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.
Rigorous performance evaluation of the Waymo Driver is a critical part of scaling our ride hailing service and achieving Waymo’s audacious goals. Waymo data scientists work hand-in-hand with engineering teams at each stage of the software development cycle, employing statistical models and developing metrics and measurement frameworks to ensure that the Waymo Driver meets our strict standards for safety, compliance, and driving and service quality. Autonomous driving presents a new paradigm in data science: in addition to leveraging data collected on-road, we generate our own data using state-of-the-art simulation technology—resulting in denser signals and challenging new problems in estimation and experimental design.
In this hybrid role you will report to a Data Science Manager.
You will:
- Develop evaluation frameworks for autonomous vehicle performance, for large-scale ML models, and for the quality of simulation.
- Develop new metrics, interpret trends, and investigate anomalies in data from simulation and on-road driving.
- Develop novel statistical methods to handle unique aspects of AV data; e.g. rate estimation with rare events, combining real and synthetic data, etc.
- Frame and solve ambiguous problems, derive data-driven conclusions, and communicate findings to senior stakeholders.
- Collaborate with Product and Engineering partners developing the Waymo Driver and Waymo’s simulation software; facilitate deployment readiness decisions for both products.
You have:
- Degree in a quantitative field (e.g. Statistics, Mathematics, Physics)
- 3+ years of industry experience solving data science problems or a PhD in a quantitative field
- Expertise using advanced statistical methods in an applied setting; familiarity with ML systems/models
- Demonstrated knowledge of Python/SQL/R data analysis libraries and packages
We prefer:
- PhD in a quantitative field
- Experience solving problems related to Autonomous Driving or Ride Hailing
- Experience in adjacent relevant areas like Advanced Machine Learning (Deep Learning and Diffusion models), Traffic Modeling, Safety Evaluation or Prediction
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.
Skills Required
- Degree in a quantitative field (e.g. Statistics, Mathematics, Physics)
- 3+ years of industry experience solving data science problems or a PhD in a quantitative field
- Expertise using advanced statistical methods in an applied setting; familiarity with ML systems/models
- Demonstrated knowledge of Python/SQL/R data analysis libraries and packages
Waymo Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Waymo and has not been reviewed or approved by Waymo.
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Fair & Transparent Compensation — Pay is considered strong for full‑time technical roles, aligning with top‑tier AV/Big Tech benchmarks. Employer materials also emphasize competitive pay with eligibility for bonuses and equity as part of total rewards.
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Healthcare Strength — Coverage spans medical, dental, vision, mental‑health resources, onsite wellness centers, and counseling, with specialized programs such as menopause and transgender medical advocacy. Dependents are included, indicating depth across core health needs.
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Parental & Family Support — Offerings include fertility and family‑forming assistance, parental and baby‑bonding leave, caregiver and elder‑care support, and backup childcare. These programs are positioned to support families through multiple life stages.
Waymo Insights
What We Do
Waymo is an autonomous driving technology company with a mission to make it safe and easy for people and things to move around. With the Waymo Driver, we can improve the world’s mobility while saving thousands of lives. Waymo reaches out to candidates from official channels only (e.g. directly from @waymo.com email addresses, or through our recruiters or sourcers who are noted as such on LinkedIn). We do not contact candidates about career opportunities through instant messaging apps like Telegram, email addresses from domains other than waymo.com (such as Gmail addresses), direct messages on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, or text messages. Visit waymo.com to check out our official job listings.
