The Planner Evaluation team works on one of the key challenges in autonomous driving: measuring and improving the quality of the software that drives the car. We are looking for experienced data-minded software engineers and data scientists to help us improve how we characterize and evaluate changes to the Onboard software stack (Planner, Perception, etc). If you are passionate about autonomous vehicles and how to use rich, complex data to drive decision making, this is the role for you!

This role follows a hybrid work schedule and reports to an Engineering Manager.

You will:

• Develop and productionize data pipelines to generate high-quality ML and evaluation datasets, streamlining curation, sampling, and slicing for training and testing the Waymo Driver software.
• Design and implement robust tools and infrastructure for data mining, exploration, and analysis to extract insights from large-scale datasets and drive data-driven decisions.
• Architect, build, and maintain large-scale data platforms to process Waymo driving logs and simulation data, ensuring dataset generation is fresh, accurate, and complete.
• Own and execute complex projects, successfully translating ambiguous requirements into high-impact deliverables.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Data Science and Quantitative Analytics teams to identify their data needs and engineer infrastructure solutions.

You have:

• Education: Master’s degree or PhD in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field.
• Experience: 3+ years of professional software engineering experience.
• Distributed Systems: Hands-on experience with systems that ingest, store, transform, and output data at scale.
• Programming Languages: Proficiency in C++ or Python within a production environment.
• Communication: Strong technical communication and collaboration skills.

We prefer:

• Experience with A/B experiment infrastructure.
• Exposure to ad-hoc data analysis utilizing SQL.
• Prior experience working within the autonomous vehicle (AV) industry.

#Hybrid

Hardware Engineering is an innovative and collaborative group of electrical, mechanical, reliability, software and vehicle engineers. We design, build, and perfect the products which are the eyes and ears of Waymo's autonomous driving technology, and integrate those products into vehicle platforms. We're seeking curious and talented teammates to keep us moving in the right direction.

This role follows a hybrid work schedule and you will report to a Systems Engineering Manager. 

You will:

• Define OEM Requirements & Architecture: Collaborate with internal product teams and external OEM partners to author requirements for vehicle Body Control systems, network architectures, and functional safety interfaces
• Develop Embedded Software/Hardware Specifications: Write detailed requirements for internal embedded software and hardware adjacencies to implement Body Control functions (e.g., doors, locks, windows, HVAC, lighting, and SDS interfaces)
• Lead Core Feature Development: Drive the development, power mode management, and digital key architecture from initial target-setting through to verification and validation against program milestones
• Execute Verification & Validation (V&V): Create V&V plans, execute tests, analyze data, and troubleshoot field/prototype defects across various platform phases, leveraging operations teams for resolution
• Bridge Engineering & Implementation: Work closely with embedded software teams during implementation, authoring and updating architecture design documents to ensure all requirements are met
• Manage Fleet Delivery & Integration: Track and manage the delivery timing of feature sets and software updates to the vehicle prototype fleet, resolving troubleshooting issues to meet capability targets

You have:

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Robotics Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering, or similar
• At least 3 years experience in an automotive (or similar industry) Body Controls and software role delivering hardware and/or software
• Working knowledge of vehicle communication network systems (CAN, FlexRay, LIN, Ethernet, etc.)
• Experience with body control systems such as doors, interior/exterior lighting, windows, seats, switchgear, etc
• Experience mapping out architectures and drafting requirements for complex vehicle systems
• Rigorous mindset and an attention to detail, to ensure gaps and flow-downs are fully covered

We prefer:

• Deep experience with Body Control systems, related software, and vehicle hardware
• Experience creating & negotiating requirements with automotive partners and OEMs
• Create and execute effective test / design validation plans 
• A strong root-cause analysis mindset to problem solving
• A hands-on attitude to testing & verification

The Simulation Infrastructure team creates reliable, scalable, and cost-effective Simulation-based products that evaluate the Waymo Driver's software stack at a massive scale. We solve complex technical challenges to build services and tools for a broad range of customers Software Engineers, Product, Data Science, System Engineering, and more. So if you want to build the next generation of Simulation products and infrastructure, we'd love to hear from you!

