Autonomous Vehicle Operations Manager

Location: London

Reporting to: Director of Operations

Employment Type: Full time, permanent

Salary: £65,000 - £70,000 per annum

AV Operations is a specialist autonomous vehicle operations business, established to support the safe, compliant and scalable deployment of self-driving technology within the UK private hire ecosystem. Working in partnership with leading global innovators such as Uber, we sit at the operational edge of the future of mobility.

Our focus is on translating cutting edge autonomous capability into real world, regulator ready operations. We operate with a safety first mindset, rigorous compliance standards and an uncompromising commitment to customer experience.

At AV Operations, we build teams that take ownership, apply first principles thinking and deliver measurable outcomes in complex, fast moving environments. As the autonomous landscape evolves, we exist to ensure it scales responsibly, commercially and at pace.

Lead and own the end to end autonomous vehicle operations capability, driving fleet safety, availability, performance, compliance and commercial outcomes. This role builds and scales operational excellence across people, process, partners and technology to underpin strategic growth and deliver measurable business results.

This is a hands on leadership role for someone who can both set strategy and dive into operational detail to solve complex, real-time problems.

• Own day to day operational delivery to maximise vehicle availability, uptime and service performance.
• Define and drive operational KPIs, scorecards and performance frameworks that translate strategy into frontline execution.
• Own and manage P&L accountability for your function with focus on cost efficiency, target delivery and operational scalability.

• Overall responsibility for fleet readiness, lifecycle management, infrastructure and depot operations.
• Plan, process and execute vehicle deliveries, commissioning and de-mobilisation.
• Lead continuous improvement in fleet performance, operational throughput, maintenance quality and safety outcomes.

• Embed safety as the first principle: operationalise frameworks that assure regulatory compliance, audit readiness and risk management controls.
• Custodian for vehicle compliance, including registrations, licensing, inspections and environmental standards compliance.
• Drive a strong safety culture supported by data, learning loops and corrective action plans.

• Lead development and implementation of core SOPs and playbooks aligned to best practice, including lean methodologies where appropriate.
• Hold teams and partners accountable to defined operational standards and performance criteria.

• Act as the operational owner for strategic technology and service partners, including negotiating SLAs and resolving escalations.
• Represent operational interests in cross-functional, cross-partner governance forums.
• Act as the primary escalation point across partners for critical operational issues.

• Build, develop and lead high performing operations teams across functions such as fleet readiness, incident response, depot operations and fleet development.
• Design organisation structures and roles that optimise output and accountability.
• Lead stand ups, reviews and forecasting forums that reinforce performance culture.
• Oversee multi-layered, shift-based teams including field operations, control room / remote operations and incident response functions.

• Establish mechanisms for rigorous reporting on key business metrics to inform executive decision making.
• Own operational scorecards, tracking progress against targets and enabling data led improvements.
• Track and optimise core metrics such as vehicle uptime, trip success rate, downtime, incident rates, response times and charging efficiency.

• Champion innovation across operations including adoption of AI and automation tools to improve efficiency and reduce manual workload where appropriate.
• Work closely with AV technology partners to feed operational insights into product and system improvements, supporting continuous evolution of the AV stack.

• Fleet availability, uptime and operational readiness
• Safety incident rate and compliance performance
• Operational cost efficiency vs budget
• SLA adherence and partner performance
• Quality and robustness of operational playbooks
• Team engagement and capability uplift

Essential

• Proven senior operations leadership experience in fleet, mobility, transport or regulated logistics environment
• Track record of managing P&L and driving cost efficiencies
• Strong analytical mindset with high proficiency in operational performance measurement
• Ability to lead business critical decision making in fast paced, complex environments

Desirable

• Experience with lean operational frameworks and performance scorecards
• Experience with AI/automation tools in operational contexts
• Background in autonomous or advanced vehicle related operations
• Deep familiarity with UK transport safety and compliance regimes

• Strategic but hands on operator
• Strong communicator able to simplify complexity and lead through influence
• Outcome and accountability driven
• Collaborative cross functional partner
• Comfortable operating in ambiguity and building new operating models in emerging industries
• Resilient and calm under pressure, with the ability to lead through high-stakes, real-time operational challenges