Software Engineer, Planner, Route and Motion Generation

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

You will:

• Work with a creative team of people who are responsible for ensuring that the behavior of our cars is safe, dynamically feasible, reliable, and comfortable in environments where inputs can be noisy, uncertain, or incomplete.


• Design, implement and improve the high performance onboard routing algorithms that guide Waymo cars safely and efficiently to their destinations.


• Collaborate closely with teams across Waymo, including other Planner teams, TaaS, Pullover and Offboard to improve onboard and offboard routing decisions.


• Contribute to the full software development lifecycle, from ideation and design to implementation, testing, deployment, and monitoring.

You have:

• BS in Computer Science, ML, Robotics, similar technical field of study, or equivalent practical experience


• Proficiency in C++ programming, including experience writing production-quality code.


• Strong software architecture skills.


• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to work with ambiguity.


• Proven ability to collaborate effectively within a team and with cross-functional partners. Good communication skills.

We prefer:

• Master's or PhD in Computer Science, Robotics, ML or a related technical field.


• Knowledge of search algorithms, or optimization techniques.


• Experience with robotics, autonomous vehicles, or geospatial systems.


• Experience with Python and SQL for data analysis.


• Familiarity with machine learning concepts and experience applying ML techniques to real-world problems.

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

$170,000—$216,000 USD