Machine Learning Engineer

About The Company Waymo is a pioneering autonomous driving technology company dedicated to revolutionizing mobility and enhancing road safety. Originating from the Google Self-Driving Car Project in 2009, Waymo has established itself as a leader in developing advanced self-driving systems. Its core mission is to become the world’s most trusted driver by deploying the Waymo Driver—The World’s Most Experienced Driver™—to provide safe, reliable, and accessible autonomous transportation. With a focus on leveraging cutting-edge AI and machine learning, Waymo has successfully driven over 100 million miles on public roads and completed more than ten million rider-only trips, demonstrating its commitment to real-world deployment and continuous innovation. The company’s technology is versatile, powering Waymo’s fully autonomous ride-hail service and adaptable to various vehicle platforms and use cases. As Waymo scales its operations, it emphasizes large models and data-driven solutions to improve and expand its autonomous capabilities, ensuring safety and efficiency across multiple platforms and environments.

About The Role We are seeking a highly skilled ML Systems Engineer to join our embedded ML Engineering and Modeling team. In this role, you will play a critical part in optimizing neural network architectures and systems for high-performance inference and training on diverse hardware platforms, including GPUs and TPUs. Your expertise will directly impact the scalability and efficiency of Waymo’s autonomous driving systems, especially in real-time onboard environments with stringent latency requirements. You will collaborate closely with cross-functional teams such as inference frameworks, hardware integration, simulation, and research to develop innovative solutions that enhance model performance, reduce inference latency, and optimize resource utilization. Your work will involve implementing low-level optimizations, developing new neural architectures, and refining training processes to support large-scale models. This position offers a unique opportunity to contribute to cutting-edge autonomous vehicle technology, ensuring Waymo remains at the forefront of the industry’s advancements.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree or PhD in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field
• 3+ years of experience in software development for neural model inference or training
• 1+ years of experience with neural model inference and training optimization on modern GPU/TPU architectures
• 5+ years of experience developing real-time systems, preferably on embedded platforms
• Proficiency in C++, Python, and deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch or JAX
• Strong understanding of low-level neural network optimization techniques
• Experience with latency-sensitive systems and making practical tradeoffs between latency and model quality
• Passion for learning new architectures and optimization tools

Responsibilities

• Optimize neural network architectures and inference systems for high performance across multiple GPU and TPU platforms
• Enhance system performance for real-time onboard systems with strict latency constraints
• Develop post-training algorithms such as quantization and kernel optimization to improve inference speed and reduce memory footprint
• Create new neural architectures and decoding strategies to boost inference efficiency
• Improve training speed and efficiency for large models, including fine-tuning and memory management
• Collaborate with ML infrastructure teams, hardware teams, and research groups to integrate and deploy optimized models
• Stay updated with the latest developments in efficient ML techniques and incorporate them into production systems

Benefits

• Competitive salary range of $238,000 — $302,000 USD, commensurate with experience and location
• Participation in Waymo’s discretionary annual bonus program and equity incentive plan
• Comprehensive benefits package including health, dental, and vision insurance
• Generous paid time off and flexible work arrangements
• Opportunities for professional growth and development in a cutting-edge technology environment
• Access to innovative projects that significantly impact transportation safety and accessibility

Equal Opportunity

Waymo is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status. We believe that diverse perspectives foster innovation and excellence, and we encourage individuals from all backgrounds to apply.