Central Development Operations Lead

What we are looking for

Aurora’s Product and Development Operations team is making the technology of the future a reality. We are at the forefront of technology, providing thought-partnership to Product, Operations, and Engineering to ensure commercial capabilities are delivered on time, safely, and efficiently.

• We are seeking a mission-driven Central Development Operations Team Lead based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
• This role will be working Thursday - Monday from the hours of 8:00am - 4:30pm ET as a base schedule, with flexible hours for shift coverage expected.
• In this seat, you carry the critical responsibility of navigating the inherent ambiguity of early-stage testing.

You will be ensuring that even when workflows are "grey" or tools are in flux, the team remains decisive, productive, and focused on technical truth. We are looking for a builder, not a maintainer - someone who thrives when tasked with creating order from scratch in a high-velocity environment.

In this role, you will

• Lead a team of Central Development Specialists supporting the scheduling and execution of development testing across a 24/7 (extended hour) operation through our internal tooling.
• Become certified on relevant internal Aurora tools to provide direct support and serve as a subject matter expert on data integrity and testing quality for your team.
• Maintain a master-level understanding of Aurora’s internal toolset, serving as the final escalation point for complex technical hurdles and tool-specific troubleshooting.
• Continue supporting an inspired safety culture that embraces technical friction, encouraging specialists to move beyond "checking boxes" and instead hunt for failure points in early-stage features.
• Successfully collaborate cross-functionally with a "Win Together" mindset, specifically when advocating for safety or quality pivots to Engineering, Product and Operations partners.
• Facilitate and deliver seamless daily handoffs across multiple regions and shifts, managing scheduling, planning, escalating resource and development blockers to relevant cross functional stakeholders.
• Document and deliver constructive performance feedback through regular 1:1s, ensuring all development activities and blockers are documented to high standards.
• Drive continuous process improvement, leading side projects to enhance development readiness and maximize efficiency in an evolving environment.
• Proactively identify and flag "tooling friction" or software edge cases during testing that could scale into operational risks for future commercial deployments.
• Provide direct support during daily scheduling, prioritizing real-time priority alignment needs and acting as the point of contact for incident response and urgent scheduling adjustments with composure.

Required Qualifications

• 1-2+ years of leadership experience (e.g., Lead, Shift Lead, or Associate Manager) with a proven ability to motivate remote or distributed teams.
• 3+ years of experience in remote assistance, fleet operations, or a related high-tempo technical environment.
• Demonstrated experience leading through change (e.g., managing a team through a site launch, a software transition, or an operational 24/7 expansion).
• Strong judgment and communication skills, especially the ability to make "best-path" decisions in high-pressure or time-sensitive situations.
• Proven ability to master complex, proprietary software tools quickly and teach those "ins and outs" to others with high precision.
• A track record of identifying technical bugs or UI/UX gaps in testing tools and translating them into actionable feedback for Engineering teams to improve commercial readiness.
• Ability to maintain constructive optimism by reframing technical failures as successful data-gathering exercises for the team.
• Flexibility for hours in office, not always planned far in advance.

Desirable Qualifications

• Experience in operations, technology, autonomous vehicles, or a similar deep tech field.
• BA/BS degree or equivalent practical experience.
• Experience making schedules, managing vacation requests, and setting performance goals for self and others.
• Solid written and verbal communication skills with ability to adjust for audience
• Intermediate technical aptitude and ability to learn new software applications and processes

Pay and benefits

For roles based in Pittsburgh, PA: 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 provides insight into what it is like to work at Aurora, and you can find all the latest updates in our 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

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.