Escalation Manager, Emergency Response

Waymo is an autonomous driving technology company with the mission to be the world's most trusted driver. Since its start as the Google Self-Driving Car Project in 2009, Waymo has focused on building the Waymo Driver—The World's Most Experienced Driver—to improve access to mobility while saving thousands of lives now lost to traffic crashes. The Waymo Driver powers Waymo's fully autonomous ride-hail service and can also be applied to a range of vehicle platforms and product use cases. The Waymo Driver has provided over ten million rider-only trips, enabled by its experience autonomously driving over 100 million miles on public roads and tens of billions in simulation across 15+ U.S. states.

Waymo Operations exists to deliver the Waymo Driver to the world. We are a global team building and scaling the world's first and leading autonomous fleet and operations platform. From component sourcing to end customer management, we enable and create value for Waymo through scaled and orchestrated deployment of the Waymo Driver. At Waymo, we are dedicated to building a culture that promotes inclusivity and celebration. We value diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences; recognize that inclusive actions lead to equitable outcomes; and support and encourage all team members to share their ideas to help Waymo better serve the communities in which we operate.

In this onsite role, you will report to the Director of our Operations Center and will be based in Phoenix, AZ.

Assigned service rotations primarily onsite requiring real-time response to high severity incidents, including occasional on-call rotations, in support of a 24-hour operation.

• Tuesday - Friday: 6:00am - 2:30pm
• Monday - Thursday: 2:00pm - 10:30pm
• Friday - Monday: 10:00pm - 6:30am

You Will

• Serve as the central escalation point for all high-priority safety and operational issues across Waymo-owned and partner operations. Immediate and initial incident escalation point of contact and incident leader, responsible for making safety driven judgement calls on fleet and rider related issues that may impact the general public and community. Apply real-time critical thinking and sound judgment to assess complex situations, make timely decisions, and drive swift resolution. Balance risk, safety, and operational continuity when prioritizing actions under pressure.
• Directly engage with Operations Center, local market leaders, Safety, Engineering, and executive stakeholders to align on immediate response actions including leading and directing Operation teams' execution of plans while maintaining safety and business continuity. Provide clear, concise, and authoritative communication, ensuring all parties remain informed and aligned throughout escalations. Act as the single source of truth for status updates and escalation pathways.
• Lead structured post-incident reviews, capturing root causes, corrective actions, and lessons learned. Translate findings into updated policies, workflows, and playbooks that strengthen future responses. Proactively identify recurring trends and propose improvements to operational systems and processes. Lead daily shift and weekly reporting for notable and significant events, ensuring appropriate follow-up. Provide feedback to product/quality teams and consult on technical decisions by analyzing trade-offs, understanding alternative risks, and benefits.
• Maintain mastery of Waymo's workflows, tools, and escalation protocols, ensuring knowledge is retained in-house and updated in real time. Standardize escalation playbooks and decision frameworks to ensure consistent application across all markets and partners. Safeguard compliance with company standards, safety requirements, and regulatory obligations. Coordinate launches and releases with the vendor teams, ensuring effective change management and vendor performance tracking for newly added procedures and capabilities.
• Model resilience, composure, and decisive leadership in high-pressure situations. Reinforce a culture of accountability, safety, and operational excellence by setting the standard for escalation handling. Prioritize the safety of riders and community in all decisions and nurture with vendor partners a strong safety culture. Act as a trusted advisor to leadership, while coaching and supporting frontline teams during and after escalations.

You Have

• Bachelor's degree, or in lieu of a degree, an additional 4+ years of work experience with program management in operations, strategy, and planning
• Proven experience in high-pressure operational environments such as network operations, aviation, emergency response, or critical infrastructure.
• Strong real-time decision-making and critical thinking skills with the ability to weigh safety, risk, and operational continuity.
• Exceptional communication skills—able to provide clear, concise, and authoritative direction to cross-functional teams. Extremely strong verbal and written communication skills are essential for handling de-escalation, problem solving in high distress/complex situations and documenting/investigating findings. Executive Level presentation skills.
• Demonstrated ability to lead post-incident reviews and embed lessons learned into workflows and playbooks.
• Deep operational awareness with the ability to quickly assess and prioritize competing issues.
• Strong emotional intelligence, composure, and resilience in high-stakes scenarios.
• Experience with workflow management tools, escalation systems, and knowledge management practices. Proficiency in operating communication and a variety of SW tools and emergency response protocols and interpreting large sets of data to extract trends and analysis.
• Ability to work collaboratively with diverse stakeholders, while maintaining authority during escalations.
• Demonstrated skill in navigating sensitive customer interactions during high-stress or emotionally charged situations. This includes a proven record of de-escalation, compassion, and providing a win-win outcome.
• The ability to multitask effectively is crucial, as dispatchers often need to handle multiple calls and tasks simultaneously while remaining calm under pressure.
• Candidates should be willing and able to work rotating shifts, including nights, weekends, and holidays, to ensure 24/7 coverage to support the operations.

We Prefer

• Certification in Emergency Telecommunications (Preferred): While not always required, certification in emergency telecommunications or a related field demonstrates proficiency in dispatch procedure
• Experience in Leading Command Center/Dispatching: Previous experience as a leader in emergency role is preferred, as it provides a foundation for handling emergency calls and coordinating with emergency responders effectively.
• Previous Law enforcement or emergency services experience: this will provide proven experience and training in de-escalation and handling distressed scenarios.
• Some Autonomous vehicle or ride-share experience will be nice-to-have

Travel Requirement

• 15% of the time for team meetings, vendor site visit or other operations need

The expected base salary range for this full-time position is listed below. Actual starting pay will be based on job-related factors, including exact work location, experience, relevant training and education, and skill level. Waymo employees are also eligible to participate in Waymo's discretionary annual bonus program, equity incentive plan, and generous Company benefits program, subject to eligibility requirements.

Salary Range

$120,000—$130,000 USD