Program Manager, Mapping Operations

The Mapping Operations team is responsible for building, validating, and continuously improving the high-definition maps that power Waymo’s autonomous driving system. The team ensures that the vehicle has an accurate, up-to-date understanding of the world by transforming raw sensor data into reliable, production-ready map assets.

MapOps sits at the intersection of autonomous driving, data operations, and quality assurance, partnering closely with Engineering, ML, and Product teams to support safe, scalable deployment across new and existing markets.

You will:

• Lead Root-Cause Investigations: Lead deep dives into map quality issues to identify organizational breakdowns, workflow vulnerabilities, and metric anomalies. You will move beyond surface-level fixes to understand fundamental root causes and generate robust, scalable solutions.
• Act as a Technical Bridge: Serve as the connector between Engineering/Product and Operations. You will prioritize and contextualize operational escalations for technical stakeholders while simultaneously translating complex logic into clear, watertight, and executable guidance for Mapping Operators.
• Drive Concurrent Initiatives: Manage progress on multiple disparate initiatives, ensuring next steps are clear and deadlines are aligned. You will maintain momentum by proactively revitalizing stale workstreams and closing the loop with clear summaries upon completion.
• Data Analysis & Heuristics: Scrutinize data trends to back up assertions and explore anomalies. You will keep analyses structured and reproducible, leveraging tooling to find creative solutions or developing heuristics to surmount roadblocks when perfect data isn't available.

You have:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience.
• 5+ years of experience in operations, analytics, or project management, with a track record of driving process improvements.
• Advanced proficiency with data. You are highly comfortable organizing large datasets, utilizing complex formulas, and creating structured models to derive insights in Google Sheets or Excel.
• Exceptional communication skills. You can distill complex technical logic into clear, impossible-to-misunderstand instructions for non-technical audiences.
• Comfort with ambiguity. You have a history of making pragmatic decisions and maintaining momentum even when data is incomplete or processes are undefined.

We prefer:

• Experience with SQL. You can write basic queries to retrieve data and answer your own questions without relying on an analyst.
• Familiarity with Mapping concepts. You understand the basics of spatial data (lat/long, polygons) or have used map editing tools.
• Vendor Management experience. You have previously created guidelines or managed quality/workflows for outsourced or contingent teams.