Public Relations 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.

As a member of the Communications team, you’ll be on the cutting edge of bringing autonomous driving technology to the public, developing strategies that will increase understanding, acceptance, and adoption of this life-saving technology. We work with reporters, editors, bloggers, and other influencers to tell stories about Waymo and the potential of our technology to change how we move and live. We partner with the engineering, business, policy, marketing, and product teams to create messaging for new products and other initiatives, counter misinformation, and shape our reputation.

In this hybrid role, you will report to our Head of Public Relations.

You will:

• Help tell the Waymo story and help communicate corporate, product, tech, safety, and other news to external audiences in Tokyo, Japan.

• Lead communications strategy for Tokyo market, including product updates and response comms. Support additional comms announcements regarding business and tech news, working in collaboration with your U.S. PR counterparts. Includes narrative development, writing, and execution.

• Build and maintain key relationships with Japanese media, conference organizers, researchers, and other external industry stakeholders.

• Collaborate closely with the rest of the PR team as well as key cross functional teams including Safety, Legal, Partnerships, Public Affairs, Marketing, Product, Engineering, and other internal teams.

• Responsible for some executive comms, including developing talking points, FAQs, and presentations.

You have:

• 10+ years experience in communications/ public relations.

• Experience with media relations, event organizers in Tokyo, Japan

• Experience developing and executing on communications strategy for product, business, response comms.

• Very strong writing and communication skills.

• Experience in a fast paced and highly collaborative environment and ability to multi-task with a high bar for detail. Self-starter and independent worker.

• Excellent communicator and team player who is resourceful and organized and able to think strategically as well as tactically.

• Native-level Japanese proficiency and business-level English, essential for clear and impactful communication with diverse executive, technical, and non-technical audiences.

We prefer:

• Experience in product, technology or automotive industries (in house or agency)

• Experience launching/ building communications strategy for new products and/or new markets

• Bachelor’s degree, focus in marketing, communications, journalism preferred but not required

• Creative and innovative thinking regarding ways to engage with internal and external audiences

Travel Requirements:

• 30% anticipated travel

• Needs to be willing to travel for certain media events and internal meetings, especially from Tokyo to the Bay Area.