Head of Public Policy - Japan
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About us
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.
Make Wayve the experience that defines your career!
The role
Wayve is looking for an experienced, senior public policy leader to build and execute our Japan public policy strategy. This role will lead all public policy outreach and execution across Japan — shaping regulatory pathways, securing relationships with national & local stakeholders, and ensuring Wayve’s product, safety and commercial strategies are aligned with the Japanese regulatory and political environment. You will be Wayve’s most senior public policy representative in Japan, responsible for delivering tangible regulatory and commercial outcomes that enable testing and deployment of AV2.0.
Key responsibilities:
- Develop and own Wayve’s Japan public policy strategy and execution plan, aligned to global policy priorities and commercial objectives, reporting regularly to VP, Global Affairs & Assurance.
- Identify critical activity to further Wayve’s commercial goals, independently assessing ROI for Wayve across industry forums and coalitions.
- Lead engagement with central government (ex. MLIT, METI), national agencies, prefectural and municipal governments, legislators, and regulators.
- Develop and maintain strong relationships with industry associations (e.g., automotive, mobility, standards bodies), consumer groups and research institutions.
- Advocate for regulatory approaches that enable safe testing, evaluation and commercial deployment of Wayve’s technology in Japan.
- Prepare and submit policy positions, technical briefings, consultation responses, and regulatory filings tailored to the Japanese context with support from our global agency.
- Work closely with Product, Engineering, Safety, Legal and Business Development teams to translate technical and safety requirements into actionable policy positions.
- Ensure product roadmaps and trial programs meet Japanese regulatory requirements and anticipate likely regulatory changes.
- Monitor Japanese policy, legislative and regulatory developments; provide timely analysis, scenario planning and recommendations to senior leadership.
- Support senior leadership and spokespeople for public appearances and press engagements as required.
- Deliver measurable policy outcomes (e.g., approvals, pilot permits, regulatory clarifications), and define KPIs to track progress.
- Manage budgets, external consultants, contractors and local legal advisors as needed.
About you
In order to set you up for success as a Public Policy Lead, Japan at Wayve, we’re looking for the following skills and experience.
Essential
- Location & language: Based in Japan (Tokyo or Yokohama). Native or near-native Japanese and fluent English.
- 8+ years of professional experience in public policy, government affairs, regulatory affairs, or external affairs, ideally within the automotive, mobility, transport, or advanced technology sectors. Global & senior leadership experience preferred.
- Deep knowledge of Japan’s policy, regulatory and legislative processes — especially those relevant to transport, road safety, vehicle regulations and emerging technologies.
- Proven track record of successfully influencing national or local policy outcomes through direct engagement with government bodies and regulators.
- Strong strategic thinking, excellent written and verbal communication skills, and experience drafting regulatory submissions and technical briefings in Japanese and English.
Desirable
- Strong technical literacy in autonomous vehicles, AI, data and safety — able to work with engineering teams and translate technical issues for non-technical audiences.
- Leadership experience — hiring, managing and developing teams; managing budgets and external advisors.
- Experience interacting with international regulatory fora or standards bodies (e.g., ISO, UNECE) and coordinating cross-jurisdictional policy strategies.
- Experience running or supporting vehicle test programs, trials, or deployments in Japan (permits, local authorities, trial management).
- Relationships and network across MLIT, METI, prefectural governments and key industry associations.
This is a full-time role based in our offices in either Tokyo or Yokohama. 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. We operate core working hours so you can determine the schedule that works best for you and your team.
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.
For more information visit Careers at Wayve.
To learn more about what drives us, visit Values at Wayve
DISCLAIMER: We will not ask about marriage or pregnancy, care responsibilities or disabilities in any of our job adverts or interviews. However, we do look to capture information about care responsibilities, and disabilities among other diversity information as part of an optional DEI Monitoring form to help us identify areas of improvement in our hiring process and ensure that the process is inclusive and non-discriminatory.