Senior Machine Learning Engineer, Robotics

Waymo; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 204,000 - 259,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Discretionary annual bonus

Equity incentive plan

Generous benefits program

Job summary

Waymo is seeking a Software Engineer for its Sensor Foundations Team in a hybrid role based in the US (SF area). You will implement transitions from algorithms to machine learning within perception tasks, contribute to system integration, and develop new metrics for quality assessment.

The role requires a Bachelor’s degree in CS/Software Engineering/Robotics, 5+ years of industry experience, strong C/C++, Python, and experience in Computer Vision and ML. Masters/PhD preferred.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a technical field (CS/Software Engineering/Robotics)
• 5+ years of industry experience
• Strong C/C++ skills
• Proficiency with Python
• Experience with Computer Vision and Machine Learning
• Experience with System Integration

Responsibilities

• Transition low-level Perception tasks from algorithms to machine learning
• Work on system integration and optimization
• Evaluate task-level and system-level quality, developing new metrics as needed

Skills

C/C++

Python

CV & ML

System Integration

Education

Bachelors in CS/Software Eng/Robotics

Masters or PhD preferred

Job description

Waymo is an autonomous driving technology company with the mission to be the world's most trusted driver. Since its start as the Google Self-Driving Car Project in 2009, Waymo has focused on building the Waymo Driver-The World's Most Experienced Driver-to improve access to mobility while saving thousands of lives now lost to traffic crashes. The Waymo Driver powers Waymo's fully autonomous ride-hail service and can also be applied to a range of vehicle platforms and product use cases. The Waymo Driver has provided over ten million rider-only trips, enabled by its experience autonomously driving over 100 million miles on public roads and tens of billions in simulation across 15+ U.S. states.

Software Engineering builds the brains of Waymo's fully autonomous driving technology. Our software allows the Waymo Driver to perceive the world around it, make the right decision for every situation, and deliver people safely to their destinations. We think deeply and solve complex technical challenges in areas like robotics, perception, decision-making and deep learning, while collaborating with hardware and systems engineers. If you're a software engineer or researcher who's curious and passionate about Level 4 autonomous driving, we'd like to meet you.

The Sensor Foundations Team's purpose is to provide cleaned-up sensor data through highly optimized APIs to Perception models, to abstract sensor hardware differences where possible, and to provide low-level Perception signals either through algorithms or machine learning. Projects on our team typically require a diverse skill set, including robotics, system integration, code optimization, and machine learning. We have a good understanding of the hardware (both sensors and compute) and the overall Perception system. For this role, we are looking for a strong Software Engineer with robotics and machine learning experience, who will help us to accelerate the transition of low-level Perception tasks from algorithms to machine learning.

This role follows a hybrid work schedule and reports to the Technical Lead Manager of the Sensor Foundations Team.

You will:

• Transition low-level Perception tasks from algorithms to machine learning
• Work on system integration and optimization
• Evaluate task-level and system-level quality, developing new metrics as needed

You have:

• Bachelors in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Robotics, or similar technical field of study
• 5+ years of industry experience
• Strong C/C++ skills
• Proficiency with Python
• Experience with Computer Vision and Machine Learning
• Experience with System Integration

We prefer:

• Masters or PhD Degree in Computer Science, Robotics, Machine Learning, or a similar discipline
• Experience with sensor data processing (Lidar, camera, or radar)
• Experience in the AV industry

The expected base salary range for this full‑time position across US locations is listed below. Actual starting pay will be based on job-related factors, including exact work location, experience, relevant training and education, and skill level. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for the role location or, if the role can be performed remote, the specific salary range for your preferred location, during the hiring process.

Waymo employees are also eligible to participate in Waymo's discretionary annual bonus program, equity incentive plan, and generous Company benefits program, subject to eligibility requirements.

Salary Range: $204,000 – $259,000 USD