Vendor Manager Jobs in San Francisco, CA

INTRODUCTION

Waymo is an autonomous driving technology company with the mission to be the world's most trusted driver. Since its start as the Google Self-Driving Car Project in 2009, Waymo has focused on building the Waymo Driver—The World's Most Experienced Driver™—to improve access to mobility while saving thousands of lives now lost to traffic crashes. The Waymo Driver powers Waymo’s fully autonomous ride-hail service and can also be applied to a range of vehicle platforms and product use cases. The Waymo Driver has provided over ten million rider-only trips, enabled by its experience autonomously driving over 100 million miles on public roads and tens of billions in simulation across 15+ U.S. states.

Waymo Operations exists to deliver the Waymo Driver to the world. We are a global team building and scaling the world's first and leading autonomous fleet and operations platform. From component sourcing to end customer management, we enable and create value for Waymo through scaled and orchestrated deployment of the Waymo Driver. At Waymo, we are dedicated to building a culture that promotes collaboration and celebration. We value our team members' unique backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences and support and encourage all team members to share their ideas to help Waymo better serve the communities in which we operate.

In this hybrid role, you will report to the Head of Global Fleet Operations

ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES

You will:

• Direct the operational rhythm of maintenance partners by leading daily readiness stand-ups and weekly performance reviews to track KPIs, resolve blockers, and ensure accountability for corrective actions.
• Drive partner accountability through rigorous monitoring of performance dashboards and scorecards to identify underperformance trends, deploy corrective actions, and manage centralized cost performance against budget targets.
• Serve as the primary escalation lead by driving end-to-end resolution of vendor issues, utilizing a centralized tracker to identify root causes and implement permanent corrective actions to prevent recurrence.
• Govern operational integrity by maintaining all partner SOPs and playbooks, ensuring strict vendor adherence to the latest Waymo standards through robust change control for all process and tool updates.
• Elevate partner capability by leading comprehensive onboarding and targeted training programs to ensure vendor teams master Waymo’s diagnostic processes, safety standards, and quality expectations.
• Optimize fleet readiness by aligning vendor labor, throughput, and facility capacity with fluctuating demand to mitigate risks and ensure fleet scalability and peak service optimization.

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS

You have:

• Experience managing 3rd-party vendors where the work is performed on-site or in specialized facilities, rather than just remote software vendors.
• Proficiency with data visualization tools and the ability to translate "dashboard trends" into "operational reality."
• Experience leading onboarding programs or managing "Change Control" during rapid scaling phases.
• Operational Excellence: A track record of using DMAIC or Kaizen methodologies to reduce waste and improve throughput.
• Familiarity with formal Safety Management Systems and ability to look at maintenance through a lens of risk mitigation and safety culture rather than just mechanical uptime.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

We prefer:

• Background in managing large-scale, high-utilization fleets (e.g., car-sharing, logistics, or aviation maintenance).
• Familiarity with diagnostics, sensor calibration, or complex hardware systems.

TRAVEL REQUIREMENT

• 10% of the time

COMPENSATION

The expected base salary range for this full-time position across US locations is listed below. Actual starting pay will be based on job-related factors, including exact work location, experience, relevant training and education, and skill level. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for the role location or, if the role can be performed remote, the specific salary range for your preferred location, during the hiring process.

• Salary Range: $159,000—$196,000 USD

Waymo employees are also eligible to participate in Waymo’s discretionary annual bonus program, equity incentive plan, and generous Company benefits program, subject to eligibility requirements.