System Safety Engineer - Onboard SW Safety

Waymo; Kirkland (WA); On-site; USD 204,000 - 252,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Vision insurance

401(k) match

Paid time off

Maternity leave

Baby bonding leave

Paid holidays

Job summary

Waymo in Kirkland, WA is seeking an experienced Safety Engineer to lead cross‑functional System Safety analyses for our autonomous driving technology and to define mitigations that reduce risk. You will participate in design reviews, guide adoption of safety standards, and ensure risk-based decisions are aligned with stakeholders while promoting Waymo's safety culture across teams.

This role offers a comprehensive benefits package and the chance to work on state-of-the-art safety initiatives

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical field.
• 7+ years of relevant safety engineering experience including at least 5 years in System Safety.
• Proficient in inductive/deductive hazard analyses to identify hazards and assess risk.
• Proficient in systems engineering, SMART mitigations, and verification/validation methods.
• Extensive background in risk management and aligning risk-based decisions with stakeholders.
• Experience writing code and performing unit tests in C, C++, and Python.

Responsibilities

• Lead cross‑functional safety analyses to identify hazards and assess risks.
• Participate in software and product design and readiness reviews to ensure mitigations are addressed and effective in the field.
• Provide guidance on safety standards and ensure compliance with regulations.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of risk control strategies and identify new hazards.
• Provide leadership in defining, implementing, and improving System Safety processes and promoting safety culture.
• Integrate System Safety Methodology with other Waymo safety framework methodologies.

Skills

Cross-functional PM

Safety engineering

System Safety

Hazard analysis

Risk management

C/C++

Python

Education

B.S. in Computer Engineering or Computer Science

Master's or PhD preferred

Tools

C/C++

Python

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 Waymo Safety team works to promote and help continuously improve the safety of Waymo's fully autonomous driving technology. Our experts develop safety goals and strategies, and conduct safety engineering analyses to ensure safety is considered throughout the design and development of our vehicles. The team develops and promotes safety strategies and policies for autonomous vehicles for its work with regulatory authorities, lawmakers, law enforcement, and public and non‑profit organizations. Our Safety Team also helps advise on compliance with applicable environmental, health, and safety regulations.

You will

• Lead cross‑functional efforts to perform safety analyses and identify potential hazards and their causes, assess safety risks (qualitatively and quantitatively), support the definition of safety requirements, inform design decisions, propose mitigations, and support verification strategies
• Participate in software and product design and readiness reviews and discussions to help ensure that safety mitigations and requirements are addressed and that the mitigation strategies are working effectively in the field
• Provide guidance on the adoption and adaptation of relevant safety standards, and industry best practices, and help ensure Waymo and its partners comply with relevant safety regulations
• Evaluate the continued effectiveness of implemented risk control strategies; support the identification of new hazards
• Provide leadership in defining, implementing, and improving relevant System Safety processes while promoting our safety culture inside Waymo
• Provide leadership in integrating the System Safety Methodology with other methodologies of the Waymo safety framework

You have

• Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical fields
• Strong technical project management skills with the ability to manage multiple parallel projects
• 7+ years of relevant safety engineering work experience that includes a minimum of 5 years of System Safety engineering
• Proficient in selecting and performing appropriate inductive/deductive safety analyses to efficiently identify hazards and their level of risk
• Proficient in applying Systems Engineering principles including defining SMART safety mitigations/requirements and collaborating on effective verification and validation methods
• Extensive background in risk management and aligning risk‑based decisions with stakeholders
• Experience in writing code and performing unit tests as well as analyzing algorithmic structures in C, C++, and Python

We prefer

• A Master's degree or PhD in Electrical/Mechatronics/Aerospace Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical fields
• Experience in conducting safety analysis and risk assessments on SAE L3+ Perception and Behavior/Planner software

In accordance with Washington state law, we are highlighting our comprehensive benefits package, which is available to all eligible U.S. based employees. Benefits for this role include:

• Health, dental, vision, life, disability insurance
• Retirement Benefits: 401(k) with company match
• Paid Time Off: 20 days of vacation per year, accruing at a rate of 6.15 hours per pay period for the first five years of employment
• Sick Time: 40 hours/year (statutory, where applicable); 5 days/event (discretionary)
• Maternity Leave (Short‑Term Disability + Baby Bonding): 28‑30 weeks
• Baby Bonding Leave: 18 weeks
• Holidays: 13 paid days per year

Salary Range

$204,000—$252,000 USD

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.