Tactical Development Operations Lead

About the job

Who we are

Aurora’s mission is to deliver the benefits of self-driving technology safely, quickly, and broadly.

The Aurora Driver https://aurora.tech will create a new era in mobility and logistics, one that will bring a safer, more efficient, and more accessible future to everyone.

At Aurora, you will tackle massively complex problems alongside other passionate, intelligent individuals, growing as an expert while expanding your knowledge. For the latest news from Aurora, visit aurora.tech http://aurora.tech or follow us on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/auroradriver.

What we are looking for

We are seeking a highly experienced and mission-driven night shift leader based in Palmer, Texas, with as-needed travel across testing locations to provide direct, night-to-night leadership for our Tactical Development (TACT DEV) Operators.

This role is critical to the success of our off-site and travel-based development testing. Because the TACT DEV team travels 90% of the time, this leader acts as the "anchor," ensuring that geographically dispersed operators remain synchronized with Aurora’s development goals, safety protocols, and company culture.

The ideal candidate thrives in a high-tempo environment and is passionate about building a cohesive, high-performing team culture among individuals who rarely spend time in the same physical space. This position requires exceptional leadership, a safety-first focus, and the ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced environment, requiring strong coordination with stakeholders across operations, software, and hardware.

Schedule & Location: This role operates on a dedicated Monday through Friday night shift (4:00 PM to 12:30 AM). Please note that this position requires a mandatory 4 days per week in-office, working between the Palmer, TX terminal and the Aurora Dallas office.

In this role, you will

• Serve as the Team Lead for development testing, executing daily deployment plans to ensure scheduled timelines are met and performing in-field tasks alongside the team to maintain operational momentum.

• Develop a deep understanding of Aurora’s testing requirements and software/hardware development goals to serve as the first line of support for operators, answering questions on complex test plans and ensuring data collection aligns with engineering needs.

• Remove road-blocks in scheduling and availability by coordinating with Maintenance and Fleet Ops cross functional stakeholders on asset availability.

• Maintain a willingness to travel heavily through connecting with your team in the field across a variety of working environments.

• Step into the vehicle as an operator SME to support our onboarding and remedial training practices, while maintaining a first-hand understanding of the required in-field workflow.

• Provide emergency coverage to prevent testing gaps, including supporting truck start-up/shut-down, troubleshooting, and in-vehicle testing support such as Vehicle Release Testing and Aurora Tooling Tests.

• Build and maintain a positive, unified team culture for a 90% travel workforce, developing creative ways to keep remote operators engaged and aligned with Aurora’s mission.

• Oversee the specialized requirements of a CDL-holding workforce, including monitoring Hours of Service (HOS), leading Driver Monitoring System (DMS) coaching, and facilitating internal safety event reviews.

• Facilitate daily handoffs and status updates between the field team and stakeholders in Engineering and Operations, ensuring all technical documentation and data are delivered accurately and on time.

• Oversee and audit technical execution of field activities to ensure strict adherence to global SOPs and safety protocols.

• Provide regular, informal feedback and structured performance coaching to operators, fostering a growth mindset and driving high accountability.

• Support the field team during emergent situations, providing calm and decisive guidance during operational hurdles or scheduling adjustments.

Required Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience in dispatch, fleet operations, or a related high-tempo scheduling environment.

• 1-2+ years of leadership experience (e.g., Lead, Shift Lead, or Associate Manager) with a proven ability to motivate remote or distributed teams.

• Exceptional critical thinking and the ability to make command decisions and take initiative.

• Strong judgment and the ability to make "command decisions" when field teams face immediate blockers.

• Conflict management and resolution experience.

• Flexibility for day, night, and/or weekend work, not always planned far in advance.

• Ability to participate in on-call response and incident management

Desirable Qualifications

• Experience specifically managing traveling, team members with Commercial Driver licensing, or remote technical workforces.

• Experience managing in a commercial operations workforce.

• Background in robotics, autonomous vehicles, or complex logistics.

• Experience coordinating across multiple geographies and distinct stakeholder groups.

• A CDL license

For roles based in Palmer, TX: The salary range for this position is $83,000 - $120,500 per year.

Aurora’s pay ranges are determined by role, level, and location. Within the range, the successful candidate’s starting base pay will be determined based on factors including job-related skills, experience, qualifications, relevant education or training, and market conditions. These ranges may be modified in the future. The successful candidate will also be eligible for an annual bonus, equity compensation, and benefits.

Working at Aurora

At Aurora, we bring together extraordinarily talented and experienced people united by the strength of our values. We operate with integrity, set outrageous goals, and build a culture where we win together — all without any jerks.

We believe in-person work increases collaboration, empathy, and our ability to lead effectively. As a result, Aurorans are expected to work from the office at least 3 days per week, with some roles requiring more frequent in-office presence, up to 5 days per week, based on operational needs.

Our Careers page https://aurora.tech/careers provides insight into what it is like to work at Aurora, and you can find all the latest updates in our Newsroom https://aurora.tech/newsroom.

Our commitment to safety

At the core of everything we do is our commitment to safety. Building best-in-class self-driving technology will take time, and we believe that each employee at Aurora has a role in contributing to safety, every step of the way. Aurora expects commitment to our safety policies from every employee, and seeks candidates who take an active responsibility, can contribute to building an atmosphere of trust, and invest in the organization’s long-term success by prioritizing working safely, no matter what.

Our commitment to inclusion

Aurora considers candidates without regard to their race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy status, parent or caregiver status, ancestry, political affiliation, veteran and/or military status, physical or mental disability, or any other status protected by federal or state law. Aurora considers qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state, and local law. We are also committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans in our job application procedures. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, you may contact us at careersiteaccommodations@aurora.tech.

For California applicants, information collected and processed as part of your application and any job applications you choose to submit is subject to Aurora’s California Employment Privacy Policy.