Staff Vehicle Controls Engineer, Steering

Waymo LLC; Novi (MI); Hybrid; USD 230,000 - 284,000; Full time

Job summary

Waymo LLC is hiring for a role in Vehicle Systems Architecture to own the steering system for the Waymo Driver. You will drive requirements, architecture, and fault-tolerance trade studies across the full lifecycle, partnering with suppliers and OEMs to ensure fail-operational steering and ISO 26262 compliance.

The position requires 7+ years in safety-critical automotive systems, strong systems engineering, and proficiency in Python with C/C++ familiarity.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience developing and integrating safety-critical systems in automotive/AV/related industries, with steering focus.
• Ownership of system-level requirements, architecture or control strategy for automotive steering.
• Knowledge of steering hardware, physics, and tire dynamics basics.
• Strong systems engineering in requirements, verification/validation, and testing (HIL or vehicle-level).
• Proficiency in Python or MATLAB for data/log analysis; ability to read C/C++.
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related field or equivalent practical experience.

Responsibilities

• Own steering system requirements (EPS and steer-by-wire) for Waymo Driver through full lifecycle.
• Drive steering architecture and fault-tolerance trade studies for fail-operational steering.
• Define and review steering fault monitors and safety response with ISO 26262 concepts.
• Lead technical collaboration with steering suppliers and vehicle OEM partners.
• Lead root-cause investigations using logs, CAN traces, and Python tooling.
• Define verification strategy and sign off for driverless steering under various conditions.

Skills

Steering systems

Systems engineering

Python

C/C++

Requirements traceability

Vehicle dynamics

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Engineering or related field

Tools

Vector CANoe/CANalyzer

dSPACE

CarSim / IPG CarMaker

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.

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 Vehicle Systems Architecture Lead.

You will:

• Own steering system requirements (EPS and steer-by-wire) for the Waymo Driver through their full lifecycle, covering steering tracking performance, redundancy and safe behavior under faults
• Drive steering architecture and fault-tolerance trade studies, such as dual-wound motors, dual ECUs and leader/follower arbitration, redundant sensing, power and communication, degraded-assist levels and thermal derating, to deliver fail-operational steering
• Define and review steering fault monitors and the self-driving system's response to each fault (detection thresholds, debounce, latching and minimal-risk maneuvers), partnering with Functional Safety on ISO 26262 (ASIL D) safety concepts
• Serve as the technical lead with steering suppliers and vehicle OEM partners: review specifications, firmware release content and CAN/CAN-FD interface definitions, and drive supplier defects to closure across sample phases
• Lead root-cause investigations of steering issues found in HIL, on the test track and in the fleet, analyzing vehicle logs and CAN traces and building Python tools that automate analysis of fleet data
• Define verification strategy and sign off steering for driverless operation, covering steering performance (latency, bandwidth, rack speed, tracking error, tire-limit behavior), thermal and endurance cases, and evidence from HIL, track and fleet testing

You have:

• 7+ years of experience developing and integrating safety-critical systems in the automotive, autonomous vehicle, aerospace, robotics, or related industries, with at least part of that time focused on steering systems
• Demonstrated ownership of system-level requirements, architecture or control strategy for an automotive steering system (EPS, steer-by-wire or rear-wheel steering) at an OEM, Tier 1 supplier or AV company
• Working knowledge of steering hardware and physics: rack, column and pinion EPS layouts, BLDC/PMSM motors and inverters, torque and angle sensing, rack force, and tire and vehicle dynamics basics
• Strong foundation in systems engineering principles such as requirements definition and traceability, verification and validation, and HIL or vehicle-level testing
• Proficiency in Python or MATLAB for data and log analysis, and the ability to read C/C++
• Bachelor's Degree in a relevant Engineering or a related field (including ME, EE, CS, Robotics, Controls, Aerospace, etc.) or equivalent practical experience

We prefer:

• Experience with redundant or fail-operational steering (dual-channel EPS or steer-by-wire), especially on L4 self-driving platforms
• Experience applying ISO 26262 to steering: ASIL D safety concepts, FMEA/FTA, and how a supplier implements microcontroller safety mechanisms (e.g., lockstep cores, built-in self-tests and runtime reset limits)
• Proven experience in technical supplier management, including authoring Statements of Work (SOW) or Requirement Specifications, leading technical design reviews, and managing firmware releases for safety-critical ECUs
• Hands‑on experience with Vector CANoe/CANalyzer, dSPACE, and vehicle‑dynamics tools such as CarSim or IPG CarMaker
• Experience working within standard automotive development and production release processes for ECUs and firmware, such as APQP, phase gates and A/B/C/D samples
• Proficiency in Korean or Japanese, to support technical reviews with partners

Travel requirements:

• Up to 8 weeks of travel; (domestic and international) to support requirement implementation with partners or verification at test sites

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

$230,000-$284,000 USD