Autonomous Vehicle Business Development Manager

Lyft Lyft · Consumer · San Francisco, CA · AV & Fleet Operations

Lyft is seeking a Business Development Manager for their Autonomous Vehicle (AV) division. This role will focus on shaping the future of AV partnerships by originating new relationships and managing a pipeline of opportunities. The manager will coordinate active partner conversations, prepare materials for senior audiences, draft initial deal documents, and collaborate with internal teams like Corporate Development, strategy, finance, and legal. The role requires 3-5 years of experience in business development or a similar commercial role, strong communication and collaboration skills, and intellectual curiosity about the AV industry. Familiarity with commercial documents and the AV/mobility ecosystem is a plus.

What you'd actually do

  1. Keep the pipeline moving by coordinating active AV partner conversations — scheduling meetings, setting agendas, tracking follow-ups, and making sure nothing falls through the cracks
  2. Make every partner interaction count by preparing crisp, well-structured materials for partner meetings, internal deal reviews, and leadership pipeline updates
  3. Accelerate deal momentum by drafting initial LOIs, MOUs, and term sheet inputs under the direction of the senior origination lead, turning alignment into written commitments
  4. Drive investment decision-making by working in close collaboration with the Corporate Development team — helping to evaluate partner opportunities, synthesise commercial context, and inform equity investment recommendations
  5. Give the team a clear view of the pipeline by maintaining accurate and up-to-date status, next steps, and open items across all active conversations

Skills

Required

  • 3–5 years of experience in business development, strategy, or a similar commercial role
  • Demonstrated ability to manage multiple active workstreams simultaneously with strong attention to detail
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills; able to prepare high-quality materials for senior internal and external audiences
  • Strong cross-functional collaboration skills; comfortable working across strategy, finance, legal, and operations teams
  • Genuine intellectual curiosity about the AV industry and appetite to develop expertise in a fast-moving space

Nice to have

  • Familiarity with commercial document drafting — LOIs, MOUs, or term sheets — is a plus
  • Prior experience in BD or a deal-making environment is a plus, as is prior exposure to equity investment processes, including experience at a corporate VC or in a corporate development function
  • Knowledge of the AV, automotive, or mobility ecosystem is a plus

What the JD emphasized

  • track record of managing multiple complex workstreams simultaneously and delivering high-quality outputs in a commercial or deal-making environment
  • strong communicator who can prepare crisp, well-structured materials for senior audiences and represent Lyft professionally in partner-facing settings
  • able to coordinate across internal teams — strategy, finance, legal, and corporate development — to move deals forward efficiently
  • uphold a high quality bar and have a strong appreciation for the details that matter in a commercial process
  • intellectually curious, energised by a full pipeline, and eager to develop deep expertise in the AV industry