.
• Customer-facing and willing to travel domestically/internationally for on‑the‑ground support.
• Strategic thinking, problem-solving, and growth mindset.

Responsibilities

• Own lifecycle of robotics programs across the autonomy stack and improve delivery.
• Track and manage dependencies and risks across software/hardware boundaries.
• Keep robotics sub-teams and partners aligned on platform bring-up and metrics.
• Provide program support for customer programs (e.g. Nissan, Stellantis).
• Run planning, stand-ups, reviews, and retros for multi‑team delivery.
• Communicate progress and risk to engineers, partners, and leaders.
• Improve tooling and processes, sharing patterns across the TPM org.

Skills

Bias for action

Technical credibility

Ambiguity tolerance

Project management

Clear communication

Cross-team collaboration

Customer-facing

Strategic thinking

Growth mindset

Systems thinking

Product-minded

Education

Engineering or Computer Science degree

Tools

Jira

Job description

About us

Founded in 2017, Wayve is the leading developer of Embodied AI technology. Our advanced AI software and foundation models enable vehicles to perceive, understand, and navigate any complex environment, enhancing the usability and safety of automated driving systems.

Our vision is to create autonomy that propels the world forward. Our intelligent, mapless, and hardware-agnostic AI products are designed for automakers, accelerating the transition from assisted to automated driving.

In our fast-paced environment big problems ignite us—we embrace uncertainty, leaning into complex challenges to unlock groundbreaking solutions. We aim high and stay humble in our pursuit of excellence, constantly learning and evolving as we pave the way for a smarter, safer future.

At Wayve, your contributions matter. We value diversity, embrace new perspectives, and foster an inclusive work environment; we back each other to deliver impact.

Make Wayve the experience that defines your career!

The role

As a Technical Program Manager for Robotics at Wayve, you'll own the programs that bring our robots and vehicles to life. Working across vehicle software, hardware, robotics and machine learning, you'll turn cutting-edge research into shipped, on-vehicle capability - keeping complex, multi-team delivery predictable in a fast-moving, ambiguous environment. You'll support the wider Robotics Engineering team - spanning areas such as vehicle generalization, controls, and calibration - getting the autonomy stack onto a growing range of vehicle platforms and enabling flagship customer programs such as Nissan and Stellantis, partnering with Measurement, Machine Learning, Software, Hardware and Application Engineering teams.

Your impact will be measured by your ability to deliver programs, drive efficiency, manage risk, and align execution with business goals. A successful TPM is a force multiplier - helping teams move faster, more effectively, and with purpose.

Key Responsibilities

• Drive program delivery: Own the lifecycle of robotics programs across the autonomy stack, improving delivery through structured execution and coordination.
• Manage cross-stack dependencies & risk: Track and manage dependencies, risks, and trade-offs - especially across software / hardware boundaries - and escalation early with clear options.
• Coordinate cross-functionally: Keep the robotics sub-teams (vehicle generalization, controls, calibration) and partners (Measurement, Application Engineering, OEM support) aligned on platform bring-up, evaluation, and metrics.
• Support customer programs: Provide program support for key customer programs (e.g. Nissan, Stellantis), on the ground where needed.
• Run delivery rhythms: Run planning, stand‑ups, reviews, and retros that keep multi‑team delivery predictable and reliable.
• Keep stakeholders aligned: Communicate progress and risk to engineers, partners, and senior leaders, tailoring updates to each audience.
• Champion continuous improvement: Improve tooling, processes, and ways of working, and share patterns across the TPM org.

About you

In order to set you up for success as a Technical Program Manager for Robotics at Wayve, we're looking for the following skills and experience. (The first three are our must-haves.)

Essential

• Bias for action: 5+ years leading complex, multi‑team programs in fast‑paced or early‑stage environments. You get things done.
• Technically strong: Credible with engineers across vehicle software, hardware, and ML; you reason about how the robot / vehicle stack fits together, even though you won't write production code.
• Stays neutral and adapts under pressure: Effective in ambiguous, fast‑moving environments; you flex your style and bring structure without slowing delivery.
• Strong project management: Skilled at planning, prioritising, and managing risk and dependencies across teams.
• Clear communicator: You explain complex ideas simply, surface risk early, and keep teams aligned.
• Collaborative leader: You influence without authority - including across software / hardware boundaries - and build a positive team culture.
• Customer‑facing & mobile: Comfortable supporting customer programs and willing to travel (domestic / international) for on‑the‑ground vehicle support.
• Strategic thinking & problem‑solving: You keep the bigger picture in mind, stay calm under pressure, and find creative solutions.
• Growth mindset: Open to feedback and always looking to improve.
• Systems thinking: You reason about how the parts of a complex system fit together, and how a change in one area ripples into others.
• Product‑minded: You focus on outcomes and the people your programs serve - prioritizing by impact and defining what good looks like, not just tracking activity.

Desirable

• Robotics, automotive, or hardware‑software integration experience.
• Exposure to ML, autonomy, or other compute‑heavy / safety‑critical domains.
• An engineering or computer science degree, or experience working as an engineer; excels in Jira (or similar).

This role is a full‑time role based in Sunnyvale, CA (hybrid) and the reasonably estimated salary for this role ranges from $171,600 to $229,300, plus a competitive equity package. Actual compensation is based on the candidate's skills, qualifications, and experience.

Wayve is committed to creating an inclusive interview experience. If you require any accommodations or adjustments to participate fully in our interview process, please let us know.

We understand that everyone has a unique set of skills and experiences and that not everyone will meet all of the requirements listed above. If you’re passionate about self‑driving cars and think you have what it takes to make a positive impact on the world, we encourage you to apply.

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

For US candidates only, please visit E-Verify Notice and Participation and Right to Work

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.