VSO Job Description

Before the detail, here's the challenge you'd help us solve.

We build the embodied intelligence that moves real vehicles safely, and the ecosystem a billion machines will run on in the future. Very few people in AI can say this. Every role here, whatever the team, plugs into that.

Here’s what this particular role covers.

Our Fleet Operations Team is responsible for maintaining the safety, performance, and operational readiness of Wayve's autonomous vehicle fleet — from routine servicing and diagnostics to urgent repairs and vehicle readiness for high-visibility events. The team keeps our fleet in peak condition to support testing, demonstrations, and real-world deployment, working closely with engineering, drivers, and operations teams to keep autonomy moving forward, every single day.

🧠 Your day-to-day
If you're passionate about driving, technology, and the future of mobility, this role offers a rare opportunity to work at the forefront of autonomous driving development.

As a Vehicle Safety Operator, you will support the development of next-generation AI driving systems by operating Wayve vehicles on public roads, evaluating vehicle behaviour, and providing operational feedback to engineering teams. You will act as a critical bridge between real-world driving conditions and the engineers developing Wayve's AI systems.

🧩 What you'll be working on

• Support real-world autonomous vehicle testing operations across Japan.

• Safely monitor autonomous driving systems during on-road testing and intervene whenever required.

• Provide structured operational feedback to engineers and research teams to help improve AI driving performance.

• Support data collection and validation activities that contribute to the training and improvement of Wayve's AI systems.

• Maintain high operational and safety standards while accurately reporting vehicle, testing, or safety-related issues.

🙌 You should apply if

Essential:

• You hold a full, clean Japanese driving license, held for a minimum of 5 years.

• You have strong driving experience in Japan and confidence operating in complex urban environments.

• You have no blameworthy insurance claims in the past three years.

• You have strong communication skills in Japanese and can remain calm and professional under pressure.

• You're happy working alone and equally happy working within a team.

• You're adaptable, reliable, and comfortable operating in evolving environments and processes.

• You're proficient in Microsoft Office suite or equivalent (Google Suite).

• You're comfortable using smartphones, tablets, and standard workplace software tools — connecting to Wi-Fi and managing settings (brightness, volume, Bluetooth), using basic apps (e.g., Safari, Mail, Photos, Calendar), and troubleshooting common issues (app crashes, restarts, network resets).

Desirable:

• You have an advanced driving background (ADI, Emergency Response Advanced Driver, or similar driving qualifications).

• You have strong familiarity with driving across urban and highway environments in Japan.

Additional requirements:

• Operations run 7 days a week, including mornings, evenings, weekends, and occasional travel support. Shift schedules (rota) are issued at least 4 weeks in advance wherever possible.

• Shift pattern: Monday to Sunday, 40 hours per week/weekend (must be able to work weekends) — 06:30–15:30 or 14:30–23:30.

• Vehicle Safety Operators are expected to primarily work from one of our operational sites in Yokohama or Tokyo, with occasional travel to support operations (as much notice as possible will be given). Please consider your commute carefully to ensure you can consistently arrive on time.

• All applicants are required to disclose any second job as part of the application process.

• All applicants are subject to a health check before/after.

• Employment is contingent on passing training, pre-employment checks and ongoing drug/alcohol testing, in accordance with our policy.

🌱 Not ticking every box? That’s totally okay! If you’re passionate about autonomy and keen to learn, we encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet every requirement.

🚀 Wayve is building the leading AI platform for autonomous driving. We are pioneering an end to end AI approach that enables vehicles to learn directly from real world experience, developing the ability to adapt, generalise and improve at scale. Instead of relying on hand coded rules or pre mapped environments, our AI Driver learns to drive by understanding the world around it. The result is technology that navigates complex urban environments with intelligence, precision and natural flow, unlocking meaningful advances in both safety and efficiency. We believe autonomy represents a once in a generation transformation in how people and goods move, comparable to the shift from horses to cars, and from human driven vehicles to intelligent machines.

Our ambition is to make autonomy universal. Wayve’s mapless and hardware agnostic AI platform integrates with global OEM partners, enabling continuous software evolution and unlocking advanced levels of automation from L2 plus through to L4 as our core AI model scales. In a race increasingly defined by intelligence and real world learning, Wayve is taking a distinct approach, building a generalisable driving intelligence that can power any vehicle, anywhere. By combining embodied AI with scalable deployment, we are creating technology that can be shaped to each OEM brand and driver experience, accelerating the transition to a safer, more intelligent future of mobility.

Our process is clear and respectful of your time:

• Recruiter Screen (30 mins, online)

• Document Screen (Driver's License, Driving Record, Cumulative Points Certificate will be checked)

• On-Site Interview (60 mins, Yokohama Office)

• Driving Test (2 hours, Yokohama Driving School)

• Final interview with Hiring Manager (30 mins, online)

We’ll always explain the format and work around your availability.

💰 Salaries benchmarked against the market annually
📈 Meaningful equity, sharing in the ownership and long term success of Wayve
✈️ Relocation support and visa sponsorship where applicable
📚 Learning and development budgets with support for training, conferences and growth
🩺 Comprehensive benefits including health insurance, dental, enhanced maternity and paternity leave, retirement or pension where applicable, access to therapists, wellbeing partnerships, team socials and more

🤝 Inclusive & Fair Recruitment
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, 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 protected by applicable law.

Wayve is committed to providing a fair and respectful recruitment process for all candidates, free from harassment and discrimination. The Company has zero tolerance for sexual harassment against job applicants or similar individuals.

• All communications relating to recruitment activities are conducted through the Company's recruitment system or using an email address with the Company's domain. Employees do not use their personal email addresses or social media accounts for recruitment-related communications.

• Employees do not engage in private communications unrelated to recruitment activities, invite applicants to private meals, request or seek a personal or romantic relationship, or otherwise initiate private contact with applicants.

• Sexual remarks or conduct, physical contact, questions concerning sexual matters, and any other conduct constituting harassment are prohibited.

If you have any concerns, you can contact our consultation desk at peoplepartners@wayve.ai. All consultations are treated with strict confidentiality, your privacy will be protected, and no one will be subject to any disadvantageous treatment for raising a concern or cooperating with an inquiry.

If you require any accommodations during the interview process, let us know.
Learn more at Careers at Wayve and Values at Wayve.

DISCLAIMER: We won't ask about marriage, pregnancy, care responsibilities or disabilities in our job ads or interviews. We do collect this information via an optional DEI Monitoring form to help us identify and improve areas of our hiring process.

A quick, honest note before you apply.

Wayve is not a mature, fully-structured place with the playbook already written. Much of how we work is still being written, and if you join, you’ll help write it. That suits people who want real ownership more than people who need a settled structure from day one.

If that sounds like the kind of problem you want to spend your time on, we’d really like to hear from you.

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

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.