Staff Software Engineer, Machine Learning, Driver Understanding and Evaluation

Waymo

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. 

The Driver Understanding and Evaluation team at Waymo is developing rich metrics for understanding the behavior of the Waymo Driver in the real world, and technologies such as context and scene analysis to understand driving, understanding and augmenting real world driving data to generate rare driving events, build large scale data infrastructure, improve components such as agents and a realistic simulator. These technologies come together to drive the overall technical strategy and methodology used to evaluate the behavior of the Waymo Driver. 

The DUE Machine Learning team will build and operate scalable machine learning and data systems, simulation workflow and insight tools, improve and speed up the evaluation and onboard developer journeys. It will combine expert human judgements and advanced machine learning models to deliver training and evaluation data for hundreds of metrics and components that make up the Waymo driver. We are looking for researchers and software engineers who are passionate about developing computer vision and machine learning techniques for the Evaluation systems on our autonomous vehicles, and have an incessant drive to improve the performance of our technology stack. 

In this role, you will

  • Lead the development of cutting edge computer vision algorithms and machine learning models to enhance human-led triaging and introduce automation for high-volume workflows
  • Proactively monitor and assimilate best practices from within Alphabet and the broader industry to develop a Reinforcement Learning from human preference-based data collection and evaluation system. 
  • Enhance User Feedback Analysis, collaborate seamlessly with product and business teams to design and implement tools for multi-label classifications, sentiment assessment, comment summarization, root cause analysis and trend analysis of rider feedback
  • Oversee the production and optimization of machine learning models aiming to assess Waymo’s expansive fleet of vehicles that cumulatively travel millions of miles.
  • Drive technical direction, and provide technical inputs and guidance to the team.
  • Work closely with PMs and TPMs to help define product requirements and align the technical agenda with the company's business objectives.
  • Collaborate closely with multiple teams (e.g., Prediction, Planning, Research), other technical leads, and senior leaderships across Waymo to deliver on key strategic efforts.

At a minimum we would like you to have:

  • B.S. in Computer Science, Robotics, Machine Learning, similar technical field of study, or equivalent practical experience
  • Strong coding experience in C++ and/or Python.
  • Experience in at least one of: Computer Vision, Foundational Models, NLP, or Robotics.
  • 5+ years of experience with hands-on experience in computer vision and machine learning projects
  • Experience with ML frameworks such as TensorFlow, PyTorch, Hugging Face's transformers, along with expertise in deep learning models and ML deployment at scale

It’s preferred if you have:

  • M.S. or Ph.D. degree Computer Science or related quantitative field with a specialization of machine learning.
  • Experience with building tools for applied machine learning, including MLOps, evaluation/validation techniques, and model performance optimization.
  • Large-scale data processing and analytical skills.

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. 

Salary Range

$221,000—$276,000 USD

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.
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Confirmed 22 hours ago. Posted 30+ days ago.

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