Senior Incident Commander

Bringing self-driving vehicles to our roads is the most transformative opportunity of our generation. Aurora is taking a fresh start with the development of self-driving technology, combining excellence in AI, rigorous engineering, and a team with decades of experience building robots that work.

Led by a team of seasoned experts, our mission is to deliver the benefits of self-driving technology safely, quickly, and broadly. We are designing the software and hardware to power the transportation of our future that will make our roads safer, give more people access to mobility, and reduce congestion and pollution in cities - improving the quality of life for all. The challenge in what we are endeavoring to achieve is transcendent; we are developing perhaps the world's most complex computing system and asking it to perform the task of transporting and keeping safe our most precious asset: human life.

Aurora hires talented people with diverse backgrounds who are ready to help build a transportation ecosystem that will make our roads safer, get crucial goods where they need to go, and make mobility more efficient and accessible for all. We’re searching for a Senior Incident Commander!

As a Senior Incident Commander, you are a specialist on the front lines of Aurora’s enterprise-wide technical incident response function. Your scope is expansive, encompassing not only our autonomous vehicle platform but also the critical on-vehicle systems, enterprise IT infrastructure, and the supporting Network and Security Operations Centers (NOC/SOC). This role is modeled after established emergency management frameworks, focusing on strong command and control during critical events that span this interconnected ecosystem.

Operating with a high degree of autonomy, you will take operational leadership of the tactical response to complex, high-severity incidents across our software, hardware, IT, and cybersecurity domains. This is a critical, hands-on command role where you will leverage your deep operational expertise and command presence to orchestrate a multi-disciplinary response, make decisive real-time decisions, and coordinate all stakeholders to safely and efficiently resolve events.

You will act as a key member of the 24x7 Incident Management Team, not only managing active incidents but also designing and executing projects to proactively mature our response capabilities and observability.

In this role you will:

• Lead Incident Command: Lead as the Incident Commander by establishing command and control over technical cross-functional incidents. You will orchestrate response efforts, make decisive real-time decisions, and establish a common operating picture for all stakeholders.
• Manage Escalations & Stakeholders: Manage and prioritize escalations, ensuring targeted stakeholder representation (e.g., Software/Hardware, Cybersecurity, Network, IT, Legal, Ops, Safety, Policy, & Communications) throughout the incident lifecycle.
• Drive Continuous Improvement: Lead thorough incident retrospectives to accurately document events and identify root causes. You will define actionable follow-ups and track their implementation to continuously enhance safety, efficiency, and overall incident response capabilities for our distributed team, ensuring lessons learned are integrated back into processes.
• Develop Cross-Functional Partnerships: Develop robust cross-functional partnerships to proactively understand stakeholder concerns during events. You will collaborate closely with a wide variety of technical teams, providing critical support and guidance during real-time incident response to maintain seamless 24/7 coverage.
• Deliver Executive Communications: Deliver executive-level communications on active incidents and present comprehensive analyses of important outcomes, trends, and strategic insights from past events to leadership and a global audience.

Required Qualifications:

• Experience: 5+ years of direct experience in a command-oriented role such as incident management, crisis response, Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), NOC/SOC leadership, or military/first-responder operations, having served as an Incident Commander or lead responder for high-stakes technical events.
• Broad Technical Acumen: A strong, holistic understanding of the interconnectedness of complex systems, including on-vehicle compute, enterprise IT infrastructure, cloud services, Network Operations (NOC), and Security Operations (SOC). You don't need to be a subject matter expert in all areas, but you must be able to facilitate and drive technical conversations to successful outcomes.
• Familiarity with Monitoring & Observability: Understanding of the principles of monitoring and observability in complex, distributed systems. 
• Composure Under Pressure: Demonstrated capability to remain calm and decisive under pressure, efficiently coordinating response efforts and making sound judgments in rapidly evolving, high-stakes situations.
• Executive Briefing Skills: Experience briefing senior executives and leadership in real-time on complex, fast-moving incidents, articulating technical details, impact, and proposed resolutions clearly and concisely. Strong command and control presence.
• Attention to Detail: Exceptional attention to detail with a track record of meticulously documenting incident timelines, contributing factors, and post-incident analysis to drive accurate reporting and continuous improvement.
• Availability: Willingness and ability to participate in a 24/7 on-call rotation, demonstrating flexibility to cover shifts as part of a global incident response capability.

Desirable Qualifications:

• An advanced degree in a relevant field such as Emergency Management, Computer Science, Business, Operations, Law, or a related discipline.
• Experience leading crisis and incident response as an Incident Commander in a large-scale tech environment.
• Proven ability to effectively interact with and/or report to external stakeholders (e.g., regulatory agencies, and legal counsel).
• Experience in high tech and/or highly regulated industries such as Autonomous Vehicles, Maritime, Aviation, or similar sectors.
• Certifications or experience in command frameworks such as FEMA's National Incident Management System (NIMS/ICS), indicating a structured approach to incident handling.
• Experience with event mapping initiatives to enhance incident action planning and promote stakeholder coordination.

The base salary range for this position is $115,000 - $184,000 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.

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