Indirect Procurement Category Manager, Marketing

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 Procurement and Vendor Enablement Office is a diverse, collaborative, and service-oriented group with a mission to efficiently procure indirect goods and services, build supplier relationships, and support outsourcing excellence to achieve Waymo's growth goals. In this highly visible role, you will be the strategic procurement lead for our brand and reputation engines: Marketing, Communications, PR, and Public Affairs. You will design the agency architecture that scales our brand globally and ensures we have the right external partners to navigate the complex public narrative around autonomous vehicle operations.

You will:

• Portfolio Strategy: Lead end-to-end category management for a highly subjective, ROI-driven portfolio encompassing Creative, Media Buying, PR, Public Affairs, and Experiential/Event Marketing.
• Agency Management: Lead complex negotiations for agency retainers and project-based work, establishing outcome-based commercial models and ensuring strict IP and brand protection.
• Stakeholder Partnership: Act as a trusted advisor to Waymo's Marketing, Communications, and Policy leaders, balancing their need for creative freedom and rapid response with procurement best practices.
• Strategic Sourcing: Lead the end-to-end RFX process for major Agency of Record (AOR) consolidations, build multi-year category strategies, and maximize value creation and total cost of ownership (TCO).
• Risk & Governance: Negotiate and draft Master Services Agreements (MSAs) and Statements of Work (SOWs) that minimize business risk, specifically focusing on media transparency, usage rights, and liability caps for public-facing output.

You have:

• At least 7+ years of procurement experience, with a minimum of 4 years focusing heavily on Marketing, Communications, PR, or Public Affairs sourcing.
• Deep understanding of marketing procurement nuances, including agency fee models (retainer vs. project vs. media commission), media buying transparency, and creative production costs.
• Proven ability to negotiate complex IP, usage rights, and indemnification clauses within creative and PR contracts.
• Excellent executive presence with the ability to influence and build trust with highly creative marketing leaders and public affairs directors.

We prefer:

• Experience in the autonomous vehicle, rideshare, or hyper-growth tech sectors where public perception and regulatory communications are critical.
• Bachelor’s degree in Business Management, Marketing, Supply Chain, or equivalent education and work experience.
• Prior experience working directly within an advertising or PR agency in an account or commercial role before moving to procurement.

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$159,000—$196,000 USD