Senior Software Engineer, Planner, High-Level Motion Planning and Behaviors
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 Waymo Driver—The World’s Most Experienced Driver™—to improve everyone'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.
At Waymo, we are mission-driven and believe deeply in the opportunity of autonomous driving technology to improve mobility and make people's lives better. We are united by purpose and responsibility (for our employees and riders alike). We are looking for kind, committed, employees who have integrity, dream big, work together as one team and create a sense of belonging for one another that is the foundation of our culture. We want each team member to feel welcomed and included in every step of our exciting journey.
Every year around the world:
- 1.3M people die in vehicle accidents
- 50M are injured
- Billions of hours are spent behind the wheel
At Waymo, our mission is to make it safe and easy for people and things to get to where they’re going. This is an opportunity to join us in that mission to make the world a better place.
Autonomous vehicles are going to transform transportation. On this team, we work on the high-level motion planning and behaviors of Waymo’s fully autonomous vehicles. We play a critical role in:
- Controlling the behavior of the autonomous vehicle in all driving scenarios, including lane changes, intersections, pulling over, and many others
- Keeping vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists safe
- Reasoning about uncertainty, taking into account what we can see and (even more importantly) what we can’t see
- Modeling interactive situations, considering how other road users might react to how we drive
- Understanding, defining, and delivering desired driving behavior
We use uncertain inputs about the driving environment from multiple sources such as perception, behavior prediction, and rules of the road to construct a well-formulated planning problem. We work closely with the product team and other engineering teams such as perception, motion planning, and machine learning to deliver safe driving that delights users. We are continuously striving to make autonomous vehicles safe, comfortable, and predictable.
We are a fast-growing team at the forefront of solving some of the most critical, challenging, and high-impact problems in autonomous driving. The highly interconnected nature of our work will provide you opportunities to learn about large parts of the autonomous vehicle (AV) tech stack. You will be helping us to solve problems at the state of the art of AV technology which very few people have previously considered. Progress that you make in solving these problems will have high visibility across the company.
Along with technical strengths, we value team members who embrace uncertainty, take ownership and accountability for results, show initiative, collaborate effectively across team boundaries, welcome diverse perspectives, and do what’s right for our users.
If you are ready to move forward, please apply below.
Minimum Qualifications:
- BS in Computer Science, Engineering or similar technical field of study, or equivalent practical experience
- Strong Computer Science fundamentals in data structures, algorithms, and complexity analysis
- Ability to be successful in C++ based on programming experience in object-oriented and strongly typed programming languages
- Ability to write clean, efficient code and maintain the overall health of the code base
Preferred Qualifications:
- MS or PhD degree in Computer Science, similar technical field of study, or equivalent practical experience
- One or more of the following:
- Experience with Robotics deployed in real world environments or research/academic experience in Robotics or experience in related fields such as gaming or simulation with realistic motion and agents
- Experience with Machine Learning, data analysis, and metric-driven development in fields including (but not limited to): search/ads quality, translation, speech, conversational systems or experience with ranking and optimization techniques in general
- Experience solving software problems using geometry and linear algebra or graduate level work in mathematics or physics
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.
While at Waymo, you will enjoy benefits that cover…
Health and wellness: Our people are at the heart of everything we do. At Waymo, you can enjoy top-notch medical, dental and vision insurance, mental wellness support, a Flexible Spending Account (FSA), a Health Saving Account (HSA), on-site physicians and/or nurses in some locations, and special wellness programs.
Financial wellness: Your financial peace of mind is important to us. At Waymo, we offer competitive compensation, bonus opportunities, equity, a generous 401(k) plan or regional retirement plans, 1-on-1 financial coaching, a 529 College Savings Plan and lots of other perks and employee discounts.
Flexibility and time off: Take the time you need to relax and recharge. Enjoy the flexibility to work from another location for four weeks per year. We support an on-site, hybrid work model and offer remote working opportunities, paid time off, Waymo recharge days, bereavement, sick, and parental leave.
Supporting families: When it comes to growing your family or caring for your loved ones, you have our full support. Enhanced leave options include paid parental leave (birthing parent gets 24 weeks of paid leave, and non-birthing parent gets 18 weeks of paid leave), and 20 subsidized days of backup childcare or adult/elder care. Access to fertility care or adoption support as you grow your family.
Community and personal development: At Waymo, you’ll find a range of opportunities to grow, connect, and give back. We offer education tuition reimbursement, personal and professional development, mentorship, and other ways to connect through Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), other internal groups, and even time off to volunteer.
Cool perks: Access to Google offices, cafes, wellness centers, personal training sessions, massages, haircuts, bike repairs, office transportation, commuter benefits and so much more. To support your wellbeing at home, you can enjoy at-home fitness and cooking classes, and more.
* Please note that while our benefits philosophy is the same in every place Waymonauts work, benefits may vary by office/country and are subject to eligibility requirements.
Note: The following is only applicable for roles hired in the US. As we keep the safety of our employees and our communities top of mind, COVID-19 vaccinations continue to be a critical prevention measure to help end the pandemic. Because of this, Waymo requires all US-based employees who perform work onsite for Waymo to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. If you are unable to be vaccinated, Waymo will provide a reasonable accommodation consistent with applicable law.