Technical Lead Manager, Planner Tech

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

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus program

Equity incentive plan

Generous benefits program

Job summary

A leading autonomous driving technology company is seeking a Software Engineer to provide technical leadership for motion-planning systems. The ideal candidate has a strong background in C++ programming, management experience, and a relevant advanced degree. This hybrid position involves collaboration with hardware engineers and aims to enhance the Waymo Driver's capabilities. Competitive salary with bonus eligibility and comprehensive benefits are offered.

Qualifications

• MS/PhD in relevant technical field or equivalent practical experience.
• Experience in programming C++ with robust and efficient code.
• 1+ year of management experience with 5+ reports.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership for onboard motion‑planning systems.
• Improve evaluation capabilities for on‑road performance.
• Mentor junior engineers on the team.
• Investigate driving‑behavior issues from logs.
• Develop foundational frameworks for the Waymo Driver.

Skills

C++ programming

Team collaboration

Management experience

Python programming

SQL

Education

MS/PhD in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Robotics, or similar

4+ years of equivalent practical experience

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.

Software Engineering builds the brains of Waymo's fully autonomous driving technology. Our software allows the Waymo Driver to perceive the world around it, make the right decision for every situation, and deliver people safely to their destinations. We think deeply and solve complex technical challenges in areas like robotics, perception, decision‑making and deep learning while collaborating with hardware and systems engineers. If you're a software engineer or researcher who’s curious and passionate about Level 4 autonomous driving, we'd like to meet you.

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

You Will

• Provide technical leadership for onboard motion‑planning systems that improve low‑speed maneuvering performance.
• Improve evaluation capabilities to better understand on‑road performance.
• Provide mentorship for junior engineers on the team.
• Investigate driving‑behavior issues from logs and understand the root cause.
• Develop foundational frameworks that help advancement of the Waymo Driver's capabilities.
• Directly contribute to solving some of the most challenging driving situations in the long tail.

You Have

• MS/PHD in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Robotics, or a similar technical field of study, or 4+ years of equivalent practical experience.
• General software engineering experience programming in C++ with robust and efficient code.
• Ability to collaborate within and across teams.
• 1+ year of management experience with 5+ reports.

We Prefer

• AV or Robotics experience.
• Experience with Machine Learning models in production systems.
• Experience in graph search, optimization, or path‑planning algorithms.
• 8+ years of Software Engineering experience in complex systems.
• Coding proficiency in Python and SQL.

The expected base salary range for this full‑time position across U.S. 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.

Salary Range

US$ 238,000 — 302,000 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.