This role follows a hybrid work schedule and reports to the Software Engineering Manager.

You will:

• Provide technical leadership and people management for a team of software engineers building Waymo's distributed simulation engine
• Architect, scale, and operate the massive distributed system that validates the autonomous driving software stack daily
• Drive improvements in scheduler throughput, resource allocation, queuing latency, and cluster utilization
• Establish team roadmaps, define engineering best practices, and mentor team members to support their technical growth
• Partner with simulation, machine learning, and platform infrastructure teams to ensure seamless, high-throughput execution of their workloads

You have:

• BS or MS in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or equivalent field
• 5+ years of software engineering experience, with a proven track record of both technical leadership and people management
• 5+ years of experience designing, building, and operating large-scale distributed infrastructure or batch processing systems
• Hands-on experience optimizing large-scale job scheduling, resource orchestration, or queueing systems
• Experience managing or leading large scale systems and software development engineering teams    

We prefer:

• Deep experience with large-scale cluster management systems    
• Strong programming capabilities in Golang and C++
• Deep understanding of advanced operating systems, scheduling, containerization, sandboxing, or distributed file systems

The Challenge

Waymo’s simulator is one of the most complex virtual environments ever built. It blends deterministic logic, physical dynamics, and advanced AI to create a realistic training ground for the Waymo Driver. As we expand autonomous driving into new geographies, complex weather conditions, and next-generation capabilities, our goal is to build a highly adaptable, generic simulator that works across any environment.

The Simulator Orchestration team is at the heart of tackling this scaling challenge. Our mission is to deliver simulation solutions that power evaluation and training across a diverse range of challenging requirements. We are looking for a Senior Software Engineer who is passionate about solving complex evaluation problems with simulation technology and thrives on delivering practical solutions within a vast technical ecosystem.

The Role

This is a hybrid role. As a core contributor to the Simulator Orchestration team, you will focus on solving practical simulation challenges by intelligently configuring and orchestrating simulator features.

You will:

• Architect Simulation Solutions: Drive the simulator development of the environments required for new initiatives, such as complex weather setups, new geography expansions (e.g., left-hand traffic), and adapting the simulator to support next-generation onboard capabilities.
• Design the Orchestration Layer: Design and implement systems that dynamically select and compose simulator features based on the specific environment and context, bringing us closer to a truly universal simulator.
• Navigate Complex Systems: Dive deep into a massive C++ codebase of onboard and simulator code. You are willing to get your hands dirty. You will rely on strong code-reading and debugging skills to trace and resolve complex interactions between different systems, shipping robust, production-ready code.
• Collaborate Across Boundaries: Act as the technical glue between teams. You'll partner closely with partners from Simulator, Eval and Onboard orgs, taking the building blocks they provide and turning them into complete, end-to-end simulation solutions.

What You Bring

We are looking for a strong generalist software engineer who leans heavily toward practical execution and is comfortable navigating large-scale, interconnected systems.

You have:

• Engineering Craftsmanship:
• 5+ years of industry experience in software development.
• Solid proficiency in C++ (preferred) or Python, with a strong ability to read, navigate, and debug large, existing codebases.
• Experience building orchestration, dynamic configuration, or integration layers for large-scale software systems.
• Practical Problem Solving:
• A proven track record of delivering working solutions in highly complex, ambiguous technical domains.
• A pragmatic approach to engineering. You are willing to find compromises and make the right trade-offs to achieve the broader goal, avoiding the trap of over-engineering or getting stuck in "ideal land."
• Collaboration & Communication:
• Exceptional communication skills. You are comfortable navigating ambiguity, negotiating technical boundaries, and building successful partnerships with upstream and downstream teams.

