Manager, Mission Control

What You’ll Be Doing

• Serve as the operational owner for live AV fleet safety and monitor operational signals to identify anomalies, degradation patterns, and emerging service impacts.

  Make rapid, high-consequence decisions under uncertainty to stabilize operations and minimize customer and safety impact.

  Provide operational leadership and escalation management during high-severity or ambiguous operational events.

• Operational Design Domain (ODD) Management

  Continuously manage ODD constraints including weather, road closures, construction, and city events impacting operations.

  Initiate and approve Pick-Up/Drop-Off (PuDo) restrictions, map overrides, and routing interventions to maintain safe operability.

  Partner cross-functionally to align operational conditions, mapping, and system capabilities while escalating systemic issues impacting service reliability or safety.

• Non-Nominal Event & Incident Management

  Own the end-to-end management of non-nominal events and degraded vehicle recovery processes.

  Act as Incident Commander for high-severity events, driving triage, structured escalation, containment, and recovery protocols.

  Coordinate directly with internal teams, first responders, towing providers, and municipal agencies during active incidents.

• Field Support & Dispatch Coordination

  Triage and dispatch field support resources including On-Road Response Specialists (ORS) or third-party providers (e.g., towing).

  Manage SLA performance, response times, and resource allocation across field operations.

  Optimize field coverage models and support operational readiness for launches, expansions, and special events.

• First Responder Engagement & Public Safety Partnerships

  Build and maintain trusted relationships with law enforcement, fire, EMS, emergency management, and public safety stakeholders.

  Serve as a primary liaison for first responder interactions involving autonomous vehicle operations and incidents.

  Partner with external agencies during operational disruptions while integrating public safety feedback into operational planning.

• Map & Operational Readiness Oversight

  Review and validate active map restrictions, routing constraints, and operational readiness conditions.

  Ensure readiness for daily operations by aligning map state, fleet availability, and environmental conditions.

  Escalate systemic map or routing issues impacting service reliability.

• Training & Operational Readiness

  Develop and deliver training materials and operational guidance for first responders and external stakeholders.

  Partner with Operations, Engineering, Safety, Legal, and Communications teams to translate technical concepts into operationally usable guidance.

  Support tabletop exercises, field drills, and preparedness activities while reinforcing escalation and incident response protocols.

• Cross-Functional & External Stakeholder Coordination

  Serve as the primary liaison between Command Center, Remote Vehicle Assistance (RVA), Engineering, Safety, and Commercial Operations during live events.

  Drive structured communication and cross-functional alignment during operational disruptions and critical incidents.

  Provide executive-level operational updates, incident summaries, and escalation communication during high-pressure scenarios.

• Continuous Improvement & Scalability

  Identify recurring operational issues and drive root cause analysis with Engineering, Safety, and Analytics teams.

  Translate incident learnings into process improvements, tooling requirements, and automation opportunities.

  Contribute to the development of scalable operational frameworks supporting full driverless expansion.

What We’re Looking For

• Bachelor’s degree (Operations, Engineering, Business, Emergency Management, Public Safety, Transportation, Logistics) or equivalent practical experience.
• 5–10+ years of experience in real-time operations, command-and-control, or mission-critical environments (e.g., autonomous systems, aviation operations, emergency dispatch, military operations, logistics control towers).
• Demonstrated ability to thrive in ambiguity, balancing operational and strategic planning with tactical execution.
• Experience with incident command systems or structured emergency response frameworks.
• Proven ability to make high-quality decisions under pressure with incomplete or ambiguous data.
• Demonstrated experience in incident management, escalation frameworks, and real-time operational risk mitigation.
• Strong situational awareness and the ability to synthesize multiple data streams into actionable decisions.
• Experience coordinating cross-functional teams in high-stakes environments.
• Demonstrated ability to use data to drive performance and decision-making.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to provide clear direction during critical events.
• Proficiency with operational tools, dashboards, and data systems used in live monitoring environments.
• Able to work flexible schedules, including nights, weekends, and holidays.

Physical Demands & Working Environment

• This role requires the ability to interface with both office and field environments.
• The employee is occasionally required to remain stationary at times for up to 50% of working time.
• Operate and use office equipment.

Motional

• Motional is a driverless technology company making autonomous vehicles a safe, reliable, and accessible reality.
• We are driven by something more. Our journey is always people first. We aren't just developing driverless cars; we're creating safer roadways, more equitable transportation options, and making our communities better places to live, work, and connect.
• Our team is made up of engineers, researchers, innovators, dreamers, and doers, who are creating a technology with the potential to transform the way we move.
• Higher purpose, greater impact. We're creating first-of-its-kind technology that will transform transportation. To do so successfully, we must design for everyone in our cities and on our roads.
• We believe in building a great place to work through a progressive, global culture that is diverse, inclusive, and ensures people feel valued at every level of the organization.
• Diversity helps us to see the world differently; it's not only good for our business, it's the right thing to do.
• Scale up, not starting up. Our team is behind some of the industry's largest leaps forward, including the first fully-autonomous cross-country drive in the U.S, the launch of the world's first robotaxi pilot, and operation of the world's longest-standing public robotaxi fleet.
• We're driven to scale; we're moving towards commercialization of our technology, and we need team members who are ready to embrace change and challenges.
• Formed as a joint venture between Hyundai Motor Group and Aptiv, Motional is fundamentally changing how people move through their lives.
• Headquartered in Boston, Motional has operations in the U.S and Asia.
• For more information, visit www.Motional.com and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.
• Motional AD Inc. is an EOE. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.