Research Scientist, Waymo
Map Scalability
$213-263k
+ Waymo’s discretionary annual bonus program and equity incentive plan
Autonomous driving technology
Be an early applicant
Autonomous driving technology
1001+ employees
Be an early applicant
$213-263k
+ Waymo’s discretionary annual bonus program and equity incentive plan
1001+ employees
Company mission
To make it simpler and safer for people to move things and themselves around.
Role
Who you are
- Master’s or PhD degree in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, or in a similar discipline
- 1-3+ years of experience in a related field
- Expert in either Foundational VLMs, Computer Vision or learning-based 3D reconstruction methods (3DGS, NeRF)
- Strong ML software engineering skills in Python/C++ with an ability to rapidly prototype solutions
- Familiarity with major ML Frameworks (JAX, Tensorflow, Pytorch)
Desirable
- Publications at top-tier conferences like CVPR/ICCV/ECCV/ICLR/ICML/NeurIPS/IROS/CoRL etc
- Hands-on experience productionizing and scaling ML solutions beyond the research stage
- Fundamentals in 3D vision and/or computer graphics
- Domain experience in the autonomous vehicle or simulation space
What the job involves
- Solve fundamental and applied research problems related to world understanding using VLMs, generative modeling and 3D reconstruction at large scale
- Prototype and iterate on various research ideas using Waymo's internal driving data
- Scale and productionize world understanding solutions in collaboration with engineering teams across Waymo
- Present research findings to a wide audience within Waymo and Alphabet, with the possibility of publishing results to the research community
Our take
Waymo, Alphabet's self-driving car company, is changing the way people get around. Its robotaxis, which don't need a human driver, are already operating in cities like Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Austin. Soon, Waymo will expand to Detroit, Las Vegas, and San Diego, showing just how autonomous cars are moving from experiments to real-world transportation.
The company has already completed over 10M fully driverless rides and driven more than 100M miles. Its cars use advanced sensors and AI to navigate streets safely, while partnerships with Uber and DoorDash show that Waymo's technology works for both passengers and deliveries. And it's feeling ambitious too, hoping to offer one million trips per week by the end of 2026.
Even with competitors like Tesla and Zoox, Waymo is leading the autonomous ride-hailing market. Its cars have fewer crashes and keep passengers safer than traditional vehicles. With international plans for London and Japan, Waymo isn't just growing in the US; it's setting its sights on shaping the future of transportation worldwide.
Steph
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
-1% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Funding (last 2 of 5 rounds)
Feb 2026
$16bn
LATE VC
Aug 2024
$5.6bn
SERIES C
Total funding: $27.1bn
Company benefits
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance for employees and dependents
- Employee assistance programs focused on mental health
- Personalized workplace adjustments for diverse needs and abilities, including physical, mental, and neurodivergent considerations
- Access to mental health apps
- Onsite wellness centers
- Second medical opinion for you and your loved ones
- Medical advocacy program for transgender employees
- Counseling services
- Support programs including menopause benefit
- Competitive compensation
- Regular bonus and equity performance grant opportunities
- Generous 401(k) and regional retirement plans
- Annual cross-company compensation review and pay equity analysis
- 1-on-1 financial coaching
- Fertility and growing family assistance
- Parental leave and baby bonding leave
- Caregiver leave
- Elder care and support
- Backup childcare
- Survivor income benefit
- Paid time off, including vacation, bereavement, sick leave, parental leave, disability, and holidays
- Jury duty leave
- Military leave
- Hybrid work model with remote work opportunities also available
- Educational reimbursement
- Peer learning and coaching platform
- Donation matching programs
- Employee resource groups
- Volunteer hours
- Internal community groups and local culture clubs
- Inspiring spaces to work, recharge, and collaborate with fellow Waymonauts
- On-site meals and snacks
- Fitness centers, massage programs, and ergonomic support
- On-demand fitness, wellbeing, and cooking classes
- Commuter benefits
Company HQ
Mountain View, CA
Leadership
Dmitri Dolgov
(Co-CEO)Dmitri joined Waymo in 2016 as CTO, becoming Co-CEO in 2021. Prior to this, he spent nearly 8 years at Google as a Distinguished Software Engineer and 2 years at Toyota Research Institute as a Senior Research Scientist.
Tekedra N. Mawakana
(Co-CEO)Tekedra joined Waymo in 2017 as the Global Head of Policy, holding various roles before becoming Co-CEO in 2021. Previously, she was the VP of Global Government Relations and Public Policy at eBay and VP and Deputy General Counsel of GLobal Public Policy at Yahoo.
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