Sr. Staff Software Engineer, Fleet Orchestration, TLM

Waymo; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 298,000 - 368,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Discretionary annual bonus

Equity incentive plan

Generous benefits program

Job summary

Waymo is seeking a senior engineering manager to lead a 7-member backend-focused team, overseeing architecture and roadmap for centralized Fleet Orchestration Core.

You will collaborate across Product, Operations, Data Science, and SRE to ensure reliability, safety, and scalable performance of Waymo’s fleet, while guiding technical strategy and cross-functional alignment.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of software engineering in backend infrastructure and distributed systems.
• 5+ years in engineering management leading teams.
• Proven ability to drive technical strategy and architecture for large-scale systems.
• Strong cross-functional collaboration with product, operations, data science.

Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor a 7-person engineering team including senior and staff engineers.
• Architect and evolve Fleet Orchestration Core systems.
• Define the technical vision, strategy, and roadmap for centralized platform managing offboard driving behavior.
• Collaborate with Product, Operations, Data Science, SRE and other teams to deliver impactful solutions.

Skills

C++

Distributed systems

Backend infrastructure

Engineering management

Technical leadership

Education

BS in Computer Science

Tools

Protocol Buffers

Spanner

Borg

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.

You will:

• Lead a high-caliber team: Manage and mentor a 7-member engineering team (including L5 Senior and L6 Staff engineers), fostering a culture of technical excellence, operational rigor, and psychological safety.
• Architect mission-critical platforms: Oversee the architecture and evolution of Fleet Orchestration Core systems, which serve as the source of truth for all vehicle task assignments and execution across Waymo's autonomous fleet.
• Create the vision: Drive the technical vision, strategy, and roadmap for the centralized platform managing offboard driving behavior, ensuring high reliability, safety, and efficiency for Waymo's fleet, while reliabily enforcing safety invariants and keeping pace with rapid fleet scaling.
• Cross-functional collaboration: Collaborate closely with Product Management, Operations, Data Science, SRE, and other engineering teams to define requirements and deliver impactful solutions.
• Scale and reliability: Foster a culture of engineering excellence, focusing on system reliability, scalability, and continuous improvement.

You have:

• BS degree in Computer Science or equivalent practical experience.
• 10+ years of software engineering experience in backend infrastructure, distributed systems, and C++.
• 5+ years of experience in engineering management, leading and growing high-performing teams.
• Proven ability to drive technical strategy and architecture for complex, large-scale systems.
• Track record of building alignment across cross-functional engineering and product organizations while navigating complex, ambiguous technical environments.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills.

We prefer:

• MS or PhD in Computer Science or a related field.
• Domain knowledge in fleet management, ride-hailing/delivery logistics, supply optimization, or autonomous vehicle systems.
• Experience with Google/Waymo core infrastructure (e.g., Spanner, Flume, Borg, Protocol Buffers, Conductor/Viceroy).

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

$298,000 — $368,000 USD