We're a Mission First company. Here's how we've applied this to flexible work, accelerating our ability to deliver self-driving technology.

When we founded Aurora and set out on our mission we identified the values that would help us get there. We wanted values that would set the tone for the way we operate, define who we are, and guide us when we face difficult decisions. Our values include being reasonable, focusing on our work, and collaborating as one team. And we’ve always said, as we grow and evolve, it’s important we pay attention to who we are as a company and how our values can continue to support and guide our work.

Throughout the pandemic, we were challenged as a company, a community, and a team to shift how we work and communicate while staying true to our values and our mission. As a result, we recently decided that our employees have the flexibility to choose where they work in order to be most efficient and productive for Aurora. Our decision was guided by our values and our mission. We call our approach Mission First, and I want to share a bit more about what that means.

Mission First

Being Mission First means we look at our culture and policies through the lens of empowering our employees to do their best work. We trust our employees to make reasonable decisions that focus their work toward our mission to deliver the benefits of self-driving technology safely, quickly, and broadly.

The pandemic forced us to make some big adjustments to how we work together. Many of us shifted to working from home, while some needed to continue to work from our offices, workshops, and terminals across our many locations: Pittsburgh, PA; the Bay Area; Bozeman, MT; Dallas, TX; Louisville, CO; Seattle, WA; and Wixom, MI. Through it all we’ve learned a ton, we’ve stayed connected and focused on our mission, and we’ve made tremendous progress.

While many of us were working from home, we welcomed and onboarded more than 1,200 new employees! We secured new partnerships with PACCAR, Volvo, Toyota, Uber, Uber Freight, and FedEx, kicking off development work and projects with each of them. We accelerated the development of our technology and even became a publicly listed company on the Nasdaq stock exchange. None of this would have been possible if we weren’t a tightly knit team that operated with trust and transparent communication. 

As we’ve achieved these milestones we've seen that some work can be done just as effectively, and perhaps even more effectively, remotely. Other work benefits from being in person amongst peers. As such, our employees are empowered to work with their teams to decide what they need to do their best work. Ultimately, being Mission First allows us to focus on the fundamental building blocks that advance our company and accelerate our progress. 

As a Mission First company:

• We invest in the growth and potential of our people. We recognize the growth opportunities for our employees to learn from their more experienced peers and teammates when in-person. We also provide resources to support hybrid teams and ensure there is a support network for managers and employees across the company, no matter where they physically sit.
• We recognize that our employees will best serve our company mission when they are empowered to find the right balance between their personal and professional lives. Designing our policy so our employees can decide where they work is in service of our mission.
• Our offices are built to be an additive part of our company culture and are designed to inspire and facilitate in-person collaboration, foster creative team problem solving, and strengthen our community. 

Being Mission First means we make decisions through the lens of what will make our company most likely to succeed. Enabling our teams and our people to work in the ways that make them most effective is one of the most impactful ways we can drive success. How we work will continue to evolve, and we’re moving forward with confidence knowing that the community we've built at Aurora is empowered to work in a way that blends our employee’s needs and strengths with the company’s mission. If our Mission First principle resonates with you, come join Aurora to build the future of transportation.

Aurora.tech/careers