Waymo · 1 day ago
Staff Software Engineer, Perception Data
Mountain View, CA
Full-time
Hybrid
Lead/Staff
$238K/yr - $302K/yr
8+ years expWaymo is an autonomous driving technology company with the mission to be the world's most trusted driver. The role involves defining technical strategies for data pipelines that support perception foundation models and leading initiatives across teams to enhance data integration in the model lifecycle.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)AutomotiveAutonomous VehiclesSensorTransportation
Responsibilities
Define the technical strategy and long-term architecture for petabyte-scale data pipelines that power Waymo’s perception foundation models
Drive cross-functional initiatives across ML, Simulation, and Infrastructure teams to solve complex data ambiguity and integrate data into the model lifecycle
Architect advanced systems for data mining, curation, and active learning using ML techniques (e.g., embeddings, vector search, offboard inference)
Serve as a technical lead and mentor for senior engineers, setting engineering standards and conducting code/design reviews for C++ and Python systems
Lead the design evolution of critical data infrastructure to ensure high scalability and reliability for offline model deployment and rare event mining
Accelerate model deployment velocity across new cities and vehicle platforms by optimizing end-to-end data lifecycles
Qualification
Required
C++ programming skills (required), with Python experience
8+ years of experience with large-scale distributed data systems (e.g., Spark, Beam, Dataflow), or PhD and 5+ years of relevant experience
Proven track record of architecting and delivering complex, multi-system ML data engineering or active learning solutions
Experience providing technical leadership, managing project priorities, and influencing technical strategy across multiple teams
Deep understanding of end-to-end ML data pipelines and their interaction with model training and evaluation
Preferred
Experience designing vector search (Faiss, ScaNN) or RAG systems at scale
Deep knowledge of ML infrastructure for foundation model training, fine-tuning, and evaluation
Expertise in data-centric AI methodologies (few-shot, pre-training) and their application in autonomous systems
Background in autonomous driving, robotics, or similar high-complexity hardware/software environments
MS/PhD or published work in Machine Learning, large-scale data systems, or related fields
Benefits
Waymo’s discretionary annual bonus program
Equity incentive plan
Generous Company benefits program
Company
Waymo
Waymo is a mobility technology company that improves transportation by developing self-driving solutions for travelers and daily commuters. It is a sub-organization of Alphabet.
1001-5000 employees
H1B Sponsorship
Waymo has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (231)
2024 (175)
2023 (268)
2022 (306)
2021 (298)
2020 (317)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageTotal Funding
$11.1BKey Investors
Alphabet
2024-07-23Series C· $5.6B
2021-06-16Series B· $2.5B
2020-05-12Series A· $750M
Leadership Team
Tekedra Mawakana
Co-Chief Executive Officer
Elisa de Martel
Chief Financial Officer
Recent News
2026-01-08
2026-01-07
Company data provided by crunchbase