Head of UK and EU Policy

Founded in 2017, Wayve is the leading developer of Embodied AI technology. Our advanced AI software and foundation models enable vehicles to perceive, understand, and navigate any complex environment, enhancing the usability and safety of automated driving systems. Our vision is to create autonomy that propels the world forward. Our intelligent, mapless, and hardware-agnostic AI products are designed for automakers, accelerating the transition from assisted to automated driving. In our fast-paced environment big problems ignite us—we embrace uncertainty, leaning into complex challenges to unlock groundbreaking solutions. We aim high and stay humble in our pursuit of excellence, constantly learning and evolving as we pave the way for a smarter, safer future. At Wayve, your contributions matter. We value diversity, embrace new perspectives, and foster an inclusive work environment; we back each other to deliver impact.

The role involves leading our policy and regulatory engagement strategy across the UK and Europe. This person will serve as Wayve’s senior representative for all European governments, helping unlock commercial deployment opportunities for Wayve’s autonomous driving technology across Level 2, Level 3 and Level 4 products and our future mobility partnerships. You will define and deliver public affairs strategies that enable development and commercialisation across key European markets, while partnering closely with Commercial, Product, Engineering, Safety, Legal and Communications teams to support Wayve’s evolving go-to-market strategy. This role will be instrumental in shaping how autonomous driving technology is introduced across the UK and Europe and offers the opportunity to influence policy conversations at the forefront of AI-powered mobility.

Key responsibilities:

• Own execution of Wayve’s UK and European public policy and regulatory strategy, ensuring alignment with global policy objectives and commercial goals.
• Lead Wayve’s engagement with key government departments across the whole region, including national transport authorities and city-level stakeholders.
• Build high-level relationships with regulatory agencies including organisations such as KBA in Germany, RDW in the Netherlands and equivalent authorities across Europe.
• Establish Wayve as a trusted and credible voice in autonomous mobility policy discussions across London, Brussels and major European cities.
• Build and execute a scalable multi-country engagement strategy that supports Wayve’s evolving commercial and deployment roadmap.
• Advocate for regulatory approaches and frameworks that enable safe autonomous vehicle development, pilots and deployment at scale across European markets.
• Build coalitions and relationships with industry associations, policymakers, transport authorities, academic institutions and external partners to support constructive policy outcomes.
• Draft and deliver regulatory submissions, consultation responses, technical briefings, policy papers and executive-level communications tailored to UK and European audiences.
• Partner closely with Legal, Safety, Engineering and Communications teams to translate complex technical concepts into clear policy positions and external messaging.
• Represent Wayve at government meetings, industry events, regulatory workshops and public forums across the UK and Europe.
• Monitor and assess emerging regulatory developments, political dynamics and policy risks impacting autonomous driving, AI and future mobility.

About you:

• ~10 years of experience in public policy, government affairs, regulatory affairs or external affairs, with significant experience operating at a senior level across the UK and Europe.
• Excellent public speaker: you will be a key spokesperson for the company across the region.
• Deep understanding of the UK and European political and regulatory landscape, particularly within transport, mobility, automotive, AI or emerging technology sectors.
• Demonstrated success influencing policy and regulatory outcomes through direct engagement with regulators, government officials, policymakers and city authorities.
• Experience developing and executing multi-country engagement strategies that can adapt alongside changing commercial priorities.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to represent Wayve credibly with senior external audiences.
• Strong technical literacy and ability to work effectively with engineering, product and safety teams to translate technical topics into policy and regulatory narratives.
• Experience navigating complex multicultural environments and operating across multiple jurisdictions simultaneously.
• Experience within autonomous vehicles, mobility, transportation, ride-hailing or broader deep technology sectors.
• Existing relationships with European transport regulators, policymakers or city-level stakeholders.
• Additional European language skills such as French, German or Spanish.
• Experience building or scaling policy functions within a high-growth organisation.

This is a full-time role based in our office in London. At Wayve we want the best of all worlds so we operate a hybrid working policy that combines time together in our offices and workshops to fuel innovation, culture, relationships and learning, and time spent working from home. Wayve is committed to creating an inclusive interview experience. If you require any accommodations or adjustments to participate fully in our interview process, please let us know. We understand that everyone has a unique set of skills and experiences and that not everyone will meet all of the requirements listed above. If you’re passionate about self-driving cars and think you have what it takes to make a positive impact on the world, we encourage you to apply. 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.