Staff Tech Lead, Perception, Fine-Tuning & Model Releases

Waymo; Mountain View (CA); Hybrid; USD 238,000 - 302,000; Full time

Job summary

Waymo is hiring for a hybrid, lead ML/CV role focused on advancing the Waymo Driver platform. You will lead multi-task model fine-tuning and distillation across expert models, ensure production readiness, and shape the technical roadmap with clear OKRs.

The candidate will guide staffing and technical decisions, collaborating with cross-functional teams to deliver high-impact autonomous driving technologies. This role reports to a Staff Technical Lead Manager.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in Machine Learning and/or Computer Vision.
• Proficiency in Python.
• Experience with ML frameworks like PyTorch or JAX.

Responsibilities

• Lead the multi-task fine-tuning of multi-billion parameter models and release to production.
• Lead the design and implementation of ML methods for distilling multiple expert models into one multi-task model.
• Manage releases of multi-billion parameter models replacing a deployed model used by thousands or millions of customers.
• Contribute to the development of technical roadmaps, define team OKRs, and drive roadmap execution.
• Make project staffing decisions and technical decisions while driving escalations; accountable for delivering projects.

Skills

Python

PyTorch/JAX

ML/Computer Vision

C++

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field

MS/PhD in ML/Robotics/CS (preferred)

Tools

C++

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.

The Perception team builds the system which learns the spatial-temporal representation and their semantic meanings of the surrounding environment of the self-driving car, i.e., the system that “perceives” the world around the car. We work jointly with downstream teams on the optimization and integration into the Waymo Driver. We conduct our own research to address real-world problems and collaborate with research teams at Alphabet. We have access to millions of miles of driving data from a diverse set of sensors, enabling engineers like you to (1) develop methods for efficiently and continuously learning from large scale real-world data, to (2) develop models and model training at scale, to (3) analyze real-world behavior and develop systems for handling the complexities of interacting with the real-world, and (4) optimize models for our onboard and offboard hardware.

In this hybrid role you will report to a Staff Technical Lead Manager.

You will:

• Lead the multi-task fine-tuning of multi-billion parameter models, and its release to production
• Lead the design and implementation of ML methods for distilling multiple expert models into one multi-task model
• Managed releases of multi-billion parameter models replacing a deployed model used by thousands or millions of customers
• Contribute to the development of technical roadmaps, (defining team OKRs, developing believable plans to achieve the OKRs), and drive the roadmap execution
• Make project staffing decisions, technical decisions, drive escalations; ultimately accountable for delivering projects

You have:

• Bachelors in Computer Science or a similar discipline, or an equivalent amount of deep learning experience
• 5+ years experience in Machine Learning and/or Computer Vision
• Experience with Python
• Experience with ML frameworks like PyTorch or JAX

We Prefer:

• MS or PhD Degree in Machine Learning, Robotics, Computer Science or a similar discipline
• Publications at top-tier conferences like CVPR, ICCV, ECCV, ICLR, ICML, ICRA, RSS, NeurIPS, AAAI, IJCV, PAMI
• Experience with C++
• Experience with real-time system design

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

$238,000—$302,000 USD