Fleet Operations and Field Engineering Lead

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! The role The Fleet Operations & Field Engineering Lead is the senior on-site leader responsible for building, leading, and scaling Wayve’s on-road operations in Israel. Based in Herzliya and reporting to the Head of Field Engineering, this role owns the full operational stack in-region, including fleet uptime, ADAS testing delivery, regulatory compliance, and overall operational performance. This is a hands-on leadership role, combining deep technical expertise with operational ownership. You will act as the technical authority in-region, leading fault triage across vehicle hardware, software, sensors, and ADAS systems, while also operating as a Vehicle Safety Operator. You will start with a lean operating model and build the foundations for scalable, safe, and high-performing operations. This includes establishing processes, driving performance against KPIs, and representing Wayve locally with regulators and stakeholders. This is a unique opportunity to build operations from first principles in a new region while contributing to Wayve’s global 24/7 follow-the-sun fleet operations model. Key responsibilities: Lead hands-on fault triage and resolution across vehicle hardware, software, sensors, and compute systems. Act as a certified Vehicle Safety Operator, delivering structured on-road ADAS testing. Deliver high-quality testing outputs, including accurate reporting, QA, and auditability. Ensure fleet uptime, readiness, and utilisation targets are consistently met. Drive operational performance through structured planning, execution, and KPI tracking. Establish and enforce safe, repeatable processes for triage, repair, testing, and compliance. Maintain a 5-minute SLA response model for vehicle issues, both locally and globally. Build, manage, and develop a small high-performing team. Recruit, onboard, and scale the Israel Fleet Operations team as needed. Act as the local operational and regulatory representative for Wayve in Israel. Coordinate with cross-functional teams including Reliability Engineering, SRE, Safety, Legal, and global Fleet Ops. Contribute to global handovers to enable 24/7 fleet coverage. Embed and uphold a strong safety-first culture across all operations. Ensure compliance with regulatory, legal, and safety requirements without compromising development velocity. Manage site setup, infrastructure readiness, and operational compliance. Represent Wayve in external engagements, including regulators, partners, and executive demos. Provide structured updates, risk visibility, and insights to senior leadership. Participate in an on-call rotation to support rapid fleet response. About you You are a highly capable operator-leader who thrives in complex, safety-critical environments. You combine strong technical problem-solving with the ability to build and scale operations from the ground up. You are comfortable being both hands-on and strategic, able to diagnose vehicle issues one moment and make high-level operational decisions the next. You bring structure to ambiguity, operate effectively under pressure, and understand how to balance speed, safety, compliance, and performance. You are a strong communicator and stakeholder manager, able to represent Wayve both internally and externally while building trust across teams and partners. Essential: Strong hands-on experience in automotive, mobility, robotics, aviation, defence, or other safety-critical environments. Experience diagnosing and resolving vehicle hardware and software issues. Experience with ADAS or autonomous vehicle testing. Proven experience leading small teams while remaining technically hands-on. Experience operating in regulated environments. Ability to build structured processes and deliver against strict SLAs. Strong stakeholder management and communication skills. Demonstrated ability to balance hands-on execution with strategic leadership. Experience launching or scaling new operational sites. Fluent in Hebrew and English. Hold a full Israeli Driving Licence. Desirable: Fleet importation, homologation, or regulatory liaison experience. Experience with vehicle systems integration, diagnostics, or networked vehicle platforms. EV charging infrastructure or site setup experience. Experience in ADAS/AV development or testing environments. Experience operating in zero-shot or generalisation testing contexts**.** Professional manager qualification. Additional Requirements: Onsite in Herzliya, Israel - Sunday to Thursday. Participation in an on-call rotation is required. Occasional international travel may be required to support other sites or share best practice. Training and onboarding will take place in London and the US. All applicants must disclose any secondary employment during the application process. Employment is subject to Pre-employment checks. Health assessments (pre and/or post employment), ongoing drug and alcohol testing in line with company policy and Successful completion of training. #LI-KM1 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 For US candidates only, please visit E-Verify Notice and Participation and Right to Work 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.