Senior Software Engineer, Vehicle Interaction

Waymo
Mountain View, CA
Hybrid

In the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026, Waymo filed 173 H-1B positions titled "Software Engineer". Source: U.S. Department of Labor, LCA disclosure data. A record of filings already made, not a commitment to sponsor.

Who this role is best for

Computer Science or Machine Learning professionals with C++ and ML model deployment experience will find this hybrid role in autonomous driving systems at Waymo highly aligned with their expertise and career trajectory.

Best fit for

  • Candidates with a strong background in motion planning and ML model deployment in autonomous systems will thrive here.
    — “developing agent reasoning and motion planning algorithms”
  • Professionals who have worked on large-scale simulation environments and autonomous driving challenges will be well-suited.
    — “integrate learned models into closed-loop simulation environments”

Things to consider

  • The role requires a strong commitment to production deployment and safety benchmarking.
    — “benchmark against rigorous safety metrics”
  • Candidates should be prepared for a hybrid work arrangement with a focus on collaboration.
    — “collaborate cross-functionally at the intersection of prediction and planning”

How to stand out

  • Emphasize experience in deploying ML models in real-world autonomous systems.
    — “proven track record of shipping models to production”
  • Highlight your work on motion planning or agent interaction algorithms in your resume.
    — “modeling agent interactions with other vehicles”
  • Showcase your ability to evaluate and deploy learned interaction policies in your interview narrative.
    — “Design, evaluate, and deploy learned interaction policies”
Pace · Fast PacedCollaboration · HighAutonomy · MediumDecision Impact · Team

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • Developed and deployed learned interaction policies
  • Collaborated effectively across cross-functional teams
  • Integrated learned models into closed-loop simulation environments
Typical background
BS in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Robotics5+ years of software engineering experience

Skills & requirements

Required

C++Machine LearningMotion PlanningSimulation EvaluationProduction Deployment

Preferred

Reinforcement LearningImitation LearningPyTorchJAX

Stack & domain

C++ML ModelsPyTorchJAXClosed-loop Simulation EvaluationCollaborationAutonomous DrivingMachine Learning

About the role

Original posting from Waymo

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.

The Vehicle Interaction team tackles critical autonomous driving challenges, directly responsible for modeling agent interactions with other vehicles to advance our mission of safety and building the world's most trusted driver. The team develops agent reasoning and motion planning algorithms to resolve complex interactive scenarios—including lane changes, merges, unprotected maneuvers, and cut-ins. By combining core robotics principles with scalable, production-deployed machine learning models, the team enables the Driver to safely, predictably, and seamlessly navigate dynamic real-world environments.

In this hybrid role, you will report directly to the Technical Lead Manager.

You will:

Design, evaluate, and deploy learned interaction policies to handle complex navigation and yielding scenarios.

Collaborate cross-functionally at the intersection of prediction and planning, leveraging large-scale models to solve complex agent interaction problems.

Integrate learned models into closed-loop simulation environments, benchmark against rigorous safety metrics, and drive seamless transitions to production releases.

Focus on high-impact product outcomes, making pragmatic engineering decisions to accelerate the shift from rule-based heuristics to scalable, data-driven policies.

You have:

BS in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Robotics, a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.

5+ years of software engineering experience developing high-performance, efficient C++ code.

Hands-on experience building ML models, including expertise in learned driving policies (RL/imitation learning), PyTorch or JAX, closed-loop simulation evaluation, and a proven track record of shipping models to production.

Proven capability to collaborate effectively across cross-functional engineering teams.

We prefer:

MS or PhD in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Robotics, or a related technical field.

Demonstrated software engineering expertise in motion planning or related autonomous systems problems.

Experience building, training, and benchmarking machine learning systems at scale.

Technical leadership experience guiding engineers or leading small project teams.

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$213,000—$263,000 USD

Source: Waymo careers

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