Software Engineer 2027 Summer Intern (MS/PhD, Sys Intel & Machine Learning)

Waymo LLC; Mountain View (CA); Hybrid; USD 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

On-site meals and snacks

Commuter benefits

Mentorship programs

Peer learning platform

Employee resource groups

Wellbeing programs

Job summary

Waymo LLC is seeking an internship focused on model optimization for autonomous driving perception. You will design and benchmark parameter-efficient fine-tuning (LoRA/QLoRA) modules for multi-task vision backbones and develop distillation pipelines to stabilize training at scale.

You will collaborate with teams focused on quantization and latency to ensure zero overhead on onboard accelerators, while evaluating models on diverse geographic and data regimes.

Qualifications

• The candidate has strong theoretical and practical knowledge of deep learning foundation models.
• Experience with multi-task learning and large vision backbones is preferred.
• Familiarity with model quantization, distillation, or parameter-efficient fine-tuning is expected.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and benchmark LoRA/QLoRA modules for multi-task Vision Transformer backbones.
• Develop dual-level distillation pipelines to mitigate multi-task regressions.
• Collaborate with model optimization, quantization, and latency teams to validate performance on onboard compute platforms.
• Conduct extensive ablations and evaluate perception metrics on large autonomous driving datasets.

Skills

Deep learning

Transformer architectures

Multi-task learning

Python

JAX

Flax

PyTorch

TensorFlow

Autonomous driving perception

Education

PhD or Master’s in Computer Science/EE/ML/Robotics

Tools

Python

JAX

Flax

PyTorch

TensorFlow

Job description

• The Model Optimization & ML Runtime team (within Smart Perception / Machine Learning) is responsible for maximizing the capability, efficiency, and hardware performance of Waymo’s cutting-edge perception and foundation models. We bridge the gap between large-scale multi-task ML research (Vision Transformer backbones, 30+ perception heads, multi-sensor fusion) and real-time onboard vehicle deployment across custom automotive accelerators, developing core optimization frameworks (parameter-efficient fine-tuning, quantization, compilation, and quantization-aware training) that power the autonomous Waymo Driver
• Waymo interns partner with leaders in the industry on projects that create impact to the company. We believe learning is a two-way street: applying your knowledge while providing you with opportunities to expand your skill‑set. Interns are an important part of our culture and our recruiting pipeline. Join us at Waymo for a fun and rewarding internship!
• Design, implement, and benchmark parameter‑efficient fine‑tuning (LoRA / QLoRA) modules in JAX/Flax for multi‑task Vision Transformer backbones
• Develop dual‑level distillation pipelines (intermediate feature matching and task‑head logit distillation) to mitigate multi‑task regressions during large‑scale data scaling
• Collaborate with model optimization, quantization, and latency teams to validate static weight folding and low‑precision quantization, ensuring zero latency overhead on onboard compute platforms
• Conduct extensive empirical ablations and evaluate perception metrics on large‑scale autonomous driving datasets across diverse geographic domains

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance for employees and dependents
• Employee assistance programs focused on mental health
• Personalized workplace adjustments for diverse needs and abilities, including physical, mental, and neurodivergent considerations
• Access to mental health apps
• Onsite wellness centers
• Support programs including menopause benefit
• Counseling services
• Second medical opinion for you and your loved ones
• Medical advocacy program for transgender employees
• Competitive compensation
• Regular bonus and equity performance grant opportunities
• Generous 401(k) and regional retirement plans
• Annual cross‑company compensation review and pay equity analysis
• 1-on-1 financial coaching
• Fertility and growing family assistance
• Parental leave and baby bonding leave
• Survivor income benefit
• Elder care and support
• Backup childcare
• Caregiver leave
• Paid time off, including vacation, bereavement, sick leave, parental leave, disability, and holidays
• Jury duty leave
• Military leave
• Hybrid work model with remote work opportunities also available
• Educational reimbursement
• Peer learning and coaching platform
• Donation matching programs
• Volunteer hours
• Employee resource groups
• Internal community groups and local culture clubs
• Inspiring spaces to work, recharge, and collaborate with fellow Waymonauts
• On-site meals and snacks
• Fitness centers, massage programs, and ergonomic support
• On-demand fitness, wellbeing, and cooking classes
• Commuter benefits

Solid theoretical understanding and hands‑on experience with deep learning foundation models, Transformer architectures, and multi‑task learningExperience with model compression, parameter‑efficient fine‑tuning (e.g., LoRA, QLoRA, adapters), or quantization and knowledge distillation techniquesStrong software engineering and deep learning development skills in Python and modern frameworks (JAX, Flax, PyTorch, or TensorFlow)Currently pursuing a PhD or Master’s in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Machine Learning, Robotics, or a related technical fieldExperience training and scaling large vision backbones or multi‑modal models on distributed accelerator clusters (TPUs / GPUs)Hands‑on experience with model quantization (PTQ, QAT, INT8/INT4/MX4), low‑precision numerics, or hardware‑aware model optimizationPublication record at top‑tier computer vision or machine learning conferences (e.g., CVPR, ICCV, ECCV, NeurIPS, ICLR)Familiarity with autonomous driving perception tasks (3D object detection, semantics, tracking, or pedestrian intent prediction)