Customer Program Manager

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.

About our Technical Program Management Teams

The Technical Program Management team sits within Production Programs in Product & Delivery and leads Wayve’s programs with OEM customers, from early-stage advanced development initiatives to full-scale production. This role sits at the intersection of customer, product and engineering, with close collaboration with our US teams.

Your day-to-day

As Robotaxi Customer Program Manager, you’ll be the main customer-facing program lead for Wayve’s Japan-based OEM and partner activity, with a current focus on robotaxi work involving Nissan. You’ll work with the customer to define and manage project plans, and make sure their requirements flow into our internal development pipeline and are delivered on schedule. You’ll turn customer needs and feedback into clear internal priorities, filter and structure requests so the wider organisation can focus on what matters most, and report progress and risks in both Japanese and English. It’s a high-visibility, high-ownership role in a fast-moving, ambiguous environment with significant autonomy.

What you’ll be working on:

• Leading cross-functional teams in executing complex customer programs, making sure program objectives are achieved.

• Establishing and maintaining a comprehensive project management framework, including project planning, risk management, change management and task coordination.

• Engaging with customers to understand and address their technical requirements and needs.

• Collaborating with Product, TPM, R&D and engineering teams to translate customer demands into clear, actionable technical requirements.

• Working with internal development teams to align customer requirements with internal milestone planning and execution.

• Running progress reporting, stakeholder communication and meeting cadence, externally with customers and internally, in both Japanese and English.

• Filtering and structuring customer requests so the wider organisation can focus on what is most important and executable.

• Providing first-level support to customers, so their needs are met promptly and effectively.

You should apply if:

Essential

• Fluent Japanese and English, with the ability to lead high-stakes external discussions in both languages.

• Strong program management experience, ideally more than 5 years or at senior individual contributor level, in complex automotive software development.

• Direct experience working with Japanese OEMs, automotive companies or tier-1 suppliers.

• Proven customer-facing stakeholder management experience, not just internal program delivery.

• Strong ownership and the ability to operate effectively in ambiguity.

• Robust technical expertise, with comprehensive knowledge of the automotive industry and software development, and some robotics, autonomy or AI-related experience.

• Proficiency with program management tools (e.g. Jira), and exceptional communication and interpersonal skills.

• The ability to collaborate effectively across multidisciplinary teams, and a willingness to travel as needed.

Desirable

• Knowledge of current AI advancements, including Generative AI, AV 2.0 and Large Language Models (LLMs).

• Hands-on software development experience (Python, C++, Rust and others).

• A Master’s degree in Engineering or Computer Science.

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:

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 with focused time working remotely. This gives our teams the connection and energy of working together, alongside the flexibility to do their best work in a way that fits their lives.

The Interview Process:

Our process is clear and respectful of your time:

• Initial call / recruiter screen (30 mins)

• Competency Interviews ( Hiring team ; 1 hour total)

• Deep-dive technical interviews (automotive product, program management and cross-functional collaboration, and a presentation on running customer programs; 3 hours total)

• Final interview: mission & values alignment (1 hour).

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

What’s in it for you (Location dependant):

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.