We prefer:

• Deep passion for solving complex evaluation problems with simulation technology to advance autonomous driving.
• Track record in delivering goals via practical solutions.
• Background in fields that rely heavily on complex systems integration, such as autonomous vehicles, robotics, simulation, or large backend infrastructure.

The Software Quality Operations (SWQOPS) team is at the heart of ensuring the safety, reliability, and quality of the Waymo Driver. Our mission is to build an adaptable and scalable operation, increasingly powered by AI, to deliver the crucial insights necessary to confidently deploy and grow Waymo's autonomous vehicle service.  

Waymo is experiencing unprecedented growth, rapidly expanding into new cities and launching new vehicle platforms. SWQOps, particularly our Technical Specialists, are critical to this expansion, enabling us to scale safely and efficiently.

Why this team is Essential to Waymo's Success:

    In this role you will:

• Partner with Engineering to design, test, and deploy cutting-edge Machine Learning (ML) and Generative AI (Gen-AI) models and tools to drive step-change improvements in issue discovery & detection, triage efficiency, and quality assurance.
• Leverage AI-powered insights and traditional triage signals to proactively identify emerging on-road issue trends, new risk scenarios, and edge cases. Develop and refine data-driven strategies for issue discovery and monitoring, enhanced by ML model outputs
• Serve as the key link between AI/ML development and operational execution. Define and document new policies, guidelines, and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that integrate AI tools and insights into daily vendor workflows.
• Design and implement robust quality control processes for both human and AI-generated outputs. Perform meta-quality checks, validate the integrity of vendor work, and provide feedback to improve both human and model performance.
• Act as the subject matter expert for our Software Quality Operations, working closely with stakeholders, program leads, and vendor teams to ensure seamless adoption and maximum impact of AI/ML advancements in our quality processes. Be the trusted source for creating and updating technical policies, guidelines, and standard operating procedures for new scopes, platforms, and driving signals
• Provide technical leadership and consultation to stakeholders to enhance our workflows and quality. You'll be at the forefront of identifying and escalating issues with our tools, providing technical requirements to engineering, and driving user testing to support the development and deployment of new tooling features.
• A proven ability to work in a fast-paced, high-stress environment while maintaining good judgment.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to effectively collaborate with a wide range of individuals in a diverse and dynamic work environment.

     You have:

• BS/BA degree or 4 years of relevant work experience in AV Software Quality Operations
• Increased competency in supporting all phases of the machine learning development lifecycle, from data preparation and training to validation, deployment, and continuous monitoring.
• Experience with ML testing and validation, including dataset quality assurance, bias detection, edge-case scenario testing, and performance evaluation using statistical metrics.
• Ability to quickly learn and implement new concepts and utilize proprietary tools. Strong understanding of driving rules and regulations.
• Must have the ability to provide occasional on-call availability for evenings, weekends, and holidays, as well as the flexibility to attend meetings outside of standard hours to collaborate with our global team.

      We prefer:

• Demonstrated strong execution with ability to drive outcomes. 
• Experience working with offshore teams / multiple local operations hubs.
• Basic SQL querying.
• Competency in LLM / transformer models, and / or ML for robotics domain experience.
• A greater focus on using your subject matter expertise for results analysis and direct customer consultation in the development of new and improved. solutions.
• Self-motivated with basic skills in task planning and time management.

In accordance with Washington state law, we are highlighting our comprehensive benefits package, which is available to all eligible US based employees. Benefits for this role include:

• Health, dental, vision, life, disability insurance
• Retirement Benefits: 401(k) with company match
• Paid Time Off: 20 days of vacation per year, accruing at a rate of 6.15 hours per pay period for the first five years of employment
• Sick Time: 40 hours/year (statutory, where applicable); 5 days/event (discretionary)
• Maternity Leave (Short-Term Disability + Baby Bonding): 28-30 weeks
• Baby Bonding Leave: 18 weeks
• Holidays: 13 paid days per year

(Remote jobs only - Please note that Waymo may not be able to employ remotely in all locations. Please speak with your recruiter about your preferred location for remote work when you begin the interview process.))