Waymo is an autonomous driving technology company with a mission to make it safe and easy for people and things to get where they’re going. Since our start as the Google Self-Driving Car Project in 2009, Waymo has been focused on building the World’s Most Experienced Driver in hopes of improving the world's access to mobility while saving thousands of lives now lost to traffic crashes. Our Waymo Driver powers Waymo One, our fully autonomous ride-hailing service, as well as Waymo Via, our trucking and local delivery service. To date, Waymo has driven over 20 million miles autonomously on public roads across 25 U.S. cities and conducted over 20 billion miles of simulation testing.
Hardware Engineering is a diverse, 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.
In this role, you'll:
- Collaborate with a cross-functional engineering team to define new concepts for next-generation automotive lidar and camera systems
- Serve as the Optical Engineering lead on a key sensor through multiple stages of development from initial concept to mass production
- Design and analyze optical systems. Perform ray tracing simulations and conduct hands-on testing to verify design performance and troubleshoot hardware issues
- Derive requirements for optical components from system-level performance specifications. Collaborate with Mechanical Engineers and Reliability Engineers to specify all aspects of the optical system and define test methods
- Partner with external suppliers to develop optical systems and transition them into production. Direct prototyping and technology development activities. Monitor vendor progress and hardware builds to ensure robust manufacturing process and quality control
At the minimum, we'd like for you to have:
- M.S. in Optics, Physics, or EE and 10 years of experience developing imaging or laser-based optical systems
- A strong background in lens design and analysis including: tolerance analysis, environmental and thermal simulation, and stray light analysis
- Expertise using sequential and non-sequential optical design software including Code V or Zemax and LightTools or FRED
- Familiarity with optical component fabrication including: optical materials, spherical and aspheric surface fabrication methods, thin-film coatings, and metrology
- Hands-on experience building and testing optical systems
- Product development experience including component specification and vendor management
It's preferred if you have:
- Ph.D. in Optics, Physics, EE (or equivalent) and 15 years of experience
- Experience with laser systems
- Experience with optical systems for harsh environments
- Familiarity with opto-mechanical engineering principles, CAD software such as Solidworks or equivalent, GD&T, etc.
- Experience through two or more product development cycles
- Excellent communication and teamwork skills
We appreciate your interest in Waymo. Waymo is an equal employment opportunity employer. Waymo’s policy is not to discriminate against any applicant or employee based on race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, military status, genetic information or any other characteristic protected by law. Waymo also prohibits harassment of applicants or employees based on any of these protected categories. Waymo will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal records in accordance with applicable law. Waymo also makes workplace accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities as required by applicable law.
