Market Research Lead

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’s UX Design and Insights Team brings a human-centered approach to designing Waymo’s external products and internal tools. We are a team of designers, writers, and researchers that imagine and inform the future of mobility by working with riders and community members to create products and brand experiences that feel delightful and effortless and empower people to move freely with unmatched convenience. Our customers are at the heart of everything we do and we solve for diverse customer needs while challenging conventions and past assumptions.

In this role, you will report to the Head of Product & Customer Research

You Will

• Define and manage a new Market Research function, including hiring, mentoring, and leading a small, high-performing team of market researchers to enable Waymo's growth
• Lead the immediate execution and sustainable delivery of market assessment, brand equity, and market health studies
• Design and manage deep-dive attitudinal, audience, and creative testing research to guide brand positioning, creative, and media plans for all upcoming US & International cities (e.g. Miami, Dallas, London)
• Develop both vendor partnerships and internal capabilities for quant and qual research so that the team can very quickly turnaround studies and manage a high volume of studies.
• Collaborate closely with marketing, brand, communications, business operations, go-to-market teams, product, and UX design from a role within UX research
• Foreshadow upcoming market research needs and build a marketing research roadmap that adapts to emergent business needs and ensures foundational studies still get done

You Have

• 10+ years of experience in Market Research, Consumer Insights, or a related field within a fast-paced, high-growth environment
• Proven leadership in scaling a team, with 3+ years of experience directly managing researchers and fostering a high-impact, results-driven research culture
• Direct experience working with brand and marketing teams on brand and marketing specific research studies.
• Track record of independently designing, executing, and managing complex, multi-market research programs
• Demonstrated capability to translate complex business challenges and competing priorities into clear, actionable research plans, and delivering from those compelling insights
• Executive presence and influential communication skills with a proven ability to present complex findings and strategic recommendations to senior leadership

We Prefer

• Experience in transportation-as-a-service, or transportation related products
• Experience running a large-scale International Brand Equity Tracking study
• Experience studying emerging technologies, autonomous vehicles, or similar products
• Experience running global or international research

Travel Requirements

• Up to 30% based on research needs

The expected base salary range for this full-time position across US locations 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. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for the role location or, if the role can be performed remote, the specific salary range for your preferred location, during the hiring process.

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

$268,000—$340,000 USD