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.  

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!  

Senior ML Engineering Manager, Application Software (US)

The Role

We’re looking for an exceptional technical leader to establish and lead our U.S.-based Application Software  team in Sunnyvale, California; a high-impact group focused on supporting Wayve’s global OEM partnerships and vehicle integration programs across North America. This is a unique opportunity to shape how our AI-driven autonomous driving technology is deployed, validated, and scaled with partners in the U.S. market.

As the founding manager, you’ll build and lead a team of engineers working across systems integration, hardware-software interfacing, and vehicle testing. Your team will be responsible for local deployment and validation of Wayve’s technology stack, ensuring robust performance across diverse vehicle platforms and U.S. road environments.

Given the geographical and time zone distance from our London HQ, your team will operate with a high degree of independence. We’re looking for someone who thrives in a fast-moving, startup-like environment — capable of setting a vision, executing quickly, and making sound technical and operational decisions while maintaining strong alignment with our global engineering and product teams.

This role requires a broad systems perspective, hands-on technical depth, and excellent leadership and communication skills. Experience working with OEMs and vehicle programs is highly desirable.

Key Responsibilities

• Build and lead a self-sufficient AV development team in the US, hiring and mentoring top talent across robotics and ML.
  
  
• Deliver autonomy capabilities tailored to US road conditions and driving norms, in close collaboration with central Autonomy teams.
  
  
• Act as the primary technical and operational bridge between the US office and HQ, aligning roadmaps and communicating local insights.
  
  
• Drive full-cycle development: from identifying local autonomy needs, to designing, implementing, testing, and deploying features into production.
  
  
• Ensure the team upholds Wayve’s high engineering standards, while operating with agility and independence.
  
  
• Work closely with OEM partners in the US — representing Wayve’s autonomy team in technical discussions, capturing product requirements, and shaping joint development plans.
  
  
• Establish close working relationships with our product and vehicle operations teams in the US.
  
  

About You

To succeed in this role, you’ll bring deep technical expertise, a systems mindset, and a proven ability to lead high-performing engineering teams that deliver results in complex, cross-functional environments.

Essential:

• A strong background in robotics and autonomy, with experience building and deploying systems that operate in real-world environments.
  
  
• Demonstrated ability to lead and grow high-performing engineering teams, ideally in geographically distributed or independent settings.
  
  
• Comfortable with ambiguity: you can define goals, carve out roadmaps, and deliver high-impact work with minimal supervision.
  
  
• Broad technical fluency: capable of reviewing and guiding work across software engineering, ML, controls, and systems integration.
  
  
• Excellent communication skills: you’re able to clearly convey technical context and strategic vision across cultures and time zones.
  
  
• Strong product sense and stakeholder management skills: you’re comfortable interfacing directly with OEM customers and representing engineering in external-facing conversations.
  
  

Desirable

• Prior experience in autonomous vehicles or robotic systems operating at scale.
  
  
• Familiarity with the US’s road environment, driving behaviour, or AV regulatory landscape.
  
  

• A strong foundation in machine learning and its application to real-time decision-making or perception systems.
  
  

Location & Working Model

This is a full-time role based in our Sunnyvale, California office. At Wayve, we believe in combining the best of both worlds; in-person collaboration to fuel innovation and team culture, with flexibility to work from home when it best suits you and your team. We operate core working hours to enable cross-time-zone collaboration and trust you to design your schedule around delivering impact.

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.

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.