Technical Program Manager, Product Planning

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.

The Product Planning role is a pivotal, cross-functional position that manages what to build, for whom, and how to deliver value, effectively bridging the gap between product strategy, direction and execution.

At Wayve, this generalist role cuts across all product categories (e.g., ADAS features, Robotaxi), customer programs (e.g, Nissan, etc) distinguishing it from feature-owner Product Managers and Technical Program Managers who own the execution of a specific product. The planner focuses on setting the structure of the roadmaps to meet company growth and profit goals, rather than owning feature requirements in any single area.

This role demands exceptional skill in executive communication, cultivating and maintaining strategic relationships with leadership across all orgs, and adeptly navigating intricate organizational dynamics.

• Directional Planning & Initiatives: Develop, manage, and execute key portfolio projects, initiatives, and business opportunities. Help define the value proposition for portfolio projects, maintain detailed product roadmaps, and set milestones based on long-term vision. Conduct in-depth studies and analyses to understand the implications of proposed product changes across all business functions (e.g., engineering, data science, operations, finance, supply chain).
• Cross-Functional Alignment: Collaborate cross-functionally with business development, product management, finance, engineering, and operations teams to establish and maintain a single source of truth for all product plans, roadmaps, data and assumptions. Own the risk register for the company and proactively build risk mitigation plans.
• Executive Communication & Stakeholder Management: This role requires extensive experience in executive communication, nurturing strong relationships with company leadership, and adeptly navigating complex organizational dynamics. The ability to effectively communicate with, influence, and manage the expectations of senior leadership, while handling sensitive situations and fostering constructive relationships, is paramount.
• Operational Management: Focus on short-to-mid-term tactical plans, manage the full product lifecycle, and coordinate aspects like financials, logistics, inventory levels, and pricing.

• Bold Generalist
  - High level of comfort with ambiguity, Ability to step outside their comfort zone and wear a multitude of hats as they help throughout the organization.
• Detail-oriented:
  You care about depth of knowledge and dive deep into the inner workings of every technology domain to identify dependencies and catch risks early.
• Program delivery experience:
  You get things done! You have shown agency by leading software projects in fast-paced or early-stage environments…