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!
About the Role
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. This includes prototype development, new product introduction (NPI), and supporting fleet launches.
This role serves as the primary Supply Chain lead ensuring meeting program deliverables, supplier compliance, and seamless coordination across Engineering, Operations, Manufacturing, and external partners. The ideal candidate thrives in a fast-moving, hardware-driven environment and brings both strategic thinking and hands-on execution capability.
The role works cross-functionally with Engineering, Planning, Sourcing, Logistics, Finance, Legal, and Suppliers, and partners closely with global upfitters and third-party integration partners (spanning the US, UK, and other regions) to ensure vehicle and program timelines are met.
Key Responsibilities
Program Ownership & Cross-Functional Coordination
- Act as the primary Supply Chain lead for assigned programs or internal product builds (e.g., prototypes, new product introduction, subassembly).
- Own end-to-end material readiness to support program milestones across R&D, Engineering, Operations, and Manufacturing.
- Collaborate closely with Engineering, Planning, Sourcing, Logistics, Finance, and Suppliers to align supply chain activities with program timelines.
- Act as the strategic liaison between hardware engineering and the procurement teams, managing demand aggregation.
Material Planning & Readiness
- Translate engineering BOMs and aggregate Technical Program Manager demand into procurement plans
- Identify long-lead items and critical path components early in the product lifecycle.
- Track material status through build phases and escalate gaps or risks proactively.
Compliance & Risk Management
- Collaborating with Supply Chain Team Leads to ensure direct purchasing, indirect purchasing, and logistics suppliers are meeting compliance requirements, including legal, environmental, regulatory (e.g., TISAX, ISO), and ethical sourcing standards.
- Partner with legal and compliance teams to ensure appropriate supplier agreements, NDAs, and risk controls are in place.
- Develop contingency plans for supply disruptions and actively manage supply chain risks.
Program Managing Upfitter / Partner
- Serve as the primary program manager for upfitter and partner relationships, ensuring alignment across all stakeholders.
- Drive upfitter/partner activities to ensure vehicles meet overall program timelines and quality standards.
- Proactively identify and resolve issues impacting vehicle build readiness, coordinating between internal teams and external partners.
- Maintain clear communication cadence with upfitters and stakeholders, tracking milestones and escalating risks as needed.
Supply Chain KPI Management
- Define, track, and report on key supply chain performance metrics including, material availability, total cost saving, inventory cycle count accuracy.
- Establish program-level supply chain dashboards and reporting cadences to provide visibility to leadership and cross-functional stakeholders.
- Analyse KPI trends to identify root causes of supply chain underperformance and drive corrective actions with suppliers and internal teams.
- Leverage KPI insights to continuously improve supply chain processes, reduce waste, and increase overall program efficiency.
Skills & 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.
- Automotive, consumer, hardware, or robotic industry experience preferred
- Familiarity with supplier compliance frameworks including TISAX, ISO standards, and ethical sourcing requirements.
- Demonstrated ability to manage cross-functional programs across Engineering, Operations, and Supply Chain.
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, and risk management skills.
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management capabilities.
- Ability to travel internationally as needed
This is a full-time role based in our office in Sunnyvale office. At Wayve we want the best of all worlds so we operate a hybrid working policy that combines time together in our offices and workshops to fuel innovation, culture, relationships and learning, and time spent working from home. We operate core working hours so you can determine the schedule that works best for you and your team.
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
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.
