Technical Lead Manager of Collision Avoidance Testing

Waymo LLC; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 200,000 - 320,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Hybrid work

Educational reimbursement

Parental leave

401(k) plans

Job summary

Waymo LLC in San Francisco seeks a senior leader to head the Collision Avoidance Testing team within Behavior Test Engineering. You will hire, align OKRs, guide work, and shape the report’s career paths while coordinating with Planner, Perception, and Safety Engineering leaders.

You will steer technical direction with simulation teams, ensuring scalable, maintainable, and extensible testing frameworks for long-tail behavior in autonomous vehicles.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field or higher.
• MS or PhD in Engineering, Robotics, CS or a similar discipline.
• Demonstrated ability to build testing programs that scale.
• Prior AV experience and a passion for robotics or autonomous vehicles.
• Strong leadership and communication skills in a critical space.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the Behavior Test Engineering’s Collision Avoidance Testing Team, including hiring, setting OKRs, guiding work, and developing your report’s careers
• Interface with key stakeholders from Planner, Perception, Systems Engineering and Safety Engineering executives on the Collision Avoidance Testing framework and desired AV behavior
• Work with Waymo’s simulation team on the latest cutting-edge sim technology and how it can be integrated into collision avoidance testing
• Lead technical work — develop and set the technical direction and architectural guidelines for Waymo’s long-tail behavioral testing suite

Skills

Leadership

Python/C++

Test engineering

Robotics/AV

Strong communication

Systems thinking

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering/CS

MS/PhD in Engineering/Robotics/CS

Job description

• Waymo’s Systems Engineering team works together to blend software and hardware systems in groundbreaking new ways. We set the high performance standards that ensure our vehicles run smoothly and keep passengers safe, then design and perform the tests that validate that performance. We’re looking for talented teammates who’ll help us maintain strong teamwork and are passionate about driving results


• Lead and manage the Behavior Test Engineering’s Collision Avoidance Testing Team, including hiring, setting OKRs, guiding work, and developing your report’s careers


• Interface with key stakeholders from Planner, Perception, Systems Engineering and Safety Engineering executives on the Collision Avoidance Testing framework and desired AV behavior


• Work with Waymo’s simulation team on the latest cutting-edge sim technology and how it can be integrated into collision avoidance testing


• Lead technical work — work with your team, and simulation and tooling teams to develop and set the technical direction and architectural guidelines for Waymo’s long-tail behavioral testing suite, ensuring it is scalable, maintainable, and extensible

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


• Counseling services


• Support programs including menopause benefit


• 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


• Backup childcare


• Elder care and support


• 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

• The ability to lead a technical engineering team and deliver impact while managing the team effectively


• Basic fluency in Python or C++


• 10+ years of industry experience in a related field


• 4+ years of management experience


• A Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field


• Demonstrated ability to build testing programs that scale


• Strong leadership and communication skills, with experience navigating a critical space


• Strong engineering fundamentals in Physics (mechanics) and/or Computer Science


• MS or PhD Degree in Engineering, Robotics, Computer Science or a similar discipline


• Prior AV Experience


• A passion for robotics or autonomous vehicles


• Experience with safety critical